The Houston Texans checked the two most important boxes on their mythical pregame “to do” list for their Week 13 game Sunday in Jacksonville against the Jaguars — they won the game (23-20, final score, CHECK) and they showed signs of life on offense in the second half (17 points, CHECK). For a team who’d lost four of their previous six games, and whose offense had scored one second half touchdown in those games, we call that a good start!
There was plenty to critique and pick at about this game, as well. A three point win over a 2-9 football team isn’t a masterpiece that anyone is sending to Canton. However, with the Colts keeping pace with a 25-24 win over New England on Sunday, and remaining two games back of the Texans, a loss to the Jags would have been a disaster.
Also, the bye week has finally arrived, 13 weeks in. I can’t imagine sitting around for two weeks after consecutive losses to the Titans and Jaguars. So, good job, Texans! We will take a win. Get ready to step up in weight class after the bye week, with the Dolphins, Chiefs, and Ravens in a ten day period. Wow. Okay, let’s get to winners and losers:
WINNERS
4. Pass protection
Look, the pass protection by the Texans’ offensive line has been the genesis of practically everything that ails the Texans offensively. It’s the biggest reason they can’t move the ball, it’s the biggest reason that C.J. Stroud has regressed (at least, statistically), and it is the biggest thing that could get Stroud hurt. On Sunday, the pass protection was very good, allowing just two sacks of Stroud, both of which came in the first quarter. This is made more impressive by the fact that the Jags’ defensive strength is their tandem at defensive end, Josh Hines-Allen and Travis Walker. This was a big step in the right direction.
3. Joe Mixon
At the half, Mixon had eight carries for just 19 yards. It was tough sledding on the ground throughout the first half. Then in the second half, the Texans figured some things out. Mixon was able to attack the edges of the Jags’ defense, and the Texans were able to break through with a Mixon touchdown, one play after a Mixon 30 yard run. Mixon now leads the NFL in 100 yard games with seven, and now has gone over 100 yard with a touchdown in six straight road games, the first player to do that since 1970.
2. Clean(er) football
The Texans certainly did some things better in this game than they had for most of the year. We listed a couple of them already. However, the biggest positive about this game, other than the final score, was the minimal amount of negative impact plays and boneheaded penalties committed by the Texans. They only committed three penalties for 15 yards, and only gave up one massive chunk play on defense (Brian Thomas, 56 yard catch and run). Maybe the message at practice is finally getting through.
1. Nico Collins
Collins himself actually had one negative play that ended up being impactful, a drop on first down midway though the fourth quarter, that stopped the clock and led to a three and out two plays later. Aside from that Collins was sublime, with eight catches for 119 yards. No other receiver in the NFL is averaging over 100 yards per game. Collins is the only one. I don’t even want to imagine what this offense looks like without him. (And by “imagine” I mean “go back and watch the five games he missed earlier this season. That was not fun.)
LOSERS
4. Azeez Al-Shaair
Okay, I would post the video of the hit that Al-Shaair had on Jags QB Trevor Lawrence, but the NFL social media gestapo seems to have scrubbed it from Twitter. Just know that Al-Shaair was ejected from the game, and started a brawl that lasted a good ten minutes between the two teams. Al-Shaair also had to be restrained from going after fans throwing objects from the stands. For me, I have Al-Shaair in this category because I thought the hit had a dirty element to it, specifically the use of his forearm, covered in a metal brace, across Lawrence’s. The question now is whether Al-Shaair will get suspended, as he has authored many hits throughout his career that end up on the league’s discipline desk on Mondays.
3. Texans pass rush
A week after sacking Will Levis eight times, the Texans’ pass rush was a complete non factor in this game. Whether it was Lawrence or his replacement, Mac Jones, each had all sorts of time to find open receivers. Specifically, Pro Bowlers Danielle Hunter (10.5 sacks this season) and Will Anderson (9.5) were invisible all day. Anderson was shut out from even one tackle, which is the exact amount of tackles Hunter had. Honestly, when you consider how tame the pass rush was, the Texans might feel lucky to have won this game.
2. Tank Dell
Dell’s up and down season continued on Sunday with just one catch for 23 yards. There was a play where Dell was able to get open deep in the first half, and Stroud just severely underthrew the football, so Dell can still find space out there. For whatever reason, that connection he had with Stroud last season isn’t there in 2024. Credit the Texans for letting Dell return punts in the second half. If you have to find ways to involve Dell, and punt returns are it, then so be it.
1. No killer instinct
The Texans led this game 23-6 with 12:11 to go in the fourth quarter, after Dalton Schultz’s first touchdown of the season. The Jags, a 2-9 outfit, had their backup quarterback (who’s sucked when he’s played, for the most part, this season) in the game. There should be no excuse for the Jaguars to even sniff a chance at winning this game, and yet the Texans found a way to make Mac Jones look like Joe Montana for the remainder of the game. On two touchdown drives that cut the lead to three, Jones went 13 of 18 for 134 yards and two touchdowns. That’s a 130.3 passer rating allowed… TO MAC JONES. Unacceptable.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
