ANOTHER ROUGH DAY
Texans fail to show up, provide Christmas stinker in 34-6 loss to Steelers
Dec 25, 2017, 6:38 pm
Merry Christmas from the Texans! Their present to the fans in Houston: a 34-6 loss that they were never a real threat to compete in. Really, they didn't even look like they wanted to play in this game and fell to 4-11 for the season.
Other than Jadeveon Clowney flying all over the field on defense and an amazing catch by DeAndre Hopkins, everyone else on the Texans looked lethargic. Maybe they ate too much Christmas dinner before kickoff.
Meanwhile, the injuries continue to pile up at the quarterback position for Houston. Their fourth of the season, Taylor Heinicke, made his professional debut when T.J. Yates went to the sideline for a concussion evaluation in the second quarter. He looked like any other quarterback not named Watson and finished the day being evaluated for his own concussion. Yates was cleared to return right before Heinicke went down and came back in to finish what he stared
DeAndre Hopkins had another decent day at the office, adding four receptions, 65-yards and a touchdown to the 92/1,313/12 that he came in with. His touchdown in the fourth quarter quickly went on the short list for one of the best catches in the NFL this season. He tipped it to himself with one hand then caught it with one hand while falling out of bounds. It was a beautiful site to behold, his own Christmas miracle.
The rest of the game wasn't so amazing. T.J. Yates had two turnovers in the first half and threw for only eight yards on seven attempts. He improved in the second half getting 59 yards and a touchdown on 9 attempts. The best thing they had going for them was the running game. Alfred Blue led the team with sixteen carries for 108 yards, including a 48-yard burst at the start of the second quarter.
That big run by Blue set them up in the red zone with a chance to cut into the ten-point deficit. But when your season doesn't matter, the coach can make bold choices. At the one yard line, Bill O'Brien called passes on 3rd and 4th down. The second of those passes by Yates found itself in the arms of Artie Burns for an interception. That would be the closest Houston came to putting points on the board until it didn't matter anymore.
Pittsburgh controlled this game from start to finish and the Texans couldn't stop Le'Veon Bell from averaging 4.9 yards per carry and 5.6 yards per reception. He finished the game with 96 total yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.
The Steelers scored ten points on their first two drives while the Texans could only muster twenty-four total yards in theirs. From then on it was all about ball control for the Steelers while their defense shut down almost every possession Houston had.
Defensively, the Texans were allowing 27 points and 355 yards per game before facing the Steelers. They kept it up by allowing 34 points and 324 yards of offense to their opponent.
This game should have been flexed out of this spot, but I guess the league just wanted to see Pittsburgh. It was never competitive and the only big highlights were a long run by Alfred Blue and the touchdown by Hopkins. Everything else I saw was not worth the time I spent watching it.
Next week the Texans travel to Indianapolis to finish this season. The Colts only have 3 wins on the year and the Texans will be playing a team they can beat to end the year on a high note. All they really need is for more than a couple of players to show up and give a better effort.
Two first-place teams, identical records, and a weekend set with serious measuring-stick energy.
The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Friday night at Daikin Park, in what could quietly be one of the more telling matchups of the summer. Both teams enter at 48-33, each atop their respective divisions — but trending in slightly different directions.
The Astros have been red-hot, going 7-3 over their last 10 while outscoring opponents by 11 runs. They've done it behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with a collective 3.41 ERA that ranks second in the American League. Houston has also been dominant at home, where they’ve compiled a 30-13 record — a stat that looms large heading into this weekend.
On the other side, the Cubs have held their ground in the NL Central but have shown some recent shakiness. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games and have given up 5.66 runs per game over that stretch. Still, the offense remains dangerous, ranking fifth in on-base percentage across the majors. Kyle Tucker leads the way with a .287 average, 16 homers, and 49 RBIs, while Michael Busch has been hot of late, collecting 12 hits in his last 37 at-bats.
Friday’s pitching matchup features Houston’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Chicago’s Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), a promising young arm making one of his biggest starts of the season on the road. Horton will have his hands full with Isaac Paredes, who’s slugged 16 homers on the year, and Mauricio Dubón, who’s found a groove with four home runs over his last 10 games.
It’s the first meeting of the season between these two clubs — and if the trends continue, it may not be the last time they cross paths when it really counts.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
Here's a preview of Joe Espada's Game 1 lineup.
The first thing that stands out is rookie Cam Smith is hitting cleanup, followed by Jake Meyers. Victor Caratini is the DH and is hitting sixth. Christian Walker is all the way down at seventh, followed by Yainer Diaz, and Taylor Trammell who is playing left field.
How the mighty have fallen.
Pretty wild to see Walker and Diaz hitting this low in the lineup. However, it's justified, based on performance. Walker is hitting a pathetic .214 and Diaz is slightly better sporting a .238 batting average.
Screenshot via: MLB.com
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