RAMS BEAT TEXANS
11 observations from the Texans' 38-22 loss to the Rams
Oct 31, 2021, 3:26 pm
RAMS BEAT TEXANS
The Houston Texans haven't won since week one, but the team ended a nearly month-long touchdown drought. The Rams crushed the Texans 38-22, handing Houston their seventh straight loss.
1. The Texans defense played their worst game at home of the season. The fundamentals were somewhere between missing and sloppy. There is a severe lack of talent, which is frequently exposed with an often-archaic defense.
2. This was the first game where it felt like there was some quit on the defensive side of the ball. It crept into the performance at one time or another.
3. Vernon Hargreaves continues to play poorly. He was forced into action with Desmond King a healthy scratch for the team. Hargreaves seemed to have forced a turnover on downs but a penalty was assessed to him. The Rams would end up scoring.
4. The defense seems to be outmatched earlier and earlier in games. Sometimes the leaks spring in the second half but this week it was apparent very early on the Rams would not have a difficult day on offense.
5. Cooper Kupp increased his touchdown lead over the Texans as he added his tenth receiving touchdown of the year. The Texans answered late in the game as Brandin Cooks hauled in a Davis Mills pass for a score. Cooks is the lone pass catcher with multiple receiving scores for the Texans. The Texans would catch Kupp late in the fourth quarter as Brevin Jordan caught a pass for a touchdown.
6. Lonnie Johnson had another bad performance at safety. The former second-round pick has a handful of interceptions but on a play-to-play basis, he is very poor in coverage and run support.
7. The offensive line was manhandled by the Rams. One stretch saw the Rams sack Davis Mills four times in five offensive plays. This unit is down multiple starters, but the holdovers at guard in Tytus Howard and Max Scharping have been poor this season.
8. The rushing game was bad with Mark Ingram on the team. It got worse after his departure. David Johnson got the start and had little success. Scottie Phillips was active for the game but also had little success. Rex Burkhead had one solid series late when the Rams had backups in the game.
9. Davis Mills has little chance to succeed with the poor offensive line play. Mills did throw one of his worst interceptions yet though, as he didn't come close to passing the ball over a linebacker, instead allowing the defender to simply reach up and snag the ball out of the air. Mills showed some late life against the Rams when Los Angeles was playing prevent defense. He led three touchdown drives in the fourth quarter.
10. The Texans scored their first touchdown since the third quarter of the loss to the Patriots. Mills moved the ball against a Rams defense playing backups in prevent defense to help set up a Rex Burkhead rushing score. Houston would add two more passing touchdowns and a two-point conversion to stay within the Vegas number.
11. Houston somehow nearly surpassed their ineffective performance against the Bills from earlier in the season, but since the team scored multiple touchdowns, it finishes slightly above the Buffalo beatdown. It was an embarrassing performance for three quarters though, and the team doesn't have much hope against the better parts of their schedule. The Dolphins, one of the potentially winnable games left in 2021, are next.
The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!