
Deshaun Watson needs to avoid getting hit. Andy Lyons/Getty Images
It's Monday and there's plenty to still digest from the Texans game.
Red Zone Has Fans Seeing Red
It started off so nice. The Texans got into the Cowboys red zone at the end of the first in thanks to the first of many Deandre Hopkins big plays and then the old ugly penalties raised their head. Negative yards, but, alas, a new Texans team. First and goal from the 14 turned into third and one thanks to Watson's legs. Keke Coutee would score on a shovel pass on the next play.
That was about the last time the red zone play looked cohesive and positive for the Texans.
From the play calls to the execution and everything in between, it was tough to see the Texans constantly settle for field goals when they were so close. It was especially frustrating to see them come away with no points on a bad play to end the half, and later, on fourth and nearly two, call a play that easily would have got them the points in the second quarter.
"Not this year," O'Brien exclaimed when someone brought up the Texans success from last season in the red zone. O'Brien then took a good portion of the blame.
"It starts with me," he said. "I've got to do a better job teaching it and designing it."
O'Brien said there is a menu of plays they can call in the red area and they called them all but "not many of them worked."
Yes, Bill O'Brien has to be better. That's a given. From design to the coaching of execution. This is on Watson and the pass catchers too. Watson can't take off as much and as quick and someone has to win their matchup and get open. If Watson is tossing from the pocket to guys who seemingly have won their matchup the success rate is going to be higher and it sure as heck will be better looking.
Deshaun Watson Hit Maker and Hit Taker
Deshaun Watson again made plays few quarterbacks in the NFL are capable of making and no Texans quarterback has ever been capable of making. He showed massive improvement from just last week on a variety of areas. This is an important skill for a young quarterback to display. Watson also completed 75 percent of his passes which shows how effiecient he is with the passing when the offense is humming.
Now, let's hope he uses it this next week. He can't put his body in harm's way like he did Sunday against the Cowboys. That isn't practical. This team is going nowhere without him so he needs to remain healthy. If it means sacrificing a few yards on any given play so be it. Also, the interception was a clear example of trying to do too much. It isn't ideal in that situation, but a sack is the right move. The Cowboys didn't but could have won the game off that turnover.
Bill O'Brien chalked up some of the hits as it is Watson's style and that's a product of how he plays and how he likes to play. It has to change. It wasn't like he was being tackled like a running back either. He was taking big pops from the Dallas defense. He has to take better care of himself.
Dallas Stars Neutralized
The Texans deserve kudos for how they handled the two best players on the Cowboys in this game. Demarcus Lawrence entered the game the NFL's sack leader and Ezekiel Elliot entered this week as the NFL's rushing leader. You wouldn't know either of those was the truth if you watched this game.
"Good team defense," O'Brien said. "Ezekiel Elliot is a great player. I thought that our guys really played good team defense."
Lawrence found himself with just one tackle in the final stat sheet. Now, don't get me wrong. He was disruptive and he required attention but kudos to Kendall Lamm who two weeks in a row has dealt with hot pass rushes.
O'Brien said the team "put a lot of guys" on Lawrence but credited the players who won their one-on-one matchups against the prolific pass rusher.
Elliot was, of course, the focal point of the defense. He earned just 84 yards total, with 54 of them being rushing yards on 20 attempts. Benardrick McKinney and Zach Cunningham set the tone at linebacker and the secondary was quick to clean up any action that headed their way with Justin Reid, Kareem Jackson, and Tyrann Mathieu all stuffed him at least once. J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney also got their patented stops. D.J. Reader had a really nice game at defensive tackle as well.
The defense should be commended. They played a heck of a game to slow the Cowboys only good offensive skill player.
How much trouble are the Texans in at running back?
Alfred Blue had the majority of the snaps go his way as Lamar Miller was available for an emergency only according to Bill O'Brien. He had a really nice day catching the football with eight catches and 73 yards of offense. Rushing though was a different story.
Blue had one rush for 17 yards that made up a good chunk of his 46 on the ground. The other 19 of his 20 carries went for an average of 1.5 yards per rush.
Lamar Miller hasn't exactly been a world-beater either carrying the ball. After two strong showings to start the year Miller rattled off an average of 2.5 yards per carry the past two games he played and of course, he missed this one.
The offensive line has something to do with it but so does O'Brien and his rhythm as the play caller. Rushing to the outside was a disaster against Dallas and that simply wasn't going to work. They don't seem to trust Buddy Howell as they were shorthanded and he didn't see the field. Tyler Ervin isn't used as a rusher.
Something needs to happen here because the Texans will have to call on this element of their team when a defense is slowing down Watson one day and they're going to have to hope it is a lot better than the past three games.
Is the pass protection coming together?
This might sound crazy but there's some progress here. They might have found just the right mix with Kendall Lamm at right tackle and Julién Davenport at left tackle. Martinas Rankin is the future at tackle for this team, or one would hope, but there was too much inconsistency and not nearly enough success to keep putting him out there. Thus, the Davenport start.
Against the Colts the Texans allowed seven sacks and 11 quarterback hits. Last night against the Cowboys they allowed one sack and 10 quarterback hits. Not the best line but a dramatic improvement considering the pass rush of the Cowboys is way better than the Colts. Watson can't afford extra shots in a game, he already takes enough, so this team has to make sure they keep improving on protecting him.
Lamm has been a revelation at tackle because he had not played well in any action he had prior to this. Davenport is clearly more comfortable at left tackle than right tackle. The interior has gaps, Nick Martin has had some whiffs notably among the interior, but they have come together nicely enough.
The real concern is rushing the football. Watson isn't getting a ton of designed run yards, more so that he takes off. When you take out Watson's rushing yards the Texans team average per rush was 2.28 yards per carry. That's putrid and they will not win a lot of football games if they can't get going on the ground.
I bet the Texans don't underestimate the Buffalo Bills on Sunday
The Texans know they are in for a fight, especially after Buffalo handed the Titans a loss for their second victory of the year. Sunday should be another ugly and nasty game with the Bills trying, like the Cowboys, to muddy things up and make the Texans beat themselves. If this was a one win Bills team coming to town I would be worried about the look ahead with Jacksonville in week seven. Now, with the Bills handing a fellow AFC South team a loss, the Texans have to take notice and not underestimate the Bills.
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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