Texans 22, Bills 19
Texans vs Bills Wildcard Playoff: Good, bad & ugly
Jan 4, 2020, 7:16 pm
Texans 22, Bills 19
Another home playoff game in the Bill O'Brien era, another heartache. At least this time it ended in a victory. Here are my observations of the Texans' overtime win:
-J.J. Watt came up with a sack that helped force a field goal after the Texans turned the ball over in their own territory. On the 3rd&8 play, he beat the Bills' rookie right tackle with one move and Josh Allen had nowhere to go. Good to see him back less than three months away from tearing his pectoral muscle. This sack was a clear turning point in the game, and it was made that much sweeter when...
-...the effort of Deshaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins, Duke Johnson, and Carlos Hyde to take the offense down and score. Watson put the team on his back with a touchdown run and two-point conversion to make it 16-8. From that point forward, Watson put the team on his back, literally and figuratively. His wizardry to evade defenders often gets him in trouble, or it sets up a game-winning field goal in overtime.
-Gareon Conley made two touchdown-saving plays in the 1st half. One was an athletic breakup, the other was a heads up arm grab to ensure Duke Williams dropped the ball. Both were on key 3rd downs and both resulted in the Bills settling for field goals. The halftime score could've been 21-0 instead of 13-0 if it weren't for Conley.
*Honorable Mention goes to Whitney Mercilus. He's been M.I.A. for a large stretch of the season. When he recently signed an extension, it was deemed laughable. However, he earned a good portion of that money today with his performance, especially in the clutch.
-The Texans won the coin toss and deferred to the 2nd half. The defense couldn't hold the Bills juggernaut offense on the opening possession of the game and allowed them to go 75 yards in six plays for a touchdown. The chunk play on the drive: a Josh Allen 42-yard run that flipped field position. The scoring play: a Josh Allen touchdown catch. Not the way you want to start a game. But hey, at least the opening kickoff wasn't returned for a touchdown. Progress?
-At one point early in the 2nd half, Josh Allen had three times as many total yards as Deshaun Watson. To make matters worse, Watson was also sacked seven times, a few of which were his fault. Through the first 38-plus minutes of play, Watson was being outplayed by Allen and it showed on the scoreboard.
-Explosive plays are considered anything over 20 yards. The Texans were considered the more explosive offense, while the Bills were thought to be a more plodding offensive unit. That was debunked when I looked up and saw the Bills outdid the Texans in explosive plays five to three.
-Whether you want to blame the league and the refs for the sham of pass interference reviews, or Bill O'Brien for challenging it, the Texans' first drive came to a halt at the Bills' 37 yard line on 3rd&8 when Watson had Hopkins but the pass fell incomplete after some contact. It wasn't very clear, so O'Brien shouldn't have challenged it. It also shows that the refs aren't going to overturn very many of these calls. Waste of a challenge.
-Down 13-0 early in the 2nd half, the defense finally came up with a stop to force a punt. Hopkins caught his first pass of the game after the Texans came up with a huge stop, but fumbled trying to get an extra yard or two. Hopkins routinely carries the ball with one hand, but this time it cost him and his team.
-This was one of the worst tackling performances I've seen in the playoffs. While there weren't any "Beast-quake" plays made because of it, there were far too many extra yards and first downs had simply because the defense failed tackle soundly. Vernon Hargreaves' miss on Dawson Knox
The Texans managed to pull off an improbable win at home. Improbable because they put themselves behind early by not executing and committing awful mistakes. Good thing Allen was the Texans' co-MVP in this game by committing inexcusable errors. They were saved by HUGE plays from the defense and the offense finally stepping up. While they almost gave it away at the end by missing on 4th&1, they managed to hang on and get the win. They even allowed the Bills back in it with a field goal to send it to overtime. Remember when Dabo Swinney called Watson the "Michael Jordan" of football? This game made that proclamation appear like a prophecy. Let's see how they look next week after this thriller. Coming from 16 down in this fashion to win makes this team believe they can beat anyone.
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!