In a game following a sloppy battle with the Cincinnati Bengals in week two, the Houston Texans faced off against the talented New England Patriots in week three of the 2017 NFL season. New England came into the game heavily favored, rightfully so, but Houston was in it until the very last second. Rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson gets his second career start and was equipped with at least one tight end this time. Despite offensive tackle Duane Brown still holding out, Watson was only sacked twice and made effective use of his athleticism. On the defensive side of the ball most of the lineup was at full strength, except for the cornerback position.Without Kevin Johnson or Jonathan Joseph, the secondary was not at full strength, part and parcel to the late game loss. The Texans showed signs of life in the 36-33 loss to the Patriots, but late game heartbreak provided these three Texans takeaways.
Week Three Houston Texans Takeaways
1) Surprising Offensive Line Performance
In the first two games, the Texans offensive line was terrible. In shocking fashion, they played exceptionally well against the New England front.The Patriots don’t really have a stud pass-rusher that they rely on to constantly pressure opposing quarterbacks, but defensive coordinator Matt Patricia usually finds ways to get his guys home.
Watson’s ability as a runner helped immensely in making the line look good. Yet, a majority of run plays went straight into the line of scrimmage and were stopped there. But some runs made you think it was the Dallas Cowboys offensive line out there.
The temporary replacement for pro-bowl left tackle Brown is veteran Chris Clark. Clark had a great day, only getting man-handled a few times by Trey Flowers. The right tackle position was filled by Breno Giacomini, and he too looked much better today than in his past two showings. Interior players Nick Martin and Greg Mancz are easily the two best active offensive linemen on the team. However, left guard Xavier Sua-Filo is struggling to keeps defenders out of the backfield.
2) Watson Is The Guy
In his second career start Deshaun Watson threw 21 completions on 31 attempts, for 301 yards and two touchdowns. He also contributed to the ground game by scampering eight times for 41 yards.
Getting the big negatives out of the way, he did throw his first two interceptions today. Even though it was a losing effort, Watson showed everyone why Houston traded up the take him in the draft. He made a lot of big time throws that proved he isn’t just another young mobile guy. Many times, throughout the game he changed the protection scheme at the line because of what he saw initially saw.
A few times leading up to the game it was noted that Watson stated he didn’t get nervous in games; also known was that New England loves to disguise blitzes and confuse inexperienced quarterbacks. The result of this was a calm, cool, and collected quarterback and just two sacks for the New England defense.
As Watson progresses it will be interesting to see how the offense starts to mold itself to fit his strengths and weaknesses. His connection with DeAndre Hopkins and the rest of the offensive units is growing strong. Not much looked out of sync and he seemed to have control of the offense from a mental standpoint. His next game will be his first start at home in front of a rowdy, but friendly crowd in NRG Stadium.
3) Defense Comes Up Short
The insane on-paper lineup that is the Houston Texans front seven showed up today. It was constant harassment on Tom Brady for the entirety of the game. The pass-rush was a serious factor for the Houston defense today. Edge defender Jadeveon Clowney had two sacks and a game-twisting fumble return for a touchdown. The pass rush was not the only highlight, the Houston run-defense was astounding for most of the game. Young players like Christian Covington and D.J. Reader were major contributors to stopping New England on important plays.
Overall the defense came up just short when it really mattered most. On long third-downs that the Patriots needed to convert, they did. Towards the end of the game Brady lead his team down the field. On the final drive, multiple opportunities for the Texans to seal the game arose and they simply failed. A surprising performance was delivered today by second year safety Corey Moore; he played well in zone coverage and didn’t completely fall apart against Rob Gronkowski in man coverage.
The Texans next match-up is at home against the Tennessee Titans. Marcus Mariota and a dynamic offense comes into NRG for a fun battle in an important AFC South division game.
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