Why you should go
John McClain gives his reasons to attend today’s game.
Four friends who have owned season tickets since the Texans’ inception asked me last week to give them a meaningful reason they should attend Sunday’s meaningless game against San Francisco.
As they pointed out, the Texans are 4-8 with five losses in six games, and their offense is so boring it has scored more than one touchdown once since Tom Savage replaced Deshaun Watson as the starting quarterback.
To make the game at NRG Stadium even less appealing, they said, is the 49ers’ 2-10 record in a rebuilding season.
So, why should they devote five hours to the Texans and 49ers rather than stay home and watch games that mean something in the playoff race or just go Christmas shopping with their wives?
I had to think a few minutes before coming up with a meaningful answer, and it was a struggle. I provided a few reasons diehard Texans’ fans like my friends should consider when making their decision. For some, there’s blind loyalty
First, there’s blind loyalty. The kind the Cleveland Browns have. Their team is 4-40 over the last three seasons, but their rabid fans continue to support them, even when the weather is horrid.
My friends love their Texans. They celebrate when they win and suffer when they lose. They love to tailgate and hang out with other friends for a couple of hours before the game.
As I reminded them, watching the Texans in person is to get a first-hand look at the continued excellence of receiver DeAndre Hopkins and outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney.
Hopkins and Clowney haven’t experienced the misfortune that has befallen so many of their teammates. Both are destined for the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro team.
With four games left, Hopkins has 77 catches for 1,084 yards and nine touchdowns — two shy of the team record he set in 2015. Watching Hopkins’ one-handed catches and sideline toes dances is worth the price of admission — especially since my friends anted up their money in the offseason.
Clowney, who switches between outside linebacker and defensive end, is having a terrific season with a careerhigh nine sacks to go with 18 tackles for loss and 13 hits on the quarterback.
First-year 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan had a unique way to describe Clowney last week. “He’s an issue,” Shanahan said. Yes, Clowney has been an issue for opponents — disruptive and dominating.
“He plays violent,” Shanahan said. “It wasn’t very fun to watch him (on tape). You get excited hearing that J.J.’s (Watt) not in there, which, thank goodness, he’s not, but Clowney is. He’s lived up to the expectations that everybody’s wanted him to.”
When I’m watching the game from my seat in the press box, I’m going to be interested in Brian Cushing’s return. He hasn’t played since the first game because of his suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
I want to see how defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel uses Cushing and how he plays considering how well Zach Cunningham and Dylan Cole have played as rookies.
I know this about Cushing: He has a lot of pride, and he’s extremely competitive. He’ll want to make an impact on the game.
“What’s done is done, and I can’t worry too much about the past,” Cushing said after being activated last week. “I just have to continue to move forward and play the best football I can for this team.”
I also want to see if Savage can play as he did at Tennessee, where he threw for a career-best 365 yards, but this time produce his first game without a turnover.
What Texans’ fan wouldn’t want to see that, right?
“Yeah, (I) just have to keep piggybacking and limit the turnovers,” Savage said. “That’s the main goal, to get rid of that pick and win the game.” If still not convinced, how about this
As I reminded my friends, if they attend the game, they can watch the quarterback with the sixth-best passer rating throwing outside the pocket — Savage with 103.9, according to ESPN’s “NFL Matchup.”
“I’m not, by any means, a burner, but I know I can extend the play enough to make a play,” Savage said.
At this point, all four buddies still weren’t convinced they should go to the game, so I came up with a few more reasons.
Like the Texans winning their last home game, defeating Arizona by 10 points the week before the Cardinals beat Jacksonville.
Here’s one all Texans’ fans can understand: What’s the over/under on how many of their players will leave the game because of injuries? They lost six last week at Tennessee, including four with concussions.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if the Texans could get through a game without losing a player? That might be too much to ask considering how many they have suffered in Bill O’Brien’s fourth season.
Because of injuries, O’Brien and his assistants have to adjust and manipulate the lineup in a search-and-replace mission.
And, finally, I found a couple of reasons to attend this game from a San Francisco perspective.
My friends can watch Shanahan, the former Texans’ assistant, in his first season as a head coach.
And they can see how Jimmy Garoppolo performs in his second start. After acquiring the quarterback from New England for a second-round pick, Shanahan waited to start him. In his first start last week, Garoppolo helped them win at Chicago.
I won’t know if all four friends are going until they text me Sunday morning. They’ve been known to commit and then back out at the last minute for some odd reason. If they stay home, though, I think they’ll be part of a monster crowd of no-shows.