The Houston Texans (0-1) enter a crucial matchup in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0). The team will look to regroup after their Week 1 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. It is a pivotal game as the Texans look to avoid starting the season 0-2, which would significantly diminish their playoff chances.
While the Texans are no strangers to a slow start, having still made the playoffs in 2018 and 2023 after 0-2 starts, it would be best not to have to claw out the season two games in.
Offense Has to Wake Up
CJ Stroud was 19-27, throwing for 188 yards and one interception against the Rams. While
he wasn’t terrible, his performance wasn’t enough to get the team more than nine total points.
Nico Collins has to be implemented into the game plan more in Week 2; he only had three catches for 25 yards. The Pro Bowl receiver needs to be targeted more. If he is, it should present better opportunities for other receivers.
The run game needs to get going quicker.
Nick Chubb was alright, with 13 carries for 60 yards, but no other running back was remotely effective. The second leading rusher was Stroud with 32 yards, followed by
Dare Ogunbowale with nine yards. While Ogunbowale is more of a pass catcher out of the backfield, the running game cannot sit and wait for
Joe Mixon to return to get going. Chubb has to get rolling sooner in the game to make Houston’s offense less predictable.
Defensive Aggression Needs to Ramp up
The story of Week 1 was a defensive battle, but one that led to
Puka Nacua torching the secondary for 130 yards. The Texans
cannot allow Mike Evans or rookie
Emeka Egbuka to burn them. Evans had five catches for 51 yards, and Egbuka had four for 67 yards and two touchdowns against the Atlanta Falcons last week. Wide receiver
Chris Godwin and tackle
Tristan Wirfs are out for
Monday’s game, which should give the defense more chances to get to
Baker Mayfield and cover Evans and Egbuka better.
Don’t take the eyes off the run game, but it shouldn’t scare the Texans, as their leading rusher was quarterback
Baker Mayfield, with five carries for 39 yards. Running back
Bucky Irving having 14 carries for 37 yards.
Focus, Focus, Focus
The Texans have to have more focus this week and cut back on the penalties. They had too many drive killers and extenders in Week 1, with 11 penalties for 80 yards. Tampa Bay only had five penalties for 60 yards against the Falcons, in comparison. Eliminating pre-snap mistakes will help the Texans avoid long drives and downs.
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The Texans cannot afford to back themselves up against a wall by starting off 0-2. C.J. Stroud made himself known to the NFL against the Bucs in 2023, when they won 39-37. They need to make the 2025 matchup the reminder that the Texans are for real and a playoff contender.
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