The streak is over, but hope is not lost
The good, bad, and ugly from the Texans loss to the Colts
The streak is over as the Texans lost to the Colts 24-21. Here's how I saw the end of the streak play out:
The Good
-Deshaun Watson made another play not many can make from the quarterback position. On their first touchdown drive, he scrambled around to keep a play alive and found Jordan Akins on the sideline. He escaped would-be sackers and dropped a dime to Akins where only he could catch it. Plays like this are why this guy is special.
-J.J. Watt registered his 12th sack on the year. He continued his bid for comeback player of the year. He's rounding back into his past form, but I think he needs to get his cardio up. He looks gassed at times. All in all, it's great to see him back and performing at a high level.
-Watson has shown he's willing to throw to his wide receivers often, especially DeAndre Hopkins. This game however, the tight ends held his attention. Akins, Ryan Griffin, and Jordan Thomas totaled 11 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown.
The Bad
-Andre Hal came up big with another interception this week, but it was wasted. The offense went backwards and lost nine yards in a three and out possession. Points off turnovers are critical to success.
-Not sure who blew the coverage, Justin Reid or Tyrann Mathieu, but T.Y. Hilton caught a 60-yard pass that set up the Colts' first touchdown. It looked like a cover 2 and Mathieu failed to play his portion of the deep zone. The secondary was atrocious.
-Watson was sacked in the red zone on their second touchdown drive. He's been sacked in the red zone a league leading 12 times this season. If I'm not mistaken, he's also near the top when it comes to interceptions in the red zone as well. These are the type of mistakes are things you can't do if you expect to be taken seriously as a contender.
The Ugly
-Colts tight end Eric Ebron continued the tradition of opposing tight ends killing the Texans. So did Hilton. They combined to finish with 10 catches for 201 yards and a touchdown. Hilton has been a Texans killer his whole career. Decent tight ends in general have always killed them as well.
-The defense missed sacks on Andrew Luck no less than six or seven times. I understand his pass protection has been like the Great Wall of China the last few weeks, but isn't the Texans' pass rush supposed to be elite?
-Jadeveon Clowney killed any chances of a comeback when he jumped offsides on 3rd & 1 with two minutes left in the game and the team down 24-21 with no timeouts left. What an awful way for their hot streak to end. But, Clowney gonna Clowney.
To win nine straight after losing the first three games of the season is great. But to lose this game with a chance to wrap up the division is a heartbreaker. No worries though Texans fans. There's still hope. Thank the Dolphins for beating the Patriots. But the Texans couldn't grab the two seed in the AFC because they wet the bed against the Colts. Here's to hoping the Texans win out and the Patriots drop another one.
