Though the Houston Texans ultimately lost 31-21, the Texans were pretty much in the game until the final few minutes. But the Texans probably shouldn’t have been in this game from the beginning.
Nick Folesstarted the scoring with a long 59-yard deep ball toJeremy Maclinfor a TD. The Texans knew what Maclin brings to the table and still couldn’t stop it from happening.
Nov 2, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans defensive end
J.J. Watt(99) applies pressure to Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles (9) during the first quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The Texans had a chance to keep the ball moving early but aDuane Brownfalse start on 4th and short caused them to punt. That would be one of the many mistakes the Texans made throughout the day.
The defense, minusAndre Hal, did a pretty good job today against the Eagles.A.J. Bouyeran an interception back for six to tie up the score.Whitney Mercilushad two early sacks, one knocking out Foles for the game. That’s whenMark Sanchezcame in and finished the day with 202 passing yards, 2 TDs, and 2 INTs.
Sanchez did a good job moving the Eagles offense, and the running game owned the Texans on a 3rd quarter drive that put the Texans behind 10.
Ryan FitzpatrickfoundDeAndre Hopkinsfor a TD in the back of the endzone, but the defense couldn’t make late stops and the Eagles would score one more before putting away the game.
It was close the whole way through but the Texans made mistakes throughout the whole game that won’t win you games against the better teams in the NFL.
So what’s there to complain about? Let’s get to it.
- Ryan Fitzpatrick – Terrible showing. Missed his targets more often than not. HitArian Fosterfor a nice TD and found Hopkins for another, but a poor effort for the most part. Still like the way he’s able to scramble, but he’s not a good QB. They need to make the change.
- Pass rush – A much improved rush for the most part today. J.J. Watt had his usual 1.5 sacks but Mercilus had another 2 andJohn Simonpitched in with a half a sack. Pretty good job of non-Watt defenders showing up today.
- Andre Hal – A DeMarcus Faggins like performance. Beat on multiple throws and on a TD. Also dropped 2 INTs.
- Arian Foster – Continues to play well but came off the field limping. Not sure if it was due to turf, but it was a non-contact injury. The Texans need him healthy to have ANY success on offense.
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The Texans didn’t play a perfect game. However they were +3 in the turnover margin and they probably win this game with a middle-tiered QB. It’s too bad. I don’t know ifRyan Mallettis the answer, but I knowI’d much rather see what we have in Mallett this seasonthan sit at 7-9 or 8-8 at the end of the season with Fitzpatrick playing all 16 games.
The Texans should be able to beat Jacksonville twice and the Titans another time, but I’m not sure if they can beat anyone else with Fitzpatrick at QB.
Until then, Houston, continue enjoying mediocrity.
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