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,
some thoughts about the Week 6 Bye:
Is the early bye a good thing, or a bad one? Both the Texans and Vikings got an early bye this season. After this, the Texans get no breaks until either their season ends or they can snag a first round bye. It won’t be easy for Houston, as they have brutal looking back-half of the season. As of now, the only remaining teams with a losing record on the schedule are Tennessee (Week 11), Arizona (Week 15) and Las Vegas (Week 16). Some things might change as the season evolves, like Kansas City (3-3) likely being over .500 by the time they face Houston. Still, if the Texans can overcome their 0-3 start and get back to the playoffs, they’ll have earned it. Of course, with no more designated rest times, Houston could run the risk of entering the playoffs on a lower tank of gas vs. last season with the late bye. The impact from injuries will only grow from here on out, as missed time will mean missed games and talent impacts.
O-line stability: A big challenge for Houston has been getting the right combination of players for the right level of performance from the offensive line. Early in the season, you saw a lot of mixing and matching of players to try to find something that could a) protect CJ Stroud and b) get the running game going. Since the Titans game, it appears that Houston has found some stability at the key position. Ersery seems to have locked down the LT spot, as Houston cut bait on the failed Cam Robinson experiment. Tytus Howard appeared locked down at the RT spot, even after being called yet again to man a guard slot earlier in the season. Ed Ingram and Jake Andrews get the RG and C spots respectively, building off their preseason successes at those spots, and returning from early season injuries. LG has been the revolving door, but it seems that 2023 2nd rounder Juice Scruggs has won that spot. Likely this is what Houston will take up to Seattle, which leads into the next point of the article…
Should get a quick answer to the question about the Texans and their offense. Houston entered the bye on a two-game winning streak, outscoring the Titans and Ravens by a combined 70-10. Granted, both the Ravens and the Titans are a collective 2-10, with the Titans a real mess, even with some solid defensive pieces, and the Ravens demonstrating some historically bad defense. Against everyone else on the schedule so far (Rams, Bucs, Jags), the Texans were outscored 38-51. Those three teams sit a collective 13-5. Houston opens the post-bye part of their schedule with a trip to Seattle, facing their 6th ranked scoring defense. Right after Seattle, Houston faces off against San Francisco. Denver and Jacksonville. 4 teams with winning records, and in the cases of Denver and Jacksonville, top-tier defenses. By the end of this stretch, before Houston gets to play a team with a losing record like the Titans, we’ll know if the offense has truly improved, or if it was just taking advantage of weakened squads.
Trade bait? Over the next couple of weeks, expect talk to increase about who, if anyone, Houston might consider for trades. Of the main players on the roster, RB Dameon Pierce and LB Christian Harris seem the most likely candidates. Pierce has seen little game action this year, buried on the depth chart with Chubb and Marks getting most of the carries. Pierce is not even the primary on kickoff returns. With this rookie contract expiring, Houston might be open to sending the one-time rookie phenom out for some sort of draft return. Harris has fought injuries a good bit of his career, but as of late has been a healthy scratch from the line-up. EJ Speed appears to have taken his spot in the base 4-3 LB set up, and when Houston shifts to a nickel, Harris is not among the LB considerations for the 2 spots. A bit disappointing after what seemed like a breakout 2023. Perhaps there are some behind-the-scenes actions that are playing into the decisions, but if one or either of these two get shipped out, would you be surprised?
Actually, another trade option for Houston might be someone you wouldn’t expect. According to sources, the Bengals, after losing Joe Burrow and suffering through a failed run from Jake Browning, actually inquired about Davis Mills. At the time, Houston said no, and the Bengals went with Joe Flacco. However, as more QBs go down with injuries before November, perhaps Caserio gets more calls about their backup signal caller. Not that Houston should really trade Mills, but if someone actually dangles a high Day 1 pick, or multiple Day 2 picks for the one-time 3rd round pick, perhaps Caserio gives it more than a cursory dismissal.
Houston might have already played the League MVP: When Houston lost on a last-second TD to Tampa Bay, the story was of how Houston’s offense struggled mightly in the Red Zone and how the defense couldn’t hold on to a TD-lead. However, that win might have also jump-started the MVP campaign for one Baker Mayfield. Since that Houston game, Mayfield’s team has gone 3-1 and now holds the best record in the NFC. Mayfield’s arm and legs are playing a major role for Tampa Bay in this effort. Not bad for the QB that Cleveland ditched to get Deshaun Watson. Think Cleveland has a few regrets? Sure, if To’oto’o hadn’t taken a bad angle on that 4th down blitz, we might be talking about both Houston and Tampa Bay differently. If these teams did somehow end up with a rematch, which would be in the Super Bowl…that could be super fun.
FUN WITH NUMBERS:
3.6. How many points a game fewer Houston surrenders than the next team. Sure, they’ve played only 5 games to this point, but the Texans still lead the NFL in points surrendered. This is after playing teams like the Bucs, Ravens and Rams, who can put up a lot of points (Yes, Houston didn’t have to face Lamar Jackson, but no one expected Baltimore’s offense to crater that badly without him). The defense might have to step up its game, as they will be facing off against the number 6 scoring defense (Seattle) and the number 2 scoring defense (Denver) in the next three weeks.
No real game balls or awards for idiocy for the Texans this bye week. How you view the Titans’ firing of Brian Callahan depends on whether you agree that he wasn’t even close to getting it done for Tennessee or upset that his firing deprives teams of a near-surefire win.
The Texans actually get a bit more time-off on the bye, as they don’t return to the field until Monday Night against the Seahawks in Seattle. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. CDT, so if you plan to watch, maybe get a nap in beforehand, or be ready for a sleep-deprived Tuesday. Coverage on ESPN.
