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Thank goodness for DeAndre Hopkins, y’all! The Texans silenced their lingering postseason demons today as Nuk recovered a last-minute onside kick attempt. Houston’s 19-12 victory over the Chiefs proves that it’s no mistake to keep them in the playoff conversation. It also highlighted the issues that still need to be addressed.
Let’s talk about the bad stuff first, namely how messy the offense was today. I know our offensive line is missing a lot of talent, but that wasn’t the only problem. Brock Osweiler’s lack of ball security is really stressing me out. The guy keeps making dangerous throws, including a pair of INTs today. DeAndre Hopkins saved Osweiler from at least one other turnover during the game, knocking the ball from the hands of the Kansas City defense. The run game really struggled to get going as well (which bums me out in both fantasy and real life).
Special teams also had issues today. Specifically, Tyler Ervin, who offered bad field position after bad field position on returns.
On a more positive note, the defense was downright exceptional for most of the game today. They were all over Alex Smith from the start, forcing turnovers and disrupting plays left and right. J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney made their respective presences felt early and often. Kevin Johnson had a few great plays, including an INT that was called back, and Benardrick McKinney was a defensive monster.
Houston certainly has problems to work on moving forward, but a victory over a potential playoff contender and a 2-0 standing is a great start to the season. The Texans led the AFC South after all three division rivals fell to 0-1 last week, and they head to Foxborough to face New England this Thursday. What are your thoughts, Texans fans? Who stood out to you today, good or bad? What are your predictions for next week’s matchup against the Patriots? Let’s continue the conversation in the comments section below.
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