FALCON POINTS
Texans offense is out of this world in 53-32 romp over Atlanta
Oct 6, 2019, 3:15 pm
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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.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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