One that got away
Penalties, poor coaching calls, special teams follies mar winnable game
There are two things to consider when analyzing the Texans’ 25-22 loss to New England on Sunday.
First, they blew the game and giftwrapped a come-from-behind victory for the Patriots by making questionable coaching decisions, committing too many penalties and playing perhaps the worst special teams in franchise history. And the Texans still should have won. Or at least they could have won.
Second, thanks to an exceptional performance by rookie quarterback Davis Mills, the Texans showed remarkable improvement over their appalling 40-point loss at Buffalo in their previous game. They almost defeated Bill Belichick and the Patriots for a third consecutive season, and they stayed on course for a high first-round draft choice that will benefit the rebuild.
In light of his performance against the Bills, Mills’ turnaround was stunning. Going against a defense that was fifth in the NFL, including fourth against the pass, Mills was unconscious. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He should have had a fourth touchdown pass, but receiver Chris Moore dropped it in the end zone.
How much progress did Mills make in a week? His 141.7 rating was topped only three times by Deshaun Watson in his first four seasons.
“The big thing is last week I did force a couple of throws, and it didn’t end up in a good result,” Mills said. “Big thing is just learning from mistakes and not making the same mistake twice.
“I felt like protecting the football was my biggest job. I thought we did pretty well with that today. You don’t want to lose games ever. It’s a harsh feeling, but I think the guys rallied together.”
Coach David Culley was fearless going for it on fourth down.
Offensive coordinator Tim Kelly called his most impressive game. Passing game coordinator/ quarterback Pep Hamilton deserves a lot of credit for helping Mills overcome his performance against the Bills and undergo such an amazing transformation against the Patriots.
Mills deserved a better fate than the Texans blowing leads of 15-9 at halftime and 22-15 early in the fourth quarter.
Now, let’s look in chronological order at how the Texans lost a chance to break their threegame losing streak.
Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, who was activated from injured reserve last week after recovering from a groin injury, had the worst game of his six-year career.
The usually reliable Fairbairn missed extra points after the first two touchdowns. In between, his kickoff went out of bounds, setting up the Patriots at their 40 and leading to their first touchdown.
There must have been something in the NRG Stadium air because New England’s Nick Folk missed his first extra point, too. Unfortunately for the Texans, that was all Folk missed.
Thanks to Mills touchdown passes to tight end Antony Auclair for 11 yards, Moore for 67 and Chris Conley for 37 on a perfectly executed gadget play, the Texans led 22-9 early in the third quarter.
Then regrettable decisions by Culley and mistakes by his players ignited the Patriots’ comeback.
With 10:26 remaining in the third, the Texans faced fourthand-2 at their 36. Cam Johnston lined up to punt but then lined up as if he would take a direct snap from the wildcat formation. Then he backed up, took the snap and shanked a punt that struck safety Terrance Brooks in his helmet. His punt netted 0 yards and gave New England the ball at the Texans’ 36.
“If they gave us the right look, we were possibly going to fake it,” Culley said. “They didn’t give us the look. We were going to back out and then just (punt), and it didn’t work out.”
The Patriots capitalized on Folk’s 52-yard field goal that pulled them to 22-12. Before the third quarter ended, Folk connected from 32 yards to make it 22-15.
At the end of the Texans’ possession early in the fourth quarter, they had fourth-and-4 at the New England 38. Culley had three ways to go, and he called a timeout to consider them.
Culley could ask Johnston to back up the Patriots inside their 10 and make rookie quarterback Mac Jones take them at least 90 yards for a touchdown. Or continue his riverboat gambler strategy and go for it on fourth down. Culley chose option No. 3, the worst one.
Fairbairn, who was having a terrible game, had never made a 56-yard field goal. He had the distance but was wide right, giving the Patriots the ball at their 46. Seven plays later, they tied the game on Jones’ 13-yard pass to tight end Hunter Henry.
“We felt like he was in his range,” Culley said. “He’s our kicker, got the utmost confidence in him. He had a tough day up to that point but had made one. We felt if we made that field goal, it’s a two-score game. That’s why I made the decision to kick.”
After the Texans went threeand-out, the Patriots got the ball at their 13, thanks to Johnston’s 54-yard punt. They had thirdand-18, and Jones’ pass over the middle was incomplete. But wait. Defensive tackle Maliek Collins hit Jones in the chin, and that headshot cost them 15 yards.
“It’s just unfortunate,” safety Justin Reid said. “Maliek has made so many plays for us, just being the aggressive guy he is.”
It was one of eight penalties against the Texans for 70 yards.
“Those are things we’ve got to work on and clean up, just being able to close out the fourth quarter,” Reid said. “He’s (Collins) a smart guy, and he’s going to get it right. He took responsibility for it, and I know he’s going to make the right decisions.”
At the end of the drive, the Patriots had the ball at the Texans’ 6 with two minutes remaining. After a Rhamondre Stevenson run to the 2, Culley used his last timeout. On the next play, Stevenson scored. The Patriots were called for an illegal shift. Culley should have declined it, allow the score and give the ball back to his offense with 1:52 left, but he accepted the penalty.
Asked if he thought about declining the penalty, Culley said, “We did think about that. There was a possibility we were going to end up letting him score.”
But they didn’t, and, three plays later, Folk kicked his last field goal, a 21-yarder with two seconds left, to help the Patriots avoid a 1-4 start.
“This one hurt a lot,” Reid said. “We had control of the game, and we let it slip through our fingertips.”