The Houston Texans have clawed their way back to a .500 record at 5-5 with a 16-13 win over the Tennessee Titans. This was another must-win game as they try to fight their way into the AFC playoff picture.
Despite the win, the offense continued its trend of looking awful for most of the game. After having a Week 4, 26-0 thumping of the Titans, this outing was much more of an offensive struggle; meanwhile, the Titans actually scored this week.
The overall play stats look fine, but the box score tells the actual story of the game: the offense struggled throughout and only came on late when they were needed.
Texans Digging an Early Hole
The team started by choosing to receive the opening kick and went into halftime down 3-0, punting three times in the first half and adding a turnover on downs. The offense was 3-for-14 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down conversions.
The biggest takeaway was that Davis Mills has been able to get Nico Collins going in the past two games.
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Mills went 26-for-41 for 274 yards and a touchdown. He has been solid in his two starts while C.J. Stroud has been out in concussion protocol, but the team is starting to see the difference in how Stroud operates the offense versus Mills.
The running game was less than impressive as Woody Marks (44 yards), Nick Chubb (17 yards), and Davis Mills (14 yards) combined for just 75 rushing yards. Nico Collins had another good individual game with nine catches and 92 yards. No other receiver had more than 55 yards.
The offensive line did not have the best day, as they gave up eight quarterback hits and four total sacks. Arden Key spent a lot of time in the Texans’ backfield — he had 1.5 sacks, and three QB hits. As the Texans prepare for the Buffalo Bills, they have to get the offensive line on the same page during this short week.
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Just Keep Winning
A win in the NFL is a win, but the Texans’ offense has to get rolling as their next three opponents are the Buffalo Bills on a short week, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the division-leading Indianapolis Colts. If the Texans want to jump the Jacksonville Jaguars as the second AFC South team to make the playoffs, the offense cannot continue to be the glaringly obvious weak link of the team.
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