TEXANS-SEAHAWKS
Breaking down this weekend’s matchup in Seattle.
The records: Texans 3-3, Seahawks 4-2 The rivalry: The teams have played three times, with Seattle winning twice. The Seahawks’ comeback from a 20-3 halftime deficit for a 2320 victory in overtime at NRG Stadium in 2013 spelled the beginning of the end of the Gary Kubiak/Matt Schaub era in Houston. Seattle romped 42-10 in 2005, the Texans’ only previous visit to CenturyLink Field. The coaches: The Texans’ Bill O’Brien is 3024 in his fourth season and 1-2 in playoff games. The Seahawks’ Pete Carroll, in his eighth Seattle season, is 74-43-1. Two of Carroll’s six playoff teams have reached the Super Bowl and the 2013 Seahawks won, routing the Broncos 43-8. Carroll was 6-10 in one season with the Jets (1994) and 27-21 with New England (1997-99), where he was replaced by Bill Belichick.
How they compare: Offensively, the Texans are 14th in yards gained (third rushing, 25th passing) and second in points scored. The Seahawks are 13th in yards gained (18th rushing, 11th passing) and 14th in points scored. Defensively, the Texans are 11th in yards allowed (13th rushing, 10th passing) and 26th in points allowed. The Seahawks are eighth in yards allowed (17th rushing, 8th passing) and first in points allowed.
Plot lines: CenturyLink Field arguably is the most difficult place in the NFL for a quarterback not named Russell Wilson to play. This will be the biggest challenge by far that Texans rookie Deshaun Watson has faced. Seattle led the NFL in scoring defense from 2012-15 and ranked third in 2016. The Texans, in turn, must find a way to contain Wilson, whose mobility would have presented less of a problem with J. J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus on the prowl. Both, of course, are lost for the season because of injuries.
Six degrees of separation: Ex-Texan Oday Aboushi has made four starts at right guard for the Seahawks after signing as a free agent. He made eight starts as a Texan in 2015-16. There was some talk of the Texans working out a trade with the Seahawks that would have sent holdout left tackle Duane Brown to Seattle, but Brown finally reported Monday.
Trending: Watson has thrown at least three touchdown passes in his past three games. Only the Eagles’ Carson Wentz with 17 had more than his 15 through the first seven weeks of the season. The Seahawks have gained 425 or more yards in three of their past four games but were held to 241 — and only 62 rushing — by Wade Phillips’ Rams defense in a 16-10 victory Oct. 8.
Go figure: The Texans have lost 22 of 30 road games against NFC West teams. The Seahawks beat the Colts 46-18 on Oct. 1 but have scored only 90 points in their other five games.
Worth pondering: With Watson calling the shots, the Texans have been the highest scoring team in the NFL over the past month, averaging 39.3 points starting with their 36-33 Week 3 loss at New England. The ever-stingy Seahawks are giving up only 15.7 points per game. Something has to give.