Broncos 38, Texans 24

Texans vs Broncos: Good, bad and ugly

Texans vs Broncos: Good, bad and ugly
Getty Images

After last week's win, the Texans followed it up pooping the bed by losing to the going nowhere fast Broncos at home in dramatic fashion. Here are my observations:

The Good

-Carlos Hyde had 73 yards rushing and averaged 5.2 yards per carry. Yay.

-DeAndre Hopkins had seven catches for 120 yards and a touchdown. Whoopie.

-Keke Coutee must be out of the doghouse because he had five catches for 68 yards. Good for him.

The Bad

-Covering tight ends continues to be an Achilles heel for this team. Bronco tight ends combined for six catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie Noah Fant did most of the damage. Jonathan Joseph whiffed on a play on the ball and Fant took that pass 48 yards. That sparked the downfall on the Broncos first possession.

-Broncos rookie quarterback Drew Lock went 16/19 for 235 yards and three touchdowns...IN THE FIRST HALF! In comparison, future Hall of Famer Tom Brady was 7/19 for 82 yards no touchdowns and an interception in last week's first half. Lock finished 22/27 for 309 yards.

-Laremy Tunsil got caled for 317 penalties, while Lonnie Johnson Jr was called for 246. A little hyperbole isn't far from the truth considering how many times both guys were responsible for Texans' penalties. This team continues to have a penchant for dumbass penalties.

The Ugly

-Keke Coutee was finally active and appeared to make a couple plays early. However, he fumbled on his second catch of the game and the Broncos recovered. The salt in the wound: Kareem Jackson took a hand off from Jeremiah Attaochu and scored on the fumble return.

-With 6:27 left in the 3rd quarter, the Broncos ran 39 plays, scored 38 points, had only 38 rushing yards and had barely had the ball for 20 minutes. The Texans brought a new meaning to defensive inefficiency this game.

-How ugly did this game get? Courtesy of @Dune_in_Katy, he took a video of the parking lot exit very early on in the 3rd quarter. I don't blame the fans not one bit for leaving that early. The game was 38-3 if I'm not mistaken. A five touchdown deficit at home to a 4-8 team when you're a division leader is beyond pitiful.

WTF WAS THAT?!? Building on wins is a part of becoming a true contender. Not if you're the Houston Texans. This was the typical piss the bed type of performance we've seen from this team time and again. It's not like they were going against an all star team. Von Miller was hobbled and looked like he was maybe 75% or so. Lock is a rookie quarterback, not a perennial All Pro! This was all too familiar: making a big statement, only to have runny diarrhea while wearing a custom-made suit. When is this team going to take two steps forward without taking two steps back? I'm not saying it's time for the fans to stop supporting this franchise, but they expect and deserve better for all the years they've remained loyal. Just when Bill O'Brien gets some credit, he goes and falls off the wagon. Honestly, most of this could and should be on Romeo Crennel because of his play calling on defense. O'Brien gets blame because he's the Grand Poobah of all things Texans. So much for a 12 win season. They better look to winning the division and that starts next week against the Titans.

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
The Rangers beat the Astros, 5-1. Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images.

Joc Pederson broke a tie with a two-run home run in the sixth inning, Wyatt Langford hit a solo shot in a two-run seventh and the Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros 5-1 on Saturday night.

Tyler Mahle (5-1) allowed the one run over six innings, keeping his ERA at 1.47 — ranking third in the AL.

The Rangers have taken two of the first three games of the four-game series.

Pederson, hitting .123 with four RBI to that point as Texas’ primary DH this season, followed Marcus Semien’s one-out single off Ronel Blanco (3-4) with a drive to right-center for his second homer of the season.

Langford’s homer off Bennett Sousa immediately followed Josh Smith’s sacrifice fly that scored Sam Haggerty. Haggerty led off with a walk and was picked off first base, but he reached third when first baseman Christian Walker threw low to second base.

The Astros took a 1-0 lead four batters in when Walker hit a 3-2 fastball for an opposite-field double to score Isaac Paredes.

Texas tied it in the third when Langford singled home Kyle Higashioka, who walked and reached third on Haggerty’s ground-rule double.

The Astros left seven runners on base and were 0 for 4 hitting with runners in scoring position.

Key moment

Haggerty was a late replacement in Texas’ lineup after Evan Carter was scratched with right quadriceps tightness.

Key stat

Three Rangers starters rank in the AL’s 10 top in ERA, Mahle joined by Nathan Eovaldi (fourth at 1.51) and Jacob deGrom (10th at 2.29).

Up next

Astros LHP Framber Valdez (2-4, 3.54 ERA) was set to face Rangers rookie RHP Jack Leiter (3-2, 4.34) on Sunday in the series finale.

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome