Try to contain Jackson the goal
Ravens QB toyed with the defense in rout last year
Patrick Mahomes’ mastery of the quick game and his strong comfort level in a safe pocket were on full display against the Texans’ defense.
The Chiefs quarterback got rid of the football in an average of 2.35 seconds, according to Next Gen stats, as he completed a series of short throws. On passes fewer than 10 yards, Mahomes went 21 of 26, including all three of his touchdown throws, during a 3420 win last week to open the season.
Because of Mahomes’ tempo and timing, the Texans’ pass rushers hardly touched him, with the exception of one sack on a rip move by outside linebacker Jacob Martin and two hits from defensive end J.J. Watt.
Heading into Sunday’s game against elusive Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, the Texans need to make the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player a lot more uncomfortable than Mahomes was.
“You’ve just got to keep on trying and keep going until that opportunity presents itself,” Texans outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus said. “Like last week, Jacob got there early. The ball is getting out much more quickly than we anticipated and whatnot. It’s just a combination between rushing coverage and all being on the same page. DBs, do a great job so guys up front
can get there.
“As far as last week, we probably played fast enough. Just need a little bit more discipline and also more sound in our technique, our individual technique, winning our one-on-ones and just playing better as a collective unit. We hadn’t played any preseason, so that was our first time as far as having the speed of the game pick up.”
The Texans had similar problems keeping up against Jackson during a 41-7 loss last November in Baltimore. Jackson was never sacked, and defensive end Charles Omenihu had the only quarterback pressure with Watt on injured reserve with a torn pectoral.
Jackson dominated the Texans, completing 17 of 24 passes for 222 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions for a 139.2 passer rating. He also rushed for 79 yards on 10 carries.
“He’s already putting a lot of guys on skates, so guys got to be very disciplined as far as the angles that they take on him,” Mercilus
said. “He’s absolutely an impressive and electrifying player from a quarterback standpoint.”
Watt (96 career sacks) and Mercilus (50) are the Texans’ top pass rushers, followed by Martin, who had 3½ sacks last season as a situational pass rusher while playing 21 percent of the defensive snaps.
“They’ve got some dudes at linebacker, some thumpers,” Jackson said in a Zoom video call. “It’s the same team we played against last year, plus J.J. Watt. I know those guys are going to be explosive and ready to play, so we just have to prepare well.”
Texans defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver is a protégé of former Jets and Bills coach Rex Ryan, his defensive coordinator and position coach when Weaver was playing defensive end in Baltimore.
Weaver wants to run an aggressive scheme built around harassing and hitting the quarterback a lot. Whether he can run a more freewheeling scheme is debatable considering that the secondary has been vulnerable in man-toman coverage.
“It’s definitely not a week that you can be overly complicated in what you’re trying to do schematically,” Weaver said. “It’s obviously important to have answers to everything that they present, but if you try to do too much, you could definitely put yourself in a bad situation. I think that’s why they do a lot of the things that they do. I think we’ll be prepared. I like the plan. I think our guys are excited about the plan and what we’re trying to do this week.
“I think the plan is tight. You’ve got to have a tight plan. You can’t be too exotic in what you want to do. Then you just try and go and create an environment where your guys can pin their ears back and go play tough, physical football.”
During a 38-6 win over the Cleveland Browns to open the season, Jackson completed 20 of 25 passes for 275 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked twice and hit four times.
The Texans’ best hope for pressuring Jackson would be to have Watt penetrate the interior line after the retirement of All-Pro guard Marshal Yanda during the preseason. Watt lined up at nose tackle at times against Kansas City.
“Year after year, I’ve seen (Watt) wreck games, and he has a very unique style,” Ravens offensive coordinator Chris Roman told Baltimore reporters Thursday. “I told the players, ‘He’s like Lamar when Lamar runs the ball; it’s really hard to get a good hit on him.’ It’s really hard to get a good block on him. He’s one of the alltime greats.
“Specific to his style, he just knows how to defeat blocks, and he does it in a very unique way. Some people that would try to do that would absolutely end disastrously. Really good instinct on when to take those chances and understands angles in real time. It’s hard to get a really, really crushing block on him because he’s a very slippery but powerful player.”