The Most Interesting Defense in the NFL showed up on Thursday night. It wasn’t the greatest defensive performance in the history of football. There were breakdowns and plays that made you yell at your
television. Still, it was a brilliant performance just the same and the Texans pulled out an improbable 23-19 victory over the vaunted Buffalo Bills.
Even a day after that brilliant win, emotions are running high. Most of them are of the positive variety. When the Texans were 0-3 this day didn’t seem possible. When they were 3-5 and without C.J. Stroud at quarterback it didn’t seem possible. Yet, there are also moments through this 3-0 run and 6-2 run that make you want to scream as well. This is the life of a Houston Texans fan. It isn’t always great or even good, but it is never boring. In this feature, we try to put the feelings behind and look at the data.
The Numbers
- Total Yards: Texans 56/261, Bills 66/326
- Rushing Yards: Texans 26/108, Bills 24/143
- Passing Yards: Texans 30/153, Bills 42/183
- Third Downs: Texans 2/12, Bills 5/16
- Sacks: Texans 8, Bills 0
- Turnovers: Texans 0, Bills 3
- Penalties: Texans 5/40, Bills 6/54
- Time of Possession: Texans 27:38, Bills 32:22
The important column is obviously the turnovers. The Texans have lost more +3 turnover games than any team in the history of the NFL. They almost lost another one last night. It took the third turnover of the game to seal the deal for the Texans. Of course, that starts to spill us into the great, good, and bad. We will get there soon enough.
In most Texans wins, they far outgain their opponent, possess it longer, and run more plays. These games usually leave you scratching your head about how the game was that close. This is one where you leave wondering how the game ended in a victory. Add in a return for a touchdown by the Bills and it seems improbable that the game turned out this way. Things usually even out in the end and this is one of them that levels things out in the universe.
The Great
We cannot move on without extolling the efforts of Will Anderson and Daniele Hunter. I honestly can’t decide between them for AFC Defensive Player of the Week, but one of them deserves the honor. Anderson had 2.5 sacks and Hunter had 2.0. I suppose Calen Bullock and his two interceptions also might have a claim on the honor. Hell, let’s just give it to the whole defense and call it a day. Take away the kick return and this defense held the Bills to 12 points.
It is mind-boggling that they did this two years in a row. Yes, it was not perfect. Matt Burke and DeMeco Ryans will definitely have a field day in the film session. They surrendered a little over 300 yards on the day and about 200 of them came on about six plays. It was hard to maintain contain on every play and that is the peril of playing someone like Josh Allen. He will make you pay when don’t play disciplined football and I don’t care what kind of defense you have. It is nearly impossible to play disciplined football for more than 65 plays.
Not only did they hold the Bills offense to 12 points, but they also took the ball away and gave it to their offense twice deep in Buffalo territory. The Texans scored six points off of those turnovers. The Texans offense scored three points in the second half. The defense still somehow kept the Bills from scoring more than three points. It wasn’t the best defensive performance in franchise history, but it may have been the most important one.
The Good
Anyone that calls for Davis Mills to be the Texans starting quarterback from here on out is delusional. He showed us two things on Thursday night. First, he showed us why he is one of the better backup quarterbacks in the league. Second, he showed us why he is a backup quarterback. He still misses too many throws over the course of a game to be a franchise quarterback. Still, when you need to win a game he will keep your team in the game.
Mark my words. Some team this offseason will come calling and will offer the Texans a draft pick for Mills to come in and be there guy. The smart ones will do so with the understanding that Mills is not a franchise guy. He is a guy that can get you to the next draft that has a deeper quarterback pool. On a good team, he is a guy that can win you some football games until your starter is ready to return. The Texans are a good football team on balance. They are great defensively and more or less average offensively. At the end, the numbers will say he threw six touchdowns and one interception in three and a half games. No one should confuse him with Norm Van Brocklin, but those are some pretty darn good numbers.
The Bad
The Bills defense is not one of the better defenses in the NFL. Yes, they were 7-3 coming in and if the playoffs were to start today they would be one of the wild card teams. They would be a wild card team because of their offense. Nick Caley took a pretty mediocre defense and made them look like the 1985 Chicago Bears in the second half. If I see one more run up the middle I’m going to puke.
Caley was clearly guilty of what we call turtling around these parts. He came in with a four point lead and pray to the lord almighty that the defense could do enough to lead them to victory. Their three points came as a result of a fumble recovery deep in Buffalo territory. Watching this team inside the ten, on third down, and any other short yardage situation is painful. They succeeded a few times by the sheer will of Woody Marks. He deserves a game ball on the offensive end.
We should also note that Christian Kirk is in fact alive. He scored his first touchdown as a Texan. Jayden Higgins continues to improve. He has 27 catches on the season with four of those coming for touchdowns. I am ready to say the Texans made a solid pick there. They still cannot seem to use Higgins and Jaylin Noel consistently. I’m not for firing offensive coordinators in the middle of a playoff drive, but Nick Caley is on borrowed time.
