Seahawks 33, Texans 13: How it happened
Welcome to Film Room, where we’ll break down significant portions from the Texans’ most recent football game. Have a seat. Set the phone aside. Let’s dive in.
The Mills-Cooks Connection: One of the main factors missing in a dismal three-game stretch of limited offensive play that eventually led to the benching of Tyrod Taylor was the passing game’s inability to target leading receiver Brandin Cooks.
Cooks, 28, has been the franchise’s most productive wide receiver since former coach and general manager Bill O’Brien acquired him in an April 2020 trade with the Rams in which O’Brien received Cooks by exchanging a 2020 second-round pick for a fourth-round pick in 2022.
The 5-10, 183-pound eight-year veteran has essentially been the Texans’ offense in 2021. When the franchise returned from its open week in late November, Cooks accounted for 23 percent of the team’s total yards from scrimmage. But in the following three games — against the Titans, Jets and Colts — Taylor managed to complete only five passes to Cooks for 63 yards, the bulk of the production coming on a 40-yard touchdown pass in a 21-14 loss to the Jets.
“Our passing game runs through him,” Taylor said after Houston’s defense-led 22-13 upset of the Titans. “We have to obviously get him the ball to allow him to create plays down the field, even in the short game as well.”
That Cooks revival did not occur until the Texans made the switch to rookie quarterback Davis Mills, who, in a late effort in a 31-0 loss to the Colts, completed three passes to his top target for 38 yards.
The Mills-Cooks connection continued during the Texans’ loss to the Seahawks when Cooks caught eight passes for 101 yards. If there’s anything positive to glean from the rebuilding franchise’s 11th loss, it’s how the Texans' offense might look in the future when Mills (who could be the team’s starter in 2022) and Cooks (who’s under contract through 2024, with two voidable years) are on the field at the same time.
“They’ve had a pretty good connection, those two,” coach David Culley said. “(Mills) knows Brandin is dependable, and he knows Brandin will do everything he has to do to be able to get in position to make plays. There’s a trust factor there.”
In a review of the tape, it was clear that Mills trusted Cooks in one-on-one situations throughout the game in crucial moments. Such passes had mixed results. The two nearly connected on a red-zone touchdown during the first half, then, in the second half, they failed to complete attempts on two third downs and a fourthdown situation that each ended offensive drives.
It’s also clear that Cooks and the Texans know opposing defenses enter games with plans to shut down one of their offense’s few playmakers. The Titans limited Cooks to two catches for 18 yards partly by double-teaming him for portions of the game. The Texans leveraged this defensive tendency into an advantage against the Seahawks and a passing defense that entered the weekend ranked last in the NFL.
On the Texans’ first drive of the game, they used Cooks’ threat near the goal line to free up the back of the end zone for tight end Brevin Jordan on a 5-yard touchdown pass (see sequence below).
When Nico Collins motioned to the left side of the field (green arrow), safety Ryan Neal (circled green) stayed behind. Since Cooks (circled red) was the only receiver on that side of the field, Neal was prepared to help cornerback Sidney Jones IV (circled blue) cover him.
But two things happened to clear space for Jordan’s touchdown: 1) Mills and Rex Burkhead sold a run fake that drew the linebackers forward (circled purple), and 2) Cooks broke inside forcefully enough that Neal charged to stop what he anticipated would be a quick slant.
Both factors cleared space in the back half of the end zone for Jordan (yellow arrow), who dragged across the field, behind the linebackers, behind Neal, and sat in the back right corner until Mills found him for the easy score to give the Texans a 7-0 lead.
“They just didn’t cover me,” said Jordan, who has 15 catches for 113 yards and three touchdowns in six games. “The whole time I was pretty much open.”
During the second quarter, Cooks showed why such attention is warranted.
On second-and-4 at the Seattle 10 (sequence shown below), the Texans were able to get Cooks in one-on-one coverage against cornerback D.J. Reed (circled purple) by deploying their run-heavy 13 personnel package (1 WR, 3 TEs, 1 RB).
The Texans run the ball 70 percent of the time when they deploy 13 personnel, according to Sharp Football Stats, and the Seahawks are clearly prepared for a run play with Burkhead in the backfield, who has gained the coaching staff ’s favor as a downhill runner. Neal dropped down to the left edge just before the snap and blitzed (blue arrow).
The location of this play call also appeared to give the Texans yet another advantage: free safety Quandre Diggs was aligned almost directly in the middle of the field (purple arrow), too far away to provide Reed any help when Cooks made his move on an inside slant. Mills (circled white) quickly threw the ball 1.09 seconds after the snap, and Reed could only drag Cooks down from behind for what initially appeared to be a touchdown.
But an official ruled Cooks’ knee was down before the ball crossed the goal line, a call that was confirmed by instant replay. The 10-yard distance indeed gave Reed time to make a tackle, but the 9-yard reception set up firstand-goal at the 1 — an extremely favorable position that the Texans failed to fully capitalize on by eventually kicking a point-blank field goal after three plays and a costly illegal formation penalty.
“It is what it is,” Cooks said. “You've got to live with those calls. When it's first-and-goal from the 1, regardless, I expect us to score. And we didn't.”
The game began to unravel during the second half. It’s been a problem for the rebuilding franchise all season. By getting blanked by the Seahawks 17-0, the Texans have now failed to score during the second half in three straight games.
They’ve been outscored 194-62 during the second half this season, a glaring statistic that underlines the offense’s limitations and failures to adjust throughout a game.
The Seahawks clamped down on an inefficient Texans run game that suddenly found itself with just one running back when Rex Burkhead exited the game with a hip injury. Seattle recorded six tackles for loss and two sacks in the second half, which contributed to Houston’s second-down situations increasing by an average of 1.1 yards to gain.
The Texans tried offset their ineffective run game and alleviate the increased pressure on Mills’ passes by running more screens than they’ve run in any other game this season. Mills threw seven screens in the second half.
Cooks was a central figure in the plan. He led the team with four screens for 51 yards, and each catch either picked up a first down or eventually helped convert one.
Texans’ screen usage in 2021
• Texans’ average per game in first 12 games: 3-of-4 passing, 15 yards*
• Davis Mills vs. Seahawks: 8-of-9 passing, 77 yards* According to Pro Football Focus
“We weren’t going to put (Mills) in harm’s way,” Culley said. “We want to get the ball out of his hands. He did a good job of doing that. This was a football team that got up the field, they like to get to the quarterback, and we were able to have some success doing the screens because of that.”
On second-and-10 at the Houston
25 (sequence shown below), the Texans converted a first down with a 19-yard screen to Cooks. The defensive alignment and play call made a screen favorable. Safeties Diggs and Neal (circled yellow) were both backed up deep, and the Seahawks sent five defenders after Mills while edge rusher Carlos Dunlap II (circled orange) dropped back in coverage.
This essentially gave the Texans a numbers advantage with three receivers split wide and only two defensive backs readily available before the snap. Tight end Pharaoh Brown (circled blue) and wide receiver Chris Conley (circled green) both effectively carried out their blocks, which gave Cooks (purple arrow) a free lane to escape Dunlap toward the right sideline.
Brown (6-6, 258 pounds) and Conley (6-3, 205) have size profiles that make them favorable blockers on screens. Conley said he’s had to adapt this season to a role that’s been different than his previous six seasons with the Chiefs and Jaguars.
The 29-year-old Conley, who signed a one-year deal in March, is on pace to finish with his fewest receiving yards (253) since 2017 (175), when he played just five games. Houston’s run-oriented scheme has demanded he be more physical, and he said he’s made it known that if they’re going to run a receiver screen, he wants it to be run behind him.
The Texans had few other effective second-half options other than screens. Beyond screens, Mills was 11-of-21 passing for 94 yards in the second half. Only two of those non-screen completions — an 11-yard checkdown to Brevin Jordan on third-and-19, a firstand-10 slant to Phillip Dorsett — were completed while the game was still within two scores.
The Seahawks tightened their coverage, and Mills could not connect with receivers in crucial one-on-one situations. Nico Collins, a 6-4, 215-pound rookie, couldn’t fight off Reed’s initial jam on a sideline jump ball on a firstand-10 during Houston’s second drive of the half. After the drive was salvaged by a defensive holding call, Cooks was jammed by Jones on a third-and-10 sideline toss that also fell incomplete.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks began to pull away. The Texans had one final chance to keep the game from getting out of hand, when Seattle led 27-13 with 6:26 left in the game. On third-and-3 at midfield (sequence shown below), the Texans turned to their best receiver to continue the drive. Offensive coordinator Tim Kelly has said that they like Mills’ ability to throw on the run, and they had Mills roll out toward the right sideline to attempt a sideline toss to Cooks in one-on-one coverage.
Collins cleared the sideline with a vertical route (red arrow), leaving Cooks (yellow arrow) alone with safety Ugo Amadi in pursuit. Cooks attempted to get separation before breaking toward the sideline (circled yellow), but Amadi recovered and swatted Mills’ pass just before it reached Cooks. The Texans went for it on fourth down, but Mills failed to connect with
Jordan downfield.
Four games remain in the regular season. First-year general manager Nick Caserio will be keeping a close eye on Mills and how he progresses in four more starts.
Myriad issues across the team are preventing the third-round rookie from winning his first NFL game as a starter, but he’s figured out one crucial part in this offense: Get Cooks the ball.