FALCON POINTS

Texans offense is out of this world in 53-32 romp over Atlanta

Texans offense is out of this world in 53-32 romp over Atlanta
Getty Images

Sunday's 53-32 win over the Falcons was impressive, but it was also one that should have Texans fans scratching their heads. Where was this offense last week? In what has been a season of inconsistency, good Deshaun Watson and the offense showed up big time. Watson was 28 of 33 for a career high 426 yards and five TDs and also rushed four times for another 47 yards. Let's take a look at how it played out.

Offense

The positives: Watson got rid of the ball quickly and had the best game of his career. He did not turn it over and threw as many touchdowns as he had incompletions. The offensive line played very well, allowing zero sacks. They averaged 4.9 per carry on the ground and rushed for 166 yards. Will Fuller had a career day with 14 catches for 217 yards and three touchdowns. As a team, the Texans put up 592 yards on offense. This is why the Texans are so frustrating; they show us this brilliant offense every now and then, but then throw in some donkeys like they did last week. The tight ends returned including three catches, two by Darren Fells for touchdowns. He spoke with SBNation about it.

Yes, the Falcons defense is not good, but the Texans took advantage. Impressive effort.

The negatives: Not much, actually. Max Scharping had two false start penalties on one series in the second half, and the team had too many penalties in general. But otherwise, this was a stellar performance. Ka'imi Fairbairn missed two more extra points.

Defense

The positives: While they did not get a ton of pressure on Matt Ryan, they did enough to disrupt him at times. The Falcons put up 17 first half points, but none in the third quarter thanks to some great adjustments. Tashaun Gipson had a pick six late in the game to rub it in a little.

The negatives: They did get pushed around in the first half, but the Falcons have some serious weapons on offense. Jonathan Joseph continued to get beat on a regular basis. J.J. Watt had a pair of roughing the passer penalties and could have had a third.

The bottom line

This was a dominant performance, a fun game to watch, and a hint of what the Texans can be if they just find more consistency. They will need a similar performance next week, as they take on the juggernaut that is Kansas City. But this was one of their best efforts in a long time.

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
The Angels beat the Astros, 4-1. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.

Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.

The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.

Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.

Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.

Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.

Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.

Key moment

Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.

Key Stat

Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.

Up next

Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome