Offense loses ground
Defense acquits itself admirably by shutting down Manning
The Texans’ offense would have been hard-pressed to be any worse than it was in the first half of Saturday night’s 14-10 preseason loss to the Denver Broncos at NRGStadium.
The Texans’ defense deserved better from an offense that was so inept it failed to score with Ryan Mallett or Brian Hoyer at quarterback.
Yes, it was just the second exhibition, and it’s no time to panic. But knowing coach Bill O’Brien and offensive coordinator George Godsey, they had to be frustrated with the performance of the offense.
“We did some good things, especially on defense, but offensively, we have to make some improvement,” O’Brien said.
While the defense shut down Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, who played for the first time this preseason in first-year coach Gary Kubiak’s offense, the Texans’ offense failed to keep its end of the bargain.
Mallett started and was 5-of-7 for 23 yards before yielding to Hoyer.
Hoyer played the rest of the first half and was 7-of-11 for 52 yards. He was sacked twice. He also had two passes dropped.
The Texans didn’t get
The Texans didn’t get within sniffing distance of the end zone with either quarterback.
It wasn’t until Tom Savage played in the second half that the Texans even got on the scoreboard. They began the third quarter with a 12-play, 72yard drive that ended with Randy Bullock’s 32-yard field goal.
“The offense was subpar, and it starts with me,” O’Brien said. “I’ve got to do a better job with the offense.”
Meanwhile, the defense was doing something it has seldom done in the regular season: force Manning into nothing but goose eggs.
“It was the second preseason game, so I wouldn’t read too much into who did what to whom,” O’Brien said.
Manning, who has a 17-3 regular-season record against the Texans with 48 touchdown passes and only eight interceptions, was kept in line by tight coverage from the defensive backs and linebackers.
Manning took snaps under center, which Kubiak likes his quarterbacks to do, as well as his preferred shotgun, but it didn’t matter against an improving Texans defense that limited him to 8-of-14 for 54 yards. His longest completion was for 15 yards.
Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel had to feel good about the way his defense handled Manning, the five-time Most Valu- able Player and 14-time Pro Bowl selection.
What made the defensive performance against Manning even more impressive was that end J.J. Watt, nose tackle Vince Wilfork and cornerback Johnathan Joseph took the night off for the second consecutive game.
Manning, who has torched the Texans for 5,852 yards and a passer rating of 108.9 in regular season, played four series and led the Broncos across midfield one time before being replaced by Brock Osweiler.
It was the defense that enabled the Texans to lead for the first time. Outside linebacker Kourtnei Brown, who had two sacks in the victory over San Francisco a week ago, intercepted a pass thrown by Osweiler and took off down the right side.
Brown (6-4, 253) is a oneyear veteran who signed as a free agent. He made an exceptional catch and was untouched as he sprinted to a 68-yard touchdown that gave the Texans a 10-7 lead and brought the crowd to life.
“He’s done a good job,” O’Brien said. “He’s made a lot of improvement at a very competitive position.”
The defensive reserves blew the game on Denver’s last series. Cornerback Darryl Morris was called for pass interference on a third down play. Then he was beaten on the decisive touchdown pass.