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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.
Jacob deGrom went eight innings to win his fourth consecutive start for the Texas Rangers, who got Jake Burger's solo home run off Hunter Brown in a 1-0 win over the Houston Astros on Thursday night in an anticipated pitchers' duel that certainly lived up to expectations.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner deGrom (4-1) is having quite a comeback after missing most of the last two seasons following Tommy John surgery. The 36-year-old right-hander struck out seven, two of those to end innings with two runners on base, while walking one and giving up five hits.
Brown (6-2), who is 10 years younger that deGrom, struck out nine without a walk while scattering three hits in his first career complete game. The righty was tied for the major league lead in wins and retired the first 12 batters he faced before Adolis García lined a double to left to start the fifth.
Shawn Armstrong worked around a two-out walk in the ninth for his second save.
Burger went deep leading off the sixth, a 394-foot drive into the Texas bullpen in right-center for his fourth homer of the season.
Key moment
Rangers right fielder García made a sliding catch of a sinking liner by Mauricio Dubón for the final out of the seventh when Houston had a runner at second base. García had several nice plays, including a sliding catch near the line after running a long way to open the fourth.
Key stat
Bruce Bochy got his 2,195th career win to break a tie with Sparky Anderson for the sixth-most by an MLB manager. Bochy, who turned 70 last month, is in his 28th season as a manager, his third in Texas.
Up next
Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (4-2, 1.78 ERA) goes into Friday night having allowed only two earned runs over 25 innings in his last four starts (3-0). Right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. (0-1, 15.75) makes only his third start for Houston since the 2022 World Series.