Hopkins has definitely shown he’s tough enough
DeAndre Hopkins’ jersey was ripped. His uniform was dirty. And he was constantly engaged in a wrestling match against the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive backs,
Despite the rough treatment, the Texans’ Pro Bowl wide receiver still thrived Monday night. Hopkins caught seven passes for 125 yards on 10 targets.
“It was a physical game,” Hopkins said. “They’re a good defense. They weren’t trying to allow us to score any points from the get-go because it happened like the first possession, so I knew it was going to be a physical game. When I saw it happen, it was just like, you have to go out there and fight through it, even if the refs don’t call a penalty or not.”
Growing up in South Carolina, Hopkins played defensive back. He prides himself on his toughness.
“That’s something I was raised on, being in South Carolina, playing defense, just kind of getting down there in the trenches,” Hopkins said. “That’s kind of how I play wide receiver a little bit, with that physicality of I’m not going to let anybody out-tough me out on that island.”
Hopkins said his fourthquarter productivity stems from his offseason conditioning.
“I run at least five miles a day, just long distance,” Hopkins said. “A lot of people I know, they don’t train like that. They do a lot of quick stuff, just speed drills, but I run long distance. I’ve always been like that, though, even when I was in high school.”
Hopkins has caught 69 passes for 1,004 yards and leads the NFL with nine touchdown catches.
“I think he’s strong in the beginning, but he does get stronger as the game goes on,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “In some of these games, we’ve been behind, we’ve been throwing the ball a lot, so obviously the ball goes to him quite a bit.”
Exploring options at outside linebacker
The Texans are plotting their contingency plans at outside linebacker.
Starting outside linebacker Brennan Scarlett is in a walking boot after injuring his foot against the Ravens. Scarlett hopes to play again this season.
“I just got a little issue down there, working to get it back,” said Scarlett, who has 26 tackles and two sacks.
The Texans have options, including going with extra defensive linemen. They could also start Ufomba Kamalu and are evaluating former practice squad linebackers Latroy Lewis and Gimel President.
“They’ll get an opportunity in practice, it’ll be a big day for them to see how they’re able to translate it to the field,” defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel said. “We’ll have a couple options to look at.”
Kamalu has six tackles and two sacks. A converted defensive end, Kamalu is an unusually big outside linebacker at 6-6, 300 pounds.
Clowney gets day off from practice
Outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney didn’t practice Thursday, but coach Bill O’Brien characterized it as a day off.
Clowney is listed on the injury report with shoulder and ankle injuries but is expected to play on Sunday at Tennessee.
Clowney leads the Texans with a career-high nine sacks and 17 tackles for losses.
Miller hopes to build on big game
Wide receiver Braxton Miller delivered a career-best performance Monday night.
The converted quarterback from Ohio State caught a careerhigh five passes for 43 yards during the loss to the Ravens. For the season, Miller has 12 catches for 77 yards and one touchdown.
“It felt good to come out there and make a couple of plays, keep a drive going and just contribute to the offense,” Miller said. “Just want to be consistent, keep getting better at my craft and fix the mistakes that I made.”
With Will Fuller out with cracked ribs, Miller started his second game of the year. He had a season-long 19-yard reception.
“He’s an awesome player, he really is,” quarterback Tom Savage said. “He’s a smart player and he’s doing a lot of good things; just trying to feed him the rock.”
A lot has changed since last meeting
The complexion of the matchup between the Texans and the Titans has changed dramatically since an early-season blowout engineered by rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Before Watson tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, the 57-14 win over the Titans back in October was one of his signature games.
In just his third NFL start, Watson had five total touchdowns on four touchdown passes and one rushing score.
Now, a struggling Tom Savage is the starting quarterback. He has a dozen turnovers.
Coach Bill O’Brien acknowledged that little can be taken away from that game heading into this one.
“Not much,” O’Brien said. “I mean, that’s all I can tell you about that. They’re different, we’re different, obviously. I can tell you that it will be a much tougher football game, no doubt about it.”