Adjusting almost pays off
Offense nearly overcomes loss of starting quarterback, two receivers and tight end
CLEVELAND — What does an offensive coordinator do when he loses two wide receivers, his main blocking tight end and his starting quarterback?
The series of injuries challenged Tim Kelly’s creativity in maintaining the Texans’ offensive game plan against the Browns, and, although the play-caller’s solutions didn’t produce a win, the adaptations still nearly sparked a comeback in Houston’s 31-21 loss at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Start with the most influential absence. Tyrod Taylor pulled his hamstring on a scramble just before halftime and did not return. The 11-year veteran was having a career game against his former team before the injury, which could complicate the Texans’ quarterback depth as the team prepares to host the Panthers Thursday night at NRG Stadium.
Taylor was 10-of-11 passing for 125 yards in Cleveland (which included a 22-yard touchdown pass on a screen to Phillip Lindsay), and Taylor’s 15-yard score on a second-quarter scramble had the Texans tied at 14 at halftime with a Browns team that entered the game a 13.5-point favorite.
Kelly turned to Davis Mills in the second half, a rookie quarterback who’d struggled with consistency in three preseason games. The third-round pick from Stanford showed more of the same on Sunday.
The Texans offense was clearly out of sync on Mills’ first two drives.
There appeared to be miscommunication between Mills and Brandin Cooks on the first drive, when Mills’ third-and-6 throw on an inside slant struck Cooks’ shoulder while the receiver wasn’t looking and fell incomplete.
Then, on the first play of the next drive, the Texans offensive line blocked left, Lindsay ran left, and Mills attempted to hand the ball off to the right, realized he was wrong, then managed to pick up two yards on a scramble up the middle. Two plays later, Mills’ third-and-10 pass over the middle was behind Andre Roberts and was intercepted by linebacker Malcolm Smith at the Houston 18.
The gaffes both produced Browns points — a touchdown and field goal — and suddenly the Texans were down 24-14 with 4:40 left in the third quarter.
Now add in the more complex issues.
Starting wide receiver Nico Collins (shoulder) and slot receiver Danny Amendola (hamstring) were both ruled out at halftime with injuries, which meant an already light wide receiver room was nearly depleted.
The Texans carried just six receivers on its 53-man roster going into Cleveland. It’s a smaller number than most NFL teams, an intentional limitation that makes room for the Texans to carry five running backs for coach David Culley’s run-focused offensive philosophy.
The strategy backfired in the face of mass injuries. Anthony Miller, a slot receiver, was healthy and available but was made inactive because there weren’t any available spots within the gameday roster the Texans chose. So, the Texans had to play Andre Roberts, a 33-year-old return specialist who hasn’t seen major playing time as a receiver since 2016.
Then tight end Antony Auclair, a blocking tight end who’s often used to bolster the run game in heavy packages, exited the game after getting poked in the eye. The Texans made rookie tight end Brevin Jordan inactive for Sunday’s game, which forced Kelly to use Chris Conley, a 6-3, 205pound receiver, as the team’s third tight end when they deployed run-heavy personnel packages.
“We used him because he’s a pretty big fella that we used him inside some to do that because of the guys that had gotten injured,” Culley said. “We basically tried to do some of the same things, just with a different guy.”
The shifted pieces all came together on a 16-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
On third-and-13 at the Houston 40, the Texans deployed a twoback set with David Johnson and Rex Burkhead in the backfield. Mills dumped a short pass to Johnson, who scampered toward the right sideline for a 14-yard gain to the Cleveland 46.
Conley then blocked as Houston’s third tight end on two Mark Ingram runs, which set up a thirdand-6 pass from Mills that drew a pass interference penalty at the Cleveland 15.
The Texans continued to use Conley in blocking schemes on a series of runs that set up first-andgoal at the 3. Two plays later, Kelly deployed a personnel package that substituted a receiver for an extra lineman, and, after an Ingram run was stuffed, the Texans went back to a three-receiver set that opened a 2-yard touchdown slant from Mills to Cooks.
The Texans trailed 24-21 with 11:32 left in the game. But the Browns disabled any comeback opportunities by pounding the Houston defense and bleeding the clock on a nine-play, 82-yard touchdown drive in which running backs Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb combined for five carries and 54 yards.
“Obviously, you don’t want any guys to go down,” Mills said. “But I thought we had guys who stepped up and made plays and were just ready when their name was called and they had to go in there and play. … We were really close to winning this game. Obviously, we didn’t. So, we have a lot to improve on.”