Houston Texans eye redemption with these critical focus points in Jaguars matchup
Nov 26, 2024, 10:16 am
The Texans will look to rebound against the Jags this Sunday. Composite Getty Image.
C.J. Stroud was far from the only Houston Texan who struggled Sunday in an embarrassing loss to the Tennessee Titans.
But it was the second-year quarterback who was the most vocal in taking the blame for the 32-27 defeat.
“It’s no secret, I haven’t been playing well personally, for my standard,” he said. “I have a couple good drives and plays here, but it’s up and down ... I’ve got to be hard on myself and realize that games can come down to me making plays.”
Stroud threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions as the Texans lost for the third time in four games after a 5-1 start.
“I’ve got to just be better, and I know that,” he said.
Stroud has thrown five interceptions combined in the past three games to give him nine this season after he had just five in 15 games as a rookie.
The Texans (7-5) got a touchdown on an interception return by Jimmie Ward in the third quarter Sunday, but the offense managed only a field goal after halftime as the unit’s second-half struggles continued.
Houston’s offense scored 10 points after halftime in a 34-10 win over the Cowboys on Monday night, but has combined for just nine points in the second half of its past three losses.
“We have to create positive plays,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Too many times, whether it’s run or pass, we have a negative play which kills our drive. First things first, how can we sustain positive plays and build drives? Too many drives were stalled out before we could even get started.”
Despite the offensive struggles, the Texans still had a chance to tie the game with less than two minutes to go. But Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 28-yard field goal sailed wide left.
What's working
The Texans tied a franchise record with eight sacks Sunday. Danielle Hunter had a season-high three to give him 10½ this season, which leads the team. Will Anderson Jr. added two in his return after missing two games with an ankle injury and has a career-high 9½ this season.
Houston ranks second in the NFL with 42 sacks entering Monday.
What needs help
Houston had just 40 yards rushing Sunday in a game where Joe Mixon had his worst performance of the season. Mixon, who ran for 109 yards and three touchdowns against the Cowboys, had a season-low 22 yards on 14 carries.
“They’re a really good front, we knew that going into the game,” Ryans said. “But it doesn’t matter. Every front is good. You have to own the line of scrimmage. You have to be able to control the line of scrimmage and run the ball. We didn’t. We had too many negative plays in the running game.”
The performance was Houston’s second-worst rushing game of the season after the team had 38 yards rushing in a loss to Minnesota in Week 3 when Mixon was out with an injury.
Stock up
Dameon Pierce had three kick returns for 135 yards Sunday, highlighted by an 80-yard return on the opening kickoff that set up Houston’s first touchdown.
Stock down
There have only been four missed field goals from 28 yards or closer in the NFL this season and Fairbairn has two of them. Fairbairn’s miss Sunday came after he missed a 27-yard attempt in a loss to the Jets.
Injuries
S Jalen Pitre left Sunday’s game in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. ... CB Ka’dar Hollman left in the fourth quarter with a knee injury. ... OT Blake Fisher missed a second straight game in the concussion protocol.
Key number
23% — Houston converted just 3 of 13 third down attempts or 23% of its chances Sunday.
Next steps
The Texans, who lead the AFC South, will look to regroup to avoid another letdown next week when they visit the Jaguars (2-9), who have lost four in a row.
“We made a lot of mistakes,” Hunter said. “We weren’t as locked in as we should have been. The biggest thing is just learning from this and just moving on to the next game.”
Houston has its bye after facing Jacksonville before playing the Dolphins, Chiefs and Ravens in a 10-day stretch from Dec. 15-25.
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The Houston Texans made mistakes in every facet of the game Sunday against the Tennessee Titans to lose for the third time in four games.
C.J. Stroud threw two interceptions, the defense gave up multiple big passing plays and Ka′imi Fairbairn missed a 28-yard field goal that would have tied it late in a 32-27 loss.
“Just a disappointing loss for us,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We didn’t do anything well enough to win this game. Out of all the positives that we did have, there were way too many negatives, too many negative plays.”
Jimmie Ward had a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter and the Texans tied a franchise record with eight sacks. Danielle Hunter led the group with a season-high three sacks and Will Anderson Jr. added two in his return after missing two games with an ankle injury. But the offense sputtered for most of the game as Joe Mixon was held to 22 yards on 14 carries.
But Ryans refused to blame the offense for the loss.
“Our offense did plenty," Ryans said. "They gave us enough points. On defense, we have to be able to stop them.”
Chig Okonkwo grabbed a short pass and rumbled 70 yards for a touchdown to put the Titans (3-8) up 30-27 with 9½ minutes remaining. Safety Eric Murray missed a tackle that would have stopped him near midfield.
It was the last of three big passing plays the Titans had Sunday. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine got in front of the defense and was wide open for a 38-yard TD catch that made it 10-7 late in the first quarter. Calvin Ridley had a 63-yard reception that set up their next touchdown in the second.
“It was just way too many negative plays,” Ryans said. “Defensively, unexplainable explosives for touchdowns. We didn’t play good across the board and that starts with me.”
Despite this, the Texans (7-5) had a chance to tie it with less than two minutes remaining, but Fairbairn’s short field-goal attempt sailed wide left. He fell to the ground after the miss before getting up and slamming his helmet on the field.
“The most frustrating part about it is out of all the bad things that happened, we still had a chance to finish the game,” Ryans said. “Everything that could go wrong, it went wrong. We still had a chance there to tie it up and finish the game, and we didn’t.”
The Texans forced a three-and-out, but couldn’t move the ball after that and Harold Landry sacked Stroud in the end zone for a safety to make it 32-27 and allow Tennessee to snap a two-game skid.
Stroud threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns, but his two interceptions Sunday give him five combined in the past three games. He now has more interceptions in 12 games this season (nine) than he had in 15 games as a rookie last season (five).
“It’s no secret that I haven’t been playing well ... I’ve got to be harder on myself,” he said. “I’m not going to hold my head down. I know I can be a great player, but I’ve got to make better plays.”