The Day After the Day After…when the raw, immediate emotions from the aftermath of a game diminish into the realm of clarity and the proverbial (or literal) hangover no longer haunts the mind. With that, a review of Week 3:
Is Ed Ingram that critical to the O-line? Nico Collins’ absence the past two games is undeniable, as Stroud is sans his biggest weapon/security blanket, especially in the red zone. Yet, maybe a bigger loss is Ed Ingram. Also out these past two games, the right side of the line has
been mediocre at best and beyond horrid at worst. The big 4th down stuffs in the past two games came from defensive penetration along the right interior of the line on short-yardage run plays. Ingram is not the best pass blocking guard out there (reference how badly he got beat against Buffalo on that final drive of the game), but the Texans did have success running the ball that game. Maybe it was Buffalo’s defense, but Houston rushed for 124 total yards in that game on 32 rushes. Houston has totaled only 130 yards on 30 rushes in the two games since he went out. He might return next week, but groin injuries can be a bit difficult to project.
The Final Minutes (again): The difference between victory and defeat is incredibly small in the NFL. The Texans could feel justified in thinking they should be 2-1 vs. 0-3. However, it was actions or inactions in the final minutes that doomed the Texans (again). After going up 17-16 on Marks’ short TD run, the Colts had more than enough time to get into range for the go-ahead FG. Being indoors, they probably wouldn’t need much in total yardage. They got one bonus when Fairbairn could not land his kick short of the end zone. It was close, but the Colts’ returner caught the ball with enough of his body still in the end zone. Thus, the Colts started at the 35. Then, the defense, which had played its best game of the season to date, gave up a 20-yard gain that put the Colts right in FG range.
With around a minute left in the game, Houston having all 3 timeouts and the Colts going a bit conservative, Ryans curiously decided to hold on to those, eschewing taking a timeout until 29 seconds left. Ryans seemed to hope for a big defensive stop (not as likely at this point) or a FG miss (not as likely either). Perhaps he takes the timeouts and the Colts still move the ball, but he did his mercurial offense no favors by reducing their possession time. Then the Colts forced Houston to return a kickoff, killing more time. Houston did have the timeout and moved the ball to midfield, but subsequent play-calling and the Colts’ defense limited Houston to a Hail Mary attempt. Much like the Buffalo, Houston had its chances to win at the end, but it didn’t happen on this day….again.
Kickoffs…still a work in progress for Houston: Fairbairn is still more prone to kick the ball to the end-zone, generating touchbacks that gives offenses the ball at the 35. If he could get the ball to fall within the landing zone, that increases the chances that Houston could pin opponents further back. Then again, Houston’s kick coverages haven’t been as stellar as in years past. Concurrently, a Houston’s returner had an awkward situation in the first half when he allowed a kick to bounce in the landing zone, but then corralled the ball to take a knee in the end zone. Houston only got the ball at the 20 for that, which did not help the offense. These are small things, but it is small things adding up to the 0-3 start.
The Critical Play: 1st Quarter, 9:47, HOU Ball, 4th and 1 at the IND 31 (Montgomery rush to the right for no gain)
Another 4th and short inside the opponent’s territory. This coming after Will Anderson Jr. gave Houston its first forced turnover inside Colts’ territory. Three plays got Houston 9 yards, bringing them to 4th and 1. Given where the ball was on the field, the Texans could have gone for the FG (a projected 48-yarder indoors). However, you could understand going for the jugular and making a statement. Instead, the Colts’ defensive interior blew up the play for no gain. Indy used the subsequent possession to take a 3-0 lead and strategic control of the game. Yes, this was early in the game, and Houston did come back to take a brief lead late, but that play represented so much wrong about the team right now. The Texans are 0-for-5 in their last five 4th Down attempts. Weren’t Smith, Teller, Montgomery, et al supposed to fix this?
FUN WITH NUMBERS:
53%: Combined conversion percentage by the Colts on 3rd/4th down attempts. The Colts went 7 of 15 on 3rd downs and 2 for 2 on 4th downs. This kept drives alive, helped in time of possession, field position…basically all of the big numbers. Those extra conversions helped the Colts run 20 more plays than Houston, making a significant impact on the game.
1: Number of NFL teams all-time that made the playoffs starting 0-4. Think this upcoming game against Cowboys wasn’t big enough? If the Texans lose this game, they fall to 0-4. In the Super Bowl era, only 1 team ever started 0-4 and made the playoffs: The 1992 San Diego Chargers, who started 0-4, then went on to win 11 of their last 12 to make the postseason. Houston is the only squad this century to start 0-3 (twice) and make the postseason. Matching that Chargers team wasn’t part of the plan coming into the year…oh, and that Chargers team? Lost in the Divisional Round.
GAME BALLS:
DE Will Anderson, Jr. 7 total tackles (5 solo)/2.5 sacks/3 TFLs/2 FFs/1 FR. After a relatively slow start against Buffalo, Anderson is back to full-on nightmare mode. Houston doesn’t take the lead in the 4th without his forced fumble. Had Houston held on to win, that play would have been the critical moment.
Colts PK Spencer Shrader: 4 for 4 on FG, including two 50+ yarders, 1/1 on XPs. On a day when the Colts desperately needed to snap their 9-game losing streak (and 4-game home losing streak to Houston), he gave them 13 points….and all with an injured groin, and coming back from a missed season due to an ACL/MCL injury.
SHOULD BE FORCED TO LISTEN TO THE B-SIDE TRACKS OF ALL OF THE LATE JIM IRSAY BAND’S GREATEST HITS ON REPEAT WHILE ONLY EATING FROM MRBEAST BURGER.
C Evan Brown: The Houston O-line interior, notably the right interior, did not represent itself well in this game, especially in the 1st half. The Colts’ defensive interior had their way with that side of Houston’s O-line, from the key 4th down stuff in the 1st Quarter to surrendering three sacks. The play somewhat improved in the second half, with even some of the best Texans’ runs coming along the right side of the line. However, Brown had more bad than good to his ledger.
HC DeMeco Ryans: This season seems to showcasing the worst of Ryans’ coaching style. Questions about his decision-making related to 4th downs and timeouts are getting magnified for a team with championship aspirations. Then, he had some curious post-game comments about a unified locker room. Perhaps the standard coach-speak, but for a team that is once again 0-3, you wonder if there are some other issues bubbling underneath (especially with recent comments from Stroud about the offense). If there are divisions or locker-room grumblings at 0-3, they generate news. At 0-4, they become the headlines.
Now 0-3 and 0-1 in the division, Houston returns to Reliant to resume their interstate (or interregional battle) with the Dallas/Deep Southern Oklahoma/Deep Southwestern Arkansas Cowboys in a must-win game for both teams for so, so many reasons. Kickoff is slated for this coming Sunday at noon CDT on Fox.
