BARRY LAMINACK
Kevin Johnson's loss may be no loss at all for Texans
Sep 13, 2018, 8:42 am
Kevin Johnson is on IR. Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images
Perhaps the most frustrating thing to come out of last Sunday's 27-20 loss to the New England Patriots was the play of starting cornerback Kevin Johnson. His inability to be anywhere near the ball and do his job effectively stood out to me more than anything else on Sunday.
He looked lost out there; like he didn’t belong.
I went so far as to say on Twitter, during the game, that he should never be allowed on the field again.
What I didn't anticipate was shortly after my tweet hit the web that Johnson would suffer another concussion, an injury that would necessitate him being placed on IR (but according to Aaron Wilson on Twitter(@AaronWilson_NFL): "...he can be designated for return.”)
First things first, I feel horrible for Kevin Johnson. I would never wish injury on any player, especially such a serious and dangerous injury like multiple concussions. All my best to Kevin for a full and speedy recovery.
That said, it still doesn't change my mind about his role with the Texans. I think at this point it’s time to move on from Johnson, and the Texans have plenty of options that will allow them to do so.
To fill the roster spot the Texans went out and signed journeyman cornerback Shareece Wright. Wright started five games last year for the Bills, so it’s not a total Shock that Brian Gaine reached out to him.
But even with the signing of Wright, the Texans have a ton of other options already on the roster that can be moved around in the secondary.
Johnathan Joseph is pretty much staying put, but Aaron Colvin could slide to the other outside corner position (and I’ll go as far as to say now that I think by the time the year is up, he’ll be the best corner on the Texans).
If the Texans like Colvin covering the slot, they could move Kareem Jackson back to corner and give some reps to highly regarded rookie Justin Reid at safety. Heck the Honey Badger, Tyrann Mathieu often moved up from his safety position to play some corner when he was in Arizona.
So don’t worry about the secondary Texans fan, I think they’ll be fine.
Spend all of your time worrying about that o-line. Yikes!
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
The Houston Texans missed an opportunity to move into first place in the AFC South with Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Despite the 24-21 defeat, star rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud is confident the Texans will bounce back and continue to exceed expectations this season.
“It’s about the mindset, though. What are we going to do? Not play anymore? (Are) we just going to tuck our tail and not play hard? No, I don’t really believe in that type of mindset,” he said. “I’m going out there every play, every game trying to win. So, I don’t really think that our season is over at all. It’s a long year … you can see the trajectory we’re on.”
Houston (6-5) fell into a tie with the Indianapolis Colts for second place in the division behind the first-place Jaguars (8-3) with the loss.
The Texans had a chance to force overtime with 34 seconds left Sunday, but Matt Ammendola’s 58-yard field-goal attempt bounced off the crossbar.
Before that, Stroud had another strong game. The second overall pick in the draft threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns to give him 3,266 yards passing to overtake Justin Herbert (3,224) for most yards passing in NFL history through a player’s first 11 games.
Stroud also became the first rookie in NFL history to throw for 300 yards or more in four straight games.
He moved effectively to avoid the rush Sunday, averaging 3.8 seconds to throw each pass, which is the longest time by anyone in a single game this season according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Both his touchdown passes against Jacksonville came on extended drop-backs of four or more seconds.
“C.J did a really good job of being able to move around and extend plays,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Made a couple of big plays for us … I thought he moved around well when he had to, took what the defense gave him.”
WHAT’S WORKING
Stroud’s stellar play continues to make Houston’s passing game the strength of the team. His yards passing rank second in the NFL and Houston’s 276.2 yards passing a game also come in at No. 2 in the league.
He’s done a great job of spreading the ball around, and the Texans had four receivers with at least 40 yards Sunday.
WHAT NEEDS HELP
Houston was down to just one timeout for the last drive Sunday after Ryans had to burn two earlier in the second half to avoid penalties.
“It’s tough for us not having those timeouts, having to waste them on procedural things that we need to clean up,” Ryans said. “All those timeouts were just self-inflicted things that we have to be better at. Whether it’s making sure we got the right amount of people on the field, getting the calls in quicker, getting to the line of scrimmage quicker, we just have to be better.”
STOCK UP
WR Nico Collins led the team with seven receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown Sunday. It was his third 100-yard game of the season, which is a career high for the third-year player. It’s the first time he’s had more than 100 yards receiving since finishing with a career-best 168 yards receiving in a win over Pittsburgh Oct. 1.
STOCK DOWN
CB Tavierre Thomas was called for pass interference on two plays on the same drive that helped the Jaguars to a touchdown in the third quarter.
INJURIES
LG Tytus Howard injured his knee against Jacksonville and is questionable for Sunday’s game. … WR Noah Brown missed a second straight game against the Jaguars with a knee injury. … RB Dameon Pierce returned against Jacksonville after missing three games with an ankle injury.
KEY NUMBER
0. The Texans didn’t have a sack Sunday for the first time all season.
NEXT STEPS
The Texans look to get back on track when they wrap up a three-game homestand with a visit from Denver Sunday. The Broncos (6-5) have won five in a row after dropping five of their first six games.