NEARING POTENTIAL
When the Texans’ offense finds consistency, preseason expectations will have been met
Deshaun Watson weaving away from defenders. DeAndre Hopkins displaying acrobatic skill to make catch after catch. Lamar Miller plowing through traffic to rack up rushing yards. An offensive line helping it all happen.
This is the Texans’ offense everyone expected to see at the beginning of the season.
It took several games, some disappointment and a lot of bumps but the Texans are finally living up to expectations and the timing is excellent as they are headed to Denver to take on the Broncos on Sunday to start the second half of the season.
The Texans are coming off their fifth straight win and their best offensive performance of the season after beating Miami 42-23 on Oct. 25.
In the win, the Texans generated 427 yards on offense, scoring four touchdowns on four trips to the red zone.
It was the best they looked all season.
The offense was clicking, the ball was moving.
Watson looked like a star. After the game, he said the offense was what he’s envisioned since he came to Houston last year.
“This offense can be very explosive,” Watson said. “We can do a lot of good things, put a lot of points on the board. Once we’re all on the same page and everyone’s clicking, and we don’t have any turnovers and no penalties, we can be very, very explosive and that’s what we showed tonight.”
For two straight games, the offense has been better.
In Denver, fighting the altitude and a solid defensive front, the Texans have to do it again.
Six games into the season, there were few praises to sing about the Texans’ offensive front.
Watson was a punching bag — he’d been hit 65 times, sacked 25 times. He had to take a bus to and from Jacksonville because of a partially collapsed lung and bruised ribs. Things were looking grim. But in Jacksonville, the Texans looked good. And against Miami they looked better.
The biggest improvement has come on the offensive line.
The unit has been heavily criticized — rightfully so — but has turned things around over the last couple of weeks.
Miller has rushed for more than 100 yards in the last two outings. Against Miami, the Texans rushed for 188 total yards.
Tackle Kendall Lamm said the line has been good about blocking out the outside noise.
“Everyone has an opinion,” he said. “But we just have to focus on what’s in front of us.”
Lamm said he and the rest of the linemen have put in extra time, watched film, worked together to improve.
The better the linemen are, the better Watson is.
And when Watson has time and protection, he is one of the best in the NFL.
Broncos coach Vance Joseph compared Watson to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whom Denver has faced twice this year.
Joseph said the Broncos’ defense will take a similar approach with Watson as they did with Mahomes.
“Keeping our rush plan clean, containing the quarterback and when he does escape the pocket, which he will, chase this guy down, cover the second and third routes on the back end, and that’s the key.” Joseph said.
The Broncos will also have their hands full with a few receivers — Hopkins, who is possibly the best receiver in the league and Demaryius Thomas, who played for the Broncos until Tuesday when he was traded to the Texans.
“Hop right now is playing out of his mind,” Joseph said. “He’s obviously a top-five guy in this league. He’s got the best ball skills in the league.
It’s going to take a great, great plan and scheme to really contain Hop. Now, with DT (Thomas) on the other side, that’s going to be tough to pick your poison. When you want to put two guys on Hop and leave DT single, that’s the problem you have now when you have two Pro Bowltype of receivers.”
The offense is loaded with weapons and the Texans are finally using them and living up to expectations
If they can do it again, on the road in Denver, they’ll head home and into a week off with six wins in a row.
The offense has just about everything it needs. Now if it just adds consistency, the Texans will live up to the hype they had entering the season.