LOVIE REFLECTS ON WEEK 2
9 critical takeaways from Lovie Smith's Week 2 Houston Texans presser
Sep 19, 2022, 2:48 pm
LOVIE REFLECTS ON WEEK 2
Houston Texans head coach Lovie Smith met with the media on Monday afternoon and shared his thoughts on the Texans 16-9 loss to the Broncos on Sunday.
1. The Broncos scored a TD and the Texans didn't, sometimes it's that simple. Lovie made this point on Monday, discussing some missed opportunities for the Texans offense. Multiple times the Texans coached emphasized that the team has to score more points.
2. The Texans got RB Dameon Pierce more involved and that will continue, according to Smith. Pierce led the Texans RBs in touches with 16. He finished with 69 rushing yards on 15 carries and caught one pass for 8 yards. This is a big improvement over week 1 which featured Rex Burkhead with the most touches. Burkhead didn't even have one carry against the Broncos. He did catch 2 passes on three targets.
3. Kevin Pierre-Louis and Brevin Jordan are dealing with injuries. The team is evaluating the injuries and will give an update at a later point in time.
4. The Texans only recorded one turnover for the defense. Coach Smith talked about one turnover just not being enough and the team needing more. Smith also complemented the turnover by Christian Kirksey.
5. At one point, Lovie Smith deflected a question about Davis Mills' strengths saying, "we've talked about Davis enough."
6. The Texans played without starting center Justin Britt on Sunday. Lovie Smith said backup center Scott Quessenberry did a great job and didn't feel like the team missed a beat.
7. Rookie corner Derek Stingley Jr. had a challenging day against Broncos WR Courtland Sutton, who finished with 7 catches, 122 yards. Coach Smith said he felt Stingley competed hard and tackled well.
8. Lovie acknowledged that the team hasn't been able to stop the run as well as they would like to, and penalties have been a problem. We have to think both factors will be critical in Houston's next game against the Chicago Bears.
9. Lovie Smith pulled the curtain back toward the end of the presser when he talked about the Texans lack of execution on 3rd and 15 at the start of the fourth quarter. Courtland Sutton streaked down the left sideline and caught a pass for a first down easily. Derek Stingley and Jonathan Owens were both in the area and looked confused. Smith told the media that was one of his major disappointments from the game.
Up next: The Texans have a shot to push their record to 1-1-1 if they can defeat the Bears in Chicago on Sunday. The Texans are 3-point underdogs. Be sure to check out the video above to watch the full press conference.
Jamal Murray had 39 points, Michael Porter Jr. added 17 points and nine rebounds and the Denver Nuggets beat Houston 116-111 on Sunday night to snap the Rockets' nine-game win streak.
Murray, who scored 17 in the first half, had 17 in the third quarter as Denver outscored the Rockets 39-22 in the quarter to take a 96-79 lead.
Russell Westbrook had 14 points off the bench, Aaron Gordon scored 13 points with eight assists and DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Nuggets, which shot 51% and were 10 of 21 on 3-pointers.
Jalen Green scored 30 points, and Dillon Brooks added 21 points for Houston. Alperen Sengun had 17 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and Steven Adams finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets, which shot 44% and were 11 of 34 from behind the arc.
Trailing 109-100 with 1 ½ minutes left, Houston used a 7-1 run to cut the lead to three on a Sengun layup with 21 seconds left, but Christian Braun made two free throws with 19 seconds remaining to push the lead back to five.
Nuggets: Nikola Jokic missed his fourth straight game with left ankle impingement, and Denver improved to 2-2 with him out of the lineup.
Rockets: Houston remains in second place in the Western Conference with 10 games left, but the Nuggets closed to within a game of Houston.
Sengun made one of two free throws with 14 seconds remaining, and Murray made two free throws two seconds later to push the lead to 114-108.
Houston finished 22 of 34 from the free throw line, while Denver made 18 of 26.
Denver hosts the Chicago Bulls on Monday night, while Houston hosts the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.