The Texans are coming off a disappointing loss in Indy two weeks ago, 26-20, where they were trying to score from the 2 but there was a bad snap and a fumble and then the next week they got killed in Chicago, 36-7, in their worst game in more than year. We thought they had the engines running in the parking lot ready for the offseason, then they go to Indy and again they get down to the 2 with a chance to force overtime or win on a two-point conversion, but they fumbled into the end zone. So the Colts beat them by six and seven with the Texans at their 2 at the end of both games.
Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has been playing great. He's on pace to set highs in every statistical category and his best receiver, DeAndre Hopkins, got traded, Will Fuller is suspended for the last five games and slot receiver Randall Cobb is on injured reserve. Yet he leads the league in average yards per attempt and he's tied with Patrick Mahomes for the best passer rating.
He has no running game, they're last in rushing, and for some reason in the last three games they gave up as many sacks as they did in the previous 10. After this last game they put right tackle Tytus Howard on injured reserve. Watson is always throwing on the run and he's been tremendous. You would think they'd be good in the red zone with Watson, but they're 25th because they can't run the ball. If they get inside the Bengals 5, they shouldn't panic.
Their defense has struggled. Anthony Weaver is in his first year as a coordinator and a lot of people feel badly for him because he's got seven guys out. Other than J.J. Watt they've got backups playing on their line, although they're OK at inside linebacker and safety. They can't stop the run. They're 31st and it's a problem that started nine games into last season and it's continued. But I've got to say in their last five games they've given up 120 yards rushing a game and for the first nine it was 167, so they have improved, but the Bengals will still work hard to establish the run.
They don't get a lot of pressure on the quarterback. Watt always gets double-teamed and they rely on blitzes to get pressure. Whether they start Brandon Allen or Ryan Finley, expect him to get blitzed quite a bit by defensive backs. Their best defensive players are Watt and inside linebackers Zach Cunningham and Tyrell Adams.
THE EDGE: They're better than the Bengals and they're playing them here and that should help them even though this year home field advantage is almost a moot point. Watson is good enough to win this game and they'll finish 5-11. TEXANS, 27-20
What do the Texas have going for them? Deshaun Watson, Deshaun Watson, Deshaun Watson. Deshaun's ability and poise and accuracy all have combined to make him one of the league's best passers this year. He's coming off completing a career-high 80 percent of his passes last week even though the Colts sacked him five times. He still had two touchdowns and no interceptions and had a season-high 373 yards and he was voted to his third straight Pro Bowl. He's worth every penny of his big contract. He's able to build chemistry with receivers he hasn't been able to be with much.
The Texans do not have a good running game. They have a very poor inside running game. Running back David Johnson had 11 catches out of the backfield last week. They haven't been using him enough in the passing game and last week they did. A shifty little slot guy, he will fumble sometimes as he did last game and cost them the game. They have a talented left tackle in Laremy Tunsil. The rest of the line other than center Nick Martin is fairly suspect
On defense it's been a season of struggles against the run. They miss defensive tackle P.J. Hall, out for the year with a torn pec. J.J. is having by J.J. standards a bad year. For everybody else, it's a solid season. He's playing fine. Still capable of getting into the backfield and making a play for a loss. The secondary is kind of a mess with suspension and injuries.
THE EDGE: Deshaun Watson keeps rolling as Houston breaks its losing streak. TEXANS, 24-13
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