These final few games of the 2022 season for the Houston Texans are going to be a roller coaster emotionally. On the one hand, the final three games are all against hated divisional foes — Tennessee, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis — so naturally, it’s fine to beat them. On the other hand, there is a the small matter of losses greasing the skids for the number one overall pick in this spring’s draft.
So, yes, the Texans 19-14 win over the Tennessee Titans is a complicated thing. On the one hand, contributing to the Titans’ hilarious plunge from division leader to also ran is a LOT of fun. On the other hand, while the Texans still have the inside track to the No. 1 overall pick, things are much tighter now, with the Texans at 2-12-1 and the Bears, who beat the Texans in Week 3, at 3-12.
For now, we celebrate the holiday season and savor the victory. Unfortunately, these don’t come along often. Let’s call out the winners and losers from this game and the weekend that was:
WINNERS
4. Snow Miser
In the eternal holiday struggle of warm weather versus cold weather, embodied by the legendary Snow Miser versus Heat Miser rivalry in the Christmas special “Year Without a Santa Claus,” Snow Miser won in a landslide this year, and it impacted the NFL in a big, big way:
It wasn’t just the Texans game that was played in arctic conditions either. The early window games that had temperatures at kickoff well below freezing were Cleveland, Baltimore, Chicago, Kansas City and New England. Advantage, Snow Miser!
3. The streak is over!
This has a dual meaning as it applies to the Texans’ overall 2022 season record and their success, or lack thereof, against Titans running back Derrick Henry. The 19-14 victory snapped a gruesome nine game losing streak this season for the Texans, and perhaps more acutely, they snapped the streak of 200-plus yard, 2-plus touchdown games from Henry. Henry was still easily the best football player on the field on Saturday, with 126 yards on 23 carries (5.5 yards per carry), but the Texans bottled him up as well as could be expected, and they were able to force a Henry fumble early in the fourth quarter. Speaking of which…
2. Rookie turnovers
How about those three fourth quarter turnovers! The staple of the Texans’ previous two near misses against the Cowboys and Chiefs was their ability to turn those teams over. It took a while on Sunday, but the Texans ended up getting three takeaways, all forced by rookies. There was the Jake Hansen forced fumble on Derrick Henry that led to a Texans field goal. There was the late interception by Christian Harris, and finally there was the interception by safety Jalen Pitre on the final Hail Mary throw by Malik Willis. All in all, a good day for Texans defensive rookies.
1. Ogbo Okoronkwo
Finally, in the winners’ circle, we have one of the Texans’ role playing veterans upping his game big time. Ogbo Okoronkwo, a Houston native, has been a very productive pass rusher of late, but on Saturday, he took his game to the next level. Okoronkwo finished with five tackles for the game. The five tackles were two sacks and three tackles for loss, which means that every time Okoronkwo was bringing down a ball carrier, the Titans were moving backward.
LOSERS
4. Nashville
The kickoff time for this game had to be pushed back by an hour, because of rolling blackouts throughout the city of Nashville throughout the day. Evidently, they’re dealing with energy grid issues like Houston did a couple years ago during the February Freeze. Never mind that delaying the game meant pushing the END of the game into a colder part of the day, putting MORE pressure on their grid, but whatever. Also, the Titans’s stadium crew was late getting the Texans’ bench area assembled before the game. All in all, it sounds like kind of a clown show up in the Music City.
3. Nico Collins
Nico Collins didn’t play in the game on Sunday, so you’re probably wondering how I can put him in the “loser” category when he didn’t even play. Actually, his unavailability is the exact reason I am putting him here. Collins was one of the most improved players coming out of training camp, and when he’s been on the field this season, he’s done a nice job. The problem is that he missed a few games last season with injuries, and now he’s missed time with a groin injury this season, and was put on the injured reserve list because of a foot injury. Like it or not, Collins enters the 2023 season with the “injury prone” label.
2. Malik Willis
There’s going to be a lot of draft talk coming up in the next few months. There will be plenty of speculation about what the Texans plan to do at quarterback in the draft. A good reminder about just how inexact the whole draft process can be is Mailk Willis, the Titans’ rookie quarterback who started against the Texans for the second time this season. This time a year ago, Willis was the potential darling of the 2022 draft, a sure fire first round pick out of Liberty. By the time the draft rolls around, he didn’t get picked until the third round, and the early returns show a young man who is COMPLETELY overwhelmed by NFL football. He’s not the first rookie to look that way in an NFL game, but if I had to bet, I would bet against Malik Willis right now.
1. Stress free Bryce Young rooting
That provides a good segue into what that win meant for the Texans’ chances at picking first overall in the 2023 draft, and thus, getting a crack at Alabama’s Bryce Young (and whatever aforementioned rookie uncertainty comes with him). The Texans currently still sit at first overall in the draft order, but things got tighter on Saturday. The Texans now sit at 2-12-1, while the Bears would be picking second, and they are 3-12. Down the stretch, the Texans play the Jaguars at home, and the Colts on the road. The Bears play the Lions in Detroit, and the Vikings at home. The Texans and Bears will be underdogs in all four of those games, so the stress level on draft order should be ample! It’s gonna be fun!
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2022.
