FRED FAOUR

Texans use familiar formula to knock off Redskins 23-21

Texans use familiar formula to knock off Redskins 23-21
J.J. Watt had a big sack late. Joe Robbins/Getty Images

It was grimy. It was ugly. It was also lucky.

As in Lucky No. 7.

The Texans won another close, hard-fought game, beating Washington 23-21 for a seventh consecutive victory after an 0-3 start.

It was the latest in a tough stretch of physical games. The Texans lost both starting guards early in the game and were down to only five offensive linemen. Redskins quarterback Alex Smith appeared to suffer a serious injury in the third quarter, and was replaced by veteran Colt McCoy, who led the Redskins to 14 points and a fourth-quarter lead.

For the second week in a row, an opponent missed a potential game winning field goal at the end of the fourth quarter. But this was a 63-yarder that fell well short.

On the surface, there were five reasons why the Texans could have lost the game:

  1. The Texans once again struggled in the red zone, with one touchdown in three trips.

  2. New acquisition Demaryius Thomas did not have a catch.

  3. Deshaun Watson struggled throughout, throwing two interceptions and nearly throwing several others. Thanks to that, The Texans were minus-1 in the turnover battle. He constantly put his defense in bad situations.

  4. The offensive line could not keep the Redskins off Watson, who was sacked three times and took several vicious hits.

  5. As has been the case forever, they could not guard a tight end, as Jordan Reed had 7 catches for 71 yards and it could have been worse, as Vernon Davis dropped a pass on what would have been a huge gain.

But the good news is despite all that, they escaped with a road win against a team that is leading its division.

They did it because they got a red zone interception by Justin Reid that turned into a 101-yard touchdown return. It was a 14-point swing that made all the difference.

They did it thanks to fourth quarter sacks by J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney.

They did it thanks to two key third-down conversions on their final  drive, one on a holding call on Josh Norman. It left the Redskins with too much to do and not enough time.

They did it because they were able to rush for 139 yards and average 4.5 per carry.

They won because they fought through their shaky play and did just enough, much as they did in Denver.

The end result is a 7-3 record and two-game lead in the AFC South heading into next Monday Night’s showdown with the Titans, who sit at 5-5 in a second place tie with the Colts, who continue to impress after their slow start.

Like a lot of their wins, no matter how it looked, the Texans took care of business. Good? At times. Lucky? Certainly. Ugly?

Yes, but it doesn’t matter. The Texans have won seven in a row, and are sitting pretty in the AFC South.






 

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The injury bug bites again.Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images.

The Houston Astros announced on Monday that additional imaging has revealed that Jeremy Peña is dealing with a small fracture in one of his ribs.

Peña left Friday's game after being hit by a pitch in the ribs. The club originally believed they had avoided any fractures or breaks, but new information has informed them otherwise.

Peña is heading to the 10-day injured list retroactive to June 28. This news comes at an unfortunate time, with Jeremy posting the best regular season numbers of his career. He's currently slashing .322, .378, .489 with an .867 OPS.

Peña will miss the Rockies and Dodgers series at a minimum.

Let's hope the team doesn't rush him back too soon and create an even bigger problem. These quotes above from Dana Brown have me concerned. Playing through injuries can create bad habits, and Jeremy has clearly found his swing this season.

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