What was the good, bad, and ugly from the Texans 26-23 loss?
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Sunday night’s game between the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions was a dichotomy in every sense of the word. On the one hand, the Texans had no business losing that game. On the other hand, they had no business being in that game either.
Watching the second half was like a watching a car crash in slow motion. You could see it from the first play of the half. The Texans were going to find a way to lose that game that they had worked so hard to put in their favor. As beautiful as the first half was defensively and as much as the defense fought hard against the best offense in the NFL, the offense just couldn’t make enough plays to win the game. That is as simple as we can put it.
The Key Numbers
Total Yards: Texans 248, Lions 345
Rushing Yards: Texans 28/56, Lions 32/105
Passing Yards: Texans 37/192, Lions 30/240
Turnovers: Texans 2, Lions 5
Penalties: Texans 4/30, Lions 4/61
Sacks: Texans 0, Lions 4
Time of Possession: Texans 32:28, Lions 27:32
There hasn’t been a team in my lifetime that has picked off a team five times and lost the game. It happened last night. Moreover, this is two games this year where the Texans have found a way to be +3 in turnover margin and lose. I could look up the odds of that happening, but I would probably find it too depressing. The odds of it happening twice have to be astronomical.
The sad thing is that we knew it would take that sort of game to give the Texans a chance. The Lions were the better team AND the Texans were missing key players. It was going to take some breaks and you got them. I don’t think anyone can expect a team to turn the ball over THAT often. Trey Lance could captain the Cowboys next Monday and I don’t think there is any way to expect him to throw that many picks.
At the same time, this team was dominated physically and particularly so on the offensive end. Two yards a carry is ridiculously stupid. However, I will get into more of that later when we get into the good, bad, and ugly.
The Good
As a defensive coach, DeMeco Ryans has few peers in the league. The team was without their best pass rusher and still managed to slow down the best offense going in the NFL. It is far past time to recognize that the Texans just make opposing quarterbacks miserable. I don’t know how they do it. Their pass rush is not the best in the NFL. Their secondary is not the best in the NFL. When you take each individual unit and evaluate it, there are better units out there in the NFL.
When you put them all together along with the game planning and scheme, there is no team that effectively shuts down quarterbacks like the Texans. Granted, you weren’t going to shut them down all game long. Their running attack is just too good for that. Still, the defense deserves so much more than this. They will not play an offense like that again this year unless they meet Detroit in the Super Bowl.
The Bad
Two yards a carry. Four sacks. The fact that anyone with a straight face can say they thought the offensive line looked better is a testament to how bad this offensive line has been. It actually was better than it had been in the Jets game. However, if you average four sacks a game for 17 weeks that is 68 sacks. The franchise record is 72. That tells you everything you need to know.
If you want a play that encapsulates how terrible this unit has been it was the last sack of the game where Tytus Howard not only managed to collide with his quarterback, but inexplicably grabbed at the ball and forced his own strip sack. I guess he wanted a fumble recovery on the stat sheet. It would be akin to a basketball player throwing the ball out of bounds ten times so he can have a double double.
I know that the Texans were working the phone at the trade deadline. No one is accusing them of not trying, but their failure to add ANYTHING to this offense is glaring. The Chiefs, Steelers, Ravens, Bills, and Jets alone added wide receivers. Crickets from Houston. Their run blocking is now somehow worse than it was before. There wasn’t even one backup lineman you could have added? Even a below average starter would have been an improvement.
The Ugly
It is amazing what can happen in the span of three months. When the month of August was ending, everyone in the NFL assumed that Bobby Slowik was going to be one of the two or three hottest names on the head coaching list. Now, he seems on the path to be out of work. The Texans have not scored a second half touchdown since the New England Patriots game. That was a month ago.
This team ROUTINELY gets outcoached in the second half. You can set your watch to it. Teams like the Lions go in at half time and make adjustments while Slowik is apparently winding his butt or picking his watch. How do you give your running back 25 carries when he is getting less than two yards a carry? How can that be the plan?
Over ten years ago there was an ad where two kids are trying to hammer a round peg into a square hole. One says, “it’s not going in.” The other one says, “just keep hitting it.” Next level coaching is not only fixing what hasn’t been working, but also anticipating what a defensive coach will do to shut down the things that have been working for you. DeMeco Ryans and Matt Burke seem able to do that on the defensive end. Slowik hasn’t done it once this year.
The Lions offense was definitely better in the second half, but the defense still turned them over twice and forced them to punt once. That should have been enough. Obviously, players have to play and C.J. Stroud had some questionable throws. The second interception in particular was egregious. That being said, when you see the same thing over and over again you have to point your finger at the top and that means Bobby Slowik.