Houston Texans’ downfall could be a stalling offense and settling for field goals

The Houston Texans have now ripped off nine wins in a row and are the NFL’s hottest team. However, their stalling offense could be their downfall moving forward.

The Houston Texans have now done the unimaginable. After starting the season 0-3, they have managed to win nine games in a row. No other team in NFL history had ever done better than winning seven in a row after such a start. So, enjoy the show because we’re witnessing history.

The Cleveland Browns came to town during week thirteen to face off against the Texans. The Browns were riding high coming into town, finally looking like a real NFL team. So, this game could have gone either way but the Texans ended up having no problem taking care of defense on either side of the ball. They won their ninth in a row 29-13.

Even though the team appears more and more a true contender each week, there are still some issues they need to work out if they want to be the team to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. One of those things is a stalling offense, the Ka’imi Fairbairn had to kick five field goals on Sunday. They were from 35, 42, 48, 53, and 38 yards.

Now, before we move further, it is absolutely terrific that Fairbairn is kicking well. Going five for five is quite the feat, especially considering they were all 35+. Fairbairn is getting a ton of opportunities and is producing and by doing so, he is gaining the team’s trust. He has attempted and made more field goals than anyone else in the league. The only field goals he’s missed have been from 40+ yards.

So, it’s wonderful the Houston Texans have a reliable kicker that they can turn to when the offense stalls. However, the offense is still stalling far too often and that problem will be exacerbated come playoff time when the opponent’s offense and defense will be better. Leaving points on the board is never a good thing, especially in the playoffs.

Let’s take a look at the game against the Browns. Offenses are going to stall from time to time and that’s okay so I’m not going to say that all five of those field goals should have been touchdowns. But the 35 meant they stalled at the 18-yard line, the 38 at the 21, and the 42 at the 25. We’ll say the 48 and 53 could have been field goals. Those three distances from the shorter field goals are easily scorable even just on one play. On Sunday, they got nine points on those drives when they could have had 21.

A 12 point swing is HUGE. That means the Houston Texans could have and maybe should have put up 41 against the Browns on Sunday. In the playoffs, that total is life and death. There have been countless playoff games that have been decided by fewer than 12 points. I mean, eight of the Texans 12 games have been decided by less than 12 points including all three of their losses.

Fortunately, there are still four weeks left in the regular season so, there is plenty of time to continue to work out the kinks. However, the Texans will have a big test this coming Sunday against the Colts who have been sporting a very good offense (aside from last week) and defense.

When they faced off earlier this season, this game was decided by three points. The Texans had to settle for field goals three times, twice during over time, in order to capture that win. They may not be as lucky this time around so the offense needs to make sure they capitalize when they get inside the 25-yard line.

Deshaun Watson is going to need to be decisive and accurate in the red zone to get the ball to DeAndre Hopkins, Demaryius Thomas, and Jordan Thomas. All three of those guys are tremendous red zone targets and the team has seen them all dominate in that portion of the field in recent weeks.

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The Texans running game can also still be effective in this portion of the field. They have dominated the past couple of weeks and the return of D’Onta Foreman either this week or next week should make them even more effective in this portion of the field.

It’s going to take some good, creative playcalling (which can still be a problem) to help solve this issue. Players are going to need to execute perfectly as defenses always tighten down and play more focused football backed up against their own end zone.

If the Houston Texans can continue to work out this final issue in the final four weeks of the season, they could become even more dangerous than they already will be for the playoffs. The Colts will be a good test of this on Sunday, in a game that if the Texans win, they’ll clinch the division.

The Houston Texans offense has turned out to be very good this season. The young pieces are coming together well but there is still plenty of room for improvement as the team is one of three teams to attempt 19 yards or closer field goal, while also kicking double-digit field goals in the red zone.