Texans 24, Jets 17
Are these the same Houston Texans that started 0-2? That got blown out by the Falcons and Dolphins? That had no idea what to do at quarterback?
No, no and... well, yes.
Hosting a tough New York Jets defense, T.J. Yates, DeAndre Hopkins and a ragtag group of running backs did what they needed to do. And they got a lot of help from George Godsey and the offensive coaching staff.
Direct snaps, wildcat formations, trick plays and good ol' fashioned playaction bootlegs opened up a stagnant offense, scoring enough points for J.J. Watt and the defense to get to work.
Yates finished the game below 50% passing, to go along with a fumble lost, but his two touchdowns and 229 yards were enough. Cecil Shorts III and Jonathan Grimes ran a few wildcat formations, keeping the Jets' defense off balance.
Shorts might be the game's MVP, throwing a 21-yard touchdown to Alfred Blue (on a finely designed trick play), catching two passes for 51 yards and rushing the ball four times for 26 yards.
We anticipated that DeAndre Hopkins would have a tough time against Darelle Revis and the Jets' secondary, but he delivered in a big way. Five catches, 118 yards and two crucial touchdowns for the third-year rising star.
Watt is working himself back into the race for Defensive Player of the Year with his two sacks, five TFL, and five QB hits, to go along with eight tackles.
But it was another strong outing by the secondary that made the difference, intercepting Ryan Fitzpatrick twice late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. 11 passes defensed and another solid tackling performance kept Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker in check.
Is this real life? Kudos to the coaching staff (who many of us wrote off completely) for crafting another masterpiece of a gameplan.
Discuss the victory down below, Texans fans. Unfortunately, the no-good Colts won their game against the Falcons, so it'll be another week sharing first place in the AFC South.
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