Texans turn to offense
The Texans hope to beat Cleveland with big plays.
The arrival of rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson and his ascension into one of the most exciting young players in the NFL has transformed the Texans.
Once an old-fashioned, traditional outfit built around a strong defense, they’re changing into a fast-break team.
With Watson at the controls, the Texans think fast, play fast and score fast. It’s a new day in Houston with Watson at QB.
Traditionally, the Texans were built on a foundation of a strong defense. They leaned heavily on defensive end J.J. Watt and his abilities as one of the most disruptive run-stoppers and pass rushers in NFL history.
The old philosophy on offense was built around a physical running game and the expectation the quarterback would operate as more of a game manager distributing the football safely and taking few risks.
Now, the Texans are the NFL’s fourth-ranked scoring offense with an average of 28.8 points per game. They’ve become creative.
And an injury-depleted defense, ranked first in the NFL a year ago, has become increasingly vulnerable and ranks 13th in total defense. The Texans allow 26 points per game to rank 28th.
Injuries hamstring defense
Even before Watt (broken leg) and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus (torn pectoral muscle) were lost for the season, the Texans were changing. The new reality is this is becoming Watson’s team. The Texans, 2-3 heading into Sunday’s game against the winless Cleveland Browns, likely will only go as far as their athletic dual-threat QB takes them.
The Texans are adjusting on the fly, tailoring their offense to Watson’s strengths. They’ve mixed college read-option concepts with pro-style pocket passing to go with the NFL’s fourthranked rushing offense. Coach Bill O’Brien has called upon his experiences and his staff working in the college ranks, including his time at Georgia Tech orchestrating a wishbone offense with All-American quarterback Joe Hamilton.
“Every year’s different,” O’Brien said. “I think that this year, because of a lot of different reasons, obviously the players and how we’re using them, whether it’s receivers, tight ends, running backs and obviously the quarterback, we’re trying to do things that suit everyone’s skill set, if that makes sense.
“We’re trying not to do too much but keep it moving so that nobody can get a bead on us. That’s the issue. That’s the hard thing, is that you cannot keep repeating yourself every week or they catch up with you. We have to keep changing and our players need to keep learning and growing and I think if they do that, we’ll be OK.”
With Watson having thrown 12 touchdown passes, including five in a loss Sunday night to the undefeated Chiefs, the firstround draft pick is on pace to finish the season with 38 TD passes.
Watson leads all NFL quarterbacks in total touchdowns with 14 and ranks second in the NFL in passing touchdowns behind the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers.
No rookie in NFL history has thrown 12 touchdowns in his team’s first five games.
Watson (6-2, 221) has displayed uncommon poise and maturity.
“I’m impressed by how he acts and his professionalism at 22,” quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan said. “But he’s got that kind of exuberance he shows when he’s bouncing around the field and it’s hard to forget sometimes that he’s 22. He really enjoys playing, and I think that’s a great thing and it really sends a lot of energy to the rest of the team and I know it gives me energy on a daily basis. So, you’ve got to show up ready to roll with that guy.”
The Texans finished 29th in total offense last season when they averaged 314.7 yards per game. They have improved to 12th this season, averaging 344.6 yards.
They had the 28th-ranked scoring offense, averaging 17.4 points last season. And they were second worst in red-zone scoring; now they are eighth in the NFL in that category.
The statistical improvement doesn’t drive Watson. He keeps throwing spirals and learning as much as he can each week while competing against defenses designed to confuse him.
“I just try to stay focused on my job and operation of this offense and do what I can really do, kind of control what I can control and keep the main thing the main thing and learn as I grow each and every week,” he said. “But, as far as my impact, I know I have a lot of it, but honestly, I just try to do what I have to do to do my job.
“This whole team takes a lot of pride in our opportunity and our job. We want to be the best at what we do, so each person has to put their foot down and work each and every day and strive to be the best. And if we all come all together and be on the same page and have that mentality, then we have the opportunity to be the best.”
Shift to higher gear
The Texans’ comeback attempt fell short against the Chiefs, but they scored 27 points in the second half to make it a competitive game.
During a 57-14 win over the Titans two weeks ago, they established a franchise record for points in a game.
The offense has become a high-tempo, creative unit bolstered by the presence of two dangerous wide receivers in DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller.
“It’s real fun,” Texans running back Lamar Miller said. “Just knowing that you can put up points at any given moment is always good. We just got to keep building and just try to find a way to win some ballgames.
“I think everybody’s just doing their assignments and everybody’s clicking on all cylinders. We’re out there playing fast, everybody’s making plays when their number is called, and we just got to keep building off that.”
In order to win more, though, the Texans will need to adjust to life without Watt and Mercilus and shore up some defensive breakdowns that have cropped up against top quarterbacks. They allowed five touchdown passes to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. They sacked the Chiefs’ Alex Smith once as he completed 29 of 37 passes for 324 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
“Our job is to stop them,” Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel said. “Our job is to play well on first and second down, get off the field on third down. That doesn’t change. They could score as fast as they want, that would be amazing.
“We just have to play a little better in situations and hold them when they do. They can score as fast as they want and we’ll go out there, we’ve got to play defense and just get off the field on third down.”
The Texans are scoring at a rapid pace. They got off to a slow start against the Chiefs but have shown the ability to score in a hurry.
Against the Titans, that kept the defense rested as the Texans controlled the football and had a commanding time-of-possession advantage. One week later, the defense lost containment against Smith and didn’t stop a running game led by rookie Kareem Hunt.
“We still got our job to do regardless of what their job is on that side of the ball,” said Pro Bowl outside linebacker/defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. “As a defense, we pride ourselves on not letting other teams score no matter how many points our offense puts up.
“It could be 50-0. I think that’s a good look for us no matter what it is. Our job’s still the same no matter whether our offense is putting up points.”
Changing philosophies
There’s a different feel surrounding the Texans, with the improvement of the offense and the unexpected inconsistency of the defense that normally takes the lead.
“To you guys I think that, obviously because we’ve played really good defense and obviously at times we haven’t played well on offense in the past and we’ve been up and down offensively, but to me in this building it’s still about the team,” O’Brien said. “So, I don’t think we look at it that way. I think we really strive to play complementary football, which we did not do last Sunday against the Chiefs.
“That’s the key. You’ve got to take advantage of good field position, take advantage of turnovers, you’ve got to get them to turn the ball over, take care of the ball on offense and we have to be more consistent on special teams. I really look at it more as a team thing. I really do.” It’s a team that has changed. Having Watson as quarterback is the primary difference in the Texans’ identity. He’s their best quarterback since Matt Schaub and holds the potential to be a franchise quarterback with his mobility, arm strength, accuracy and calmness.