KATE UPTON WATCH
Kate Upton joins on-field celebration with Justin Verlander after Astros clinch ALCS
Clifford Pugh
Oct 22, 2017, 3:00 am
It wasn't just the Houston Astros players and coaches who were celebrating the big win over the New York Yankees on the field of Minute Park Saturday night. Whitney Crane stood next to her husband, Astros owner Jim Crane, as he officially accepted the ALCS trophy. And model Kate Upton took cell phone photos of fiancé Justin Verlander as he was named Most Valuable Player.
Upton wore a classic rainbow-striped Astros jersey over a black camisole, skinny jeans, and mango-colored stilettos with ballet ribbons as she cheered the Astros on from a skybox during the game and on the field afterwards.
She even snared a World Series cap that the Astro players received after the 4-0 win over the Yankees. And it seemed appropriate that she should be on the field celebrating. Besides adding a touch of glamour to these games, she is credited with encouraging Verlander to come to the Astros.
The Detroit Tigers sent Verlander to the Astros just seconds before the trade deadline on Sept. 1. He agreed to waive the no-trade clause in his contract, with Upton's encouragement.
"Thank goodness my fiancée Kate was there," Verlander told ESPN's Pardon the Interruption. "It made my decision a lot easier. … Finally, I'm still pacing and I just kind of stop and I looked at Kate and I go 'Screw it; We're going to Houston.' And she's like 'Heck yeah.' You know I'm kind of trying to say the right language here. But she says 'Heck yeah, we're going,' and that was it. That was the decision."
We're sure glad they did.
The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!