Watson doesn't lose like that and of course NFL officiating has some explaining to do
Short week bounce back needed for Texans
Nov 18, 2019, 11:15 am
Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
3 Headlines, 2 Questions, and 1 Bet ahead of the Thursday Night thriller with the Colts.
We're on to Indianapolis and Thursday
They might have taken @BigQ56's touchdown away.
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 17, 2019
But we'll always have this. pic.twitter.com/qoh9Znt1n9
That is basically what Bill O'Brien said on Monday. He didn't seem too willing to discuss the Baltimore blowout so the focus was on the Colts on the short week.
He mentioned he expected to see some of Baltimore's defensive sets and schemes that were successful on Sunday from the Colts. He also noted this is a big mental week. I look at it as matching wits with Frank Reich.
Neither team looks remotely close to the last time these two played. The Texans have new faces in the secondary and might even be a little healthy. No J.J. Watt of course. Maybe Will Fuller is back, maybe he isn't. The Colts have Jacoby Brisett back rendering a lot of what they did in two of the past three games near useless from a scouting perspective. The Colts secondary should be much more healthy than the last contest.
This isn't an easy task for O'Brien and company. Frank Reich has out-coached him in all four of their meetings. O'Brien could use a "win" on the headset so to speak.
Deshaun Watson doesn't lose like that
The worst loss of Deshaun Watson's career in college when he actually played even a bit in the game is 24 points. He didn't start that game, just came in late. When Clemson was his program and he was the guy? His worst loss was by five points to Alabama in the national championship.
In the pros Watson hasn't lost like that much either. At all really. He has a 14-point playoff loss to the Colts and an eight point loss to the Chiefs in his time as the starter that are worse than seven. That's it.
So a 34-point ass-kicking from the Ravens can't be fun for him or his teammates. There will be a bounce back.
There is no reason the inherent belief Deshaun Watson will be awesome should go away. Sunday, while slightly about his game, was about the team more than him. He is a phenomenal talent and every player has hiccups. Lamar Jackson has had plenty this year including a disappointing game against the Chiefs in a loss earlier this season as well as a stinker against the Browns.
Watson won't lose like this again for a very long time.
It was worth the challenge
As a leader in the NFL, we need someone new in New York deciding calls. https://t.co/szdHjWhKbR
— Deandre Hopkins (@DeAndreHopkins) November 17, 2019
Bill O'Brien was right to challenge the pass interference no call against Marlon Humphrey. There is no denying this. I understand some may view this as an example of O'Brien being hard-headed when it comes to this but I don't agree. This was egregious. He wouldn't challenge a ticky-tack play.
I am aware the calls typically are not getting overturned but it isn't like they never get overturned. It has happened. Later in the day San Francisco had a call overturned against them when Arizona challenged that there was no defensive pass interference.
Going forward though, unless there is a clear idea of change sent out in memo form throughout the league, just keep the flag in your pocket. This goes for all the coaches, not just O'Brien.
As for the NFL, well they need to fix things. Al Riveron sits atop his castle of lies in New York and consistently gets calls wrong to protect his cronies in the white and black stripes. Roger Goodell and the NFL should be embarrassed at the way this is handled and the competition committee has a real problem on their hands.
Will the soft tissue twosome return this week?
Will Fuller hasn't played since the last time the Texans played the Colts where he managed just one catch and had the hamstring issue flare up. That was a month ago.
Over a month ago Bradley Roby left the Chiefs game with a hamstring issue.
It would be huge to have both players back for the Texans. Bill O'Brien noted Monday they need to find a way to test both players without real tough practices available on the short week. He mentioned both fall into the game-time decision category right now.
Fuller is needed back more than Roby. The offense has so much more juice when he is on the field. It all opens up because he can take the top off the defense. Don't get me wrong, I won't scoff at having both of them back by any means.
Justin Houston is a freak
Now SIX straight games with a sack for Justin Houston, who has a team-best eight sacks on the year.
— Andrew Walker (@AWalkerColts) November 17, 2019
He got off to a slow start in his new home, but the veteran is a monster again. The Colts STOLE him this offseason with a contract that only pays him $12 million a year for two years. The ageless wonder that is elite pass rushing talent has been a bargain the past few weeks.
Houston has to be stopped as he's the most consistent pass rusher on the Colts. I also bring him up for two reasons.
The first reason is I believe J.J. Watt will age better than Houston for the duration of their careers. They're roughly the same age but Watt has had injuries hobble him much more than Houston. However, coming back from injuries Houston hasn't been anywhere close to as good as his best. Watt, in my opinion, still is elite in some categories. Not to say Houston isn't good, he is, but Watt has been able to bounce back closer to his former greatness than Houston in his career.
The second reason is Houston will be the type of player the Texans should be looking to spend cap space on to round out their rosters going forward the next couple of offseasons as they lack draft picks but have cap space.
I bet the winner of Thursday's game is the AFC South champion
The Colts desperately need the win on Thursday if they have designs on winning the AFC South title. If they lose to the Texans the head-to-head will be split, and the division records would be the same dropping it down to common opponents in a tiebreaker situation. Now, obviously the division record can change drastically with the Texas still having both games against the Titans left. For the Texans, they would essentially be two games back with a loss. The Colts would own first tiebreaker which is head-to-head and that won't change based on the rest of the schedule.
The winner Thursday is the winner of the AFC South in my mind.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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*ChatGPT assisted.
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