Week one is finally in the books. It is time for that feature that everyone knows and loves. This is where we look at the basic numbers from the game to determine if we can see any patterns in winning and losing. Obviously, there are no patterns with a sample size of one, but as we move forward we will start to see them. As you know, the Texans lost a nail biter 36-31, but the final score hardly ever indicates how close it was. The Texans drove it down to the nine for a go ahead score, but fizzled
out when pass protection broke down two plays in a row.
There is no way in a million years that anyone that watches this team could have predicted how this game would play out. Close game? Sure. Texans loss? The Bills were favored in the game. 67 total points scored? Not a chance in hell. That’s why they play the games as they say. So, let’s see what the basic statistics say about how this one turned out.
Key Statistics
- Total Yards: Texans 73/381, Bills 52/409
- Rushing Yards: Texans 32/124, Bills 21/86
- Passing Yards: Texans 41/257, Bills 31/323
- Sacks: Texans 2, Bills 3
- Penalties: Texans 7/106, Bills 10/85
- Turnovers; Texans 2, Bills 0
- Time of Possession: Texans 36:17, Billa 23:43
It’s amazing how one or two plays can change the whole complexion of a game. Kamari Lassiter dropped a sure interception in the end zone that looked more like a wounded duck then a throw from Josh Allen. If he gets that interception then the Texans simply kneel on the ball and win the game 31-30. I won’t harp on one plays in terms of going good, bad, and ugly, but that one play is indicative of how close these games come. The Texans don’t have a second turnover, so the turnover battle ends in a draw. Take away the turnover battle and the Texans have the slight edge across the board.
The Good
It is safe to say that every football game has positives. Even when you lose 59-0 you can usually find something small to hang your hat on. There is nothing small about David Montgomery. Sure, he gained “only” 60 yards, but many of those were tough yards and he did score three of the four offensive touchdowns in the game. He added three more catches for 19 yards with one of those coming for a score. No one is going to call Canton for 79 yards for scrimmage, but clearly the Texans have found something there.
Woody Marks gained 42 yards on the ground in nine carries in the kind of role the Texans envisioned last season for him. If the team gains an average of 124 yards every week they will be much improved offensively. In particular, while the turnovers hurt, this ball control offense is what they are looking for. If you control the ball for 35+ minutes and generate 31 points on offense then you win nine times out of ten.
The Bad
There are a lot of things on defense that did not go well. In particular, only getting to Josh Allen twice has to be a disappointment. Meanwhile, the secondary in general probably played their worst game in well over a season. Allen carved up the Texans defense and generated more big plays then we would expect in a month. I mentioned the Lassiter drop earlier. That is a play he would love to have back, but the bigger sins were the numerous chunk plays that made life easy for the Bills.
The Ugly
There is bad play and then there is alarmingly bad play. Anyone that looked at PFF and other sources had to express some concern when the Texans brought in Reed Blankenship. We were told they would use him differently, so a lot of us bought into the hype and hoped a return to his glory days were in the offing. It’s only one game, so that’s still possible, but this one is one where you want to burn the tape. Dalton Kincaid is a good tight end, but he turned into the reincarnation of Rob Gronkowski out there. If they continue to use him to cover tight ends it could be a long season.
Focus on Stroud
Since C.J. Stroud is angling for a new contract worth more money than 100 of us will make in a lifetime, it probably is a good idea to look at this week to week. The official stats say he had 274 yards passing with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. I’m not good at the math, but 17 weeks of that seems like it would be career highs (and lows) in every single category. The 106.7 rating is also something that would bode well for him at the end of the season.
I’m not one to overly criticize because there are any number of reasons why the Texans lost the game. However, he needs to take better care of the football under pressure. Two key fumbles resulted in three Bills points and took points off the board at the end of the game. The Texans win the game without those fumbles. So, as much as I would love to give him an A, I can’t because key errors played a part in them losing. A solid B performance kicks the can down the road. It was a very Dak Prescotty kind of performance. Good numbers. Some great moments, but not quite enough. Let’s see if that trend continues.
