Primetime football
Texans defense takes significant hits in 42-34 loss to Chiefs
Oct 8, 2017, 9:08 pm
Deshaun Watson had a big game, but the Texans defense lost two key cogs. Bob Levey/Getty Images
(For another view, check out Brien O'Donal's article on houstonsportsandstuff.com).
The Texans lost a game and two of their best players Sunday night.
J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus were lost for the season in Sunday night's 42-34 loss to Kansas City.
The Chiefs' Alex Smith was terrific all night, especially on third downs. They converted 7 of 10 in the first half alone and kept the Texans offense off the field.
Without Watt and Mercilus, the Texans defense was awful, and they had little chance.
Deshaun Watson was amazing once again, with five TD passes. He continues to produce points and yards and is well on his way to becoming a star. But it wasn't enough.
Watson completed just 16 of 31 passes, but threw for the five TDs and ran three times for 31 yards. He was awesome, but the Texans defense was gashed without Watt and Mercilus.
The Texans fell to 2-3 on the season, while the Chiefs are 5-0.
Smith continues to play like an MVP for KC. He was 29 of 37 for 324 yards and three TDs and was at his best on third down.
Now the Texans are left with a below average defense. DC Mike Vrabel's play calling was questionable to begin with, and without Watt and Mercilus, they are up against it. Watson's emergence can't overcome that.
In a few short weeks, the Texans have gone from a team with an elite defense and anemic offense to having a great offense and no defense.
The good news is they get Cleveland next week and have some time to figure out what to do.
But the Texans lost more than a football game Sunday night. How they respond will define their season.
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Over the weekend, the big domino finally fell with Juan Soto agreeing to a 15-year, $765 million megadeal with the New York Mets. Which means Alex Bregman and the other top free agents on the market should soon follow in short order.
In fact, we're already seeing reports from Rob Bradford of WEEI and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale claiming that the Red Sox and Yankees are “expected” to make a run at Bregman.
Soto heading to the National League certainly feels like a win for Astros fans, but that could change if missing out on Soto causes the Yankees to pry Breggy away from Houston.
We'll have to wait and see how this plays out before we get too excited. However, one thing is for sure, all the free agents on the market have to be thrilled about the size of Soto's deal. Not to mention Willy Adames' 7-year, $182 million deal with the Giants that could help Bregman's chances of receiving a more lucrative deal than the Astros reportedly offered him, 6- years, $154 million.
What's really eye-opening about Soto's contract is how it could impact Framber Valdez and Kyle Tucker, specifically Tucker. It's hard to imagine Tucker won't get an offer of at least $300 million, and at this point $400 million wouldn't surprise us.
Historically, the Astros don't trade their big name free agents before their contracts expire, but perhaps they should rethink that approach with King Tuck. If they won't even entertain a deal approaching $300 million, it might be worth taking a step back this year to replenish the farm system and focus on the team long-term.
Speaking of trades, the Astros are reportedly calling anyone who will listen about the availability of Ryan Pressly.
Don't miss the video above as we react to the Soto deal, share our thoughts on how it could impact the Astros championship window, and much more!