Turnovers keep piling up in Smith’s scheme
The Texans’ defense finished the preseason forcing 10 takeaways in three games, eclipsing the historically low nine takeaways last year’s unit forced throughout the entire 2020 regular season.
Houston forced three turnovers in its 23-16 loss against Tampa Bay Saturday night in NRG Stadium, and each turnover came after Buccaneers starting quarterback Tom Brady exited the game.
The increase in turnovers is a promising sign that Houston’s defense will be more disruptive in 2021 within new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith’s 4-3 scheme. The franchise’s nine takeaways last season were the second-fewest by an NFL team since 1980, and players have said throughout training camp that Smith has emphasized forcing turnovers.
“(Smith) just gives you more emphasis in the game of going and taking the ball away,” safety Terrence Brooks said. “I feel like some guys get so caught up in the game that they forget that it’s all about the ball and that’s just something he’s been honing in on ever since we got here day one and you have a lot of guys out there just hungry and love to play the game and they are going out there trying to take the ball away and it’s been good.”
Brooks intercepted backup Buccaneers quarterback Blaine Gabbert’s first pass attempt of the game in the second quarter.
Rookie quarterback Kyle Trask lost control of the football in the third quarter, and linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill recovered at the Tampa Bay 11. Texans rookie quarterback Davis Mills threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins on the next play, which brought Houston within 16-10 with 8:44 left in the third quarter.
Defensive end DeMarcus Walker, who signed a one-year deal with the Texans in April, jarred the ball loose while sacking Trask at the start of the fourth quarter. Defensive tackle Vincent Taylor recovered the fumble at the Tamp Bay 39. Five plays later, Mills threw a 9-yard touchdown to Jordan Veasy, which set the final score.
Taylor also blocked Tampa Bay’s first point-after attempt during the first quarter. Reserve cornerback Tavierre Thomas blocked a 49-yard field goal attempt by Jose Borregales in the fourth quarter. Brooks recovered the blocked kick and returned it 30 yards to the Tampa Bay 30.
“You could just see what Coach Lovie Smith is preaching what means about getting to the ball, being aggressive, finding ways to get to the ball,” said safety Justin Reid. “Everything is about the ball and it’s coming out on the tape so we have to take that with us into the regular season and continue to force turnovers to help our team win games.”
Offense gets sloppy with the football
The Texans turned the ball over five times in its 23-16 loss to the Buccaneers in the preseason finale Saturday night in NRG Stadium, the highest total by the franchise in its three exhibition games.
Starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor fumbled while rolling out to his right on the third drive of the game, and Mills threw three interceptions and lost a fumble while getting sacked in the fourth quarter.
The turnovers yielded minimal damage. Tampa Bay only scored once off its extra possessions: a 36-yard field goal by Borregales in the second quarter. Still, the shaky offensive performance produces issues the Texans must fix before the regular season begins Sept. 12 against the Jaguars at home.
“The first priority on offense is not to give up the ball, and we gave it up way too many times,” coach David Culley said. “One is too many. It doesn’t matter how many you get on defense, when you turn it over on offense your chances of winning are very slim. And that was very disappointing, and that’s something we have been doing a good job of up until tonight.”
Mills, a third-round pick out of Stanford, was ineffectual with the first-team offense, completing just 2-of-8 pass attempts for six yards and two interceptions.
The 6-4, 225-pound Georgia native rebounded with the reserve unit in the second half. Mills threw two touchdowns on an 11-yard pass to Collins in the third quarter and a 9-yard pass to Veasy in the fourth. On Houston’s final drive, Mills threw his final interception while trying to connect with Keke Coutee deep downfield.
“Turning the ball over is definitely not a recipe for winning in this league, and that starts at the quarterback position,” Taylor said. “We can be better. I can be better, first and foremost, and we can be better as a unit. But I also think we did some good things out there. We just shot ourselves in the foot and then didn’t give ourselves the best opportunity to be successful in the game with the turnovers. Always tough to overcome those.”
Defense shines with starters held out
Texans starting cornerback Bradley Roby, linebacker Zach Cunningham and safety Lonnie Johnson did not play in the team’s final preseason game against the Buccaneers Saturday night. The defenders practiced all week leading up to the final exhibition before the regular season.
Cunningham did not play due to “personal reasons,” Culley said, and Johnson had a “little tweak” in muscles that kept them out of action.
“We didn’t want to take a chance on them getting it pulled or anything,” Culley said. “I think if we were playing a regular season game, they would’ve been able to play.”
Roby, an eighth-year veteran, will be sitting out the season opener against the Jaguars to finish last year’s six-game suspension.
Cunningham, the franchise’s second round pick in 2017, has started in 59 games for the Texans in the last four seasons.
Cornerbacks Vernon Hargreaves and Terrance Mitchell started with the first-team defense, and Christian Kirksey and Grugier-Hill were the starting linebackers.
Kirksey and Grugier-Hill both had five tackles and a tackle for loss against the Buccaneers, and Grugier-Hill recovered a fumble in the third quarter that led to a Texans touchdown.
“I was so happy to see Kamu go out there and play very well,” Kirksey said. “He’s been working his butt off this whole time in training camp, even the offseason, just doing workouts with him. He’s the type of guy that, you know, what happened today, he definitely deserves it. He puts the work in. He doesn’t complain about anything and just gets better and better.
“I was just, you know, so happy and proud of him, and glad that he enjoyed that moment.”
Injured Texan wide receiver Anthony Miller, safety A.J. Moore, defensive end Jonathan Greenard and return specialist Andre Roberts also did not play.
Safety Cornell Armstrong did not play after practicing last week, and third-string quarterback Jeff Driskel did not see action for the first time in the preseason.