A Texan Meltdown

The Houston Texans have lost their 9th straight game this season. They have lost to the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars 13-6. The Houston Texans are a lot better than their record shows. Everyone knows that. The Texans still have one of the best defenses in the NFL, as they have allowed the fewest yards this season (290.4 yards allowed per game). The Texans have the best pass defense (171.8 pass yards allowed per game), but are 22nd in run defense (118.5 rush yards allowed per game). The Texans are tied for 24th in the NFL in turnovers (20), and have a terrible -12 turnover ratio. These turnovers by the Texans and very few takeaways have resulted in missed opportunities, and more points allowed. The Texans are tied for 26th in the NFL in scoring defense (26.3 points allowed per game). Though the Texans have allowed the fewest passing yards per game, they have given up 18 TD passes, but 15 of them were given up in the Red Zone. The Texans have been one of the league's worst Red Zone defenses as their 30th in the NFL in Defensive Red Zone Scoring Percentage. Too many turnovers inside their own 50 yard line has been very costly for the Texans, as their run defense has struggled against their opponents. This causes the Texans to put 7 or 8 men in the box, which allows opponents to call play-action inside the Red Zone, thus throwing touchdowns is easier against the Texans Red Zone Defense. They have had some huge injuries though as LB Brian Cushing went down for the 2nd straight season and Daniel Manning was knocked out for the season. The Texans have also had a tough time turning over the ball as they have only picked off opponents 4 times. They are also 26th in the NFL in fumble recoveries (4), which allows opponents to break down their defense anymore with the lack of forcing a takeaway. J.J. Watt (9.5 Sacks) has been dominated opposing right sides of the offensive line, but outside of Antonio Smith's and Whitney Merclius's 5 sacks, there's really no other pressure. Not a lot of Pressure means more pressure on the cornerbacks and safeties to stay on receivers and tight ends for a little longer time. The Texans defense has done a great job doing that, but the run defense has been shredded for 119 yards or more in 6 games this season.

The Houston Texans were on a roll the first two games of the season, as they averaged 450.5 yards per game (304.5 pass yards per game, 146 rush yards per game) and 30.5 points per game, even though they played the Chargers and Titans. Ever since the first 2 games, the Texans haven't scored at least 25 points in any of their games, and have turned over the ball once in every game (including 11 in a 3 game span; vs Seahawks, 49ers, and Rams, all from NFC West). The passing game wasn't the same as Matt Schaub only threw over 300 yards one more game, and once September ended, Schaub was out of rythem, as he threw for 620 and threw a mere TD-INT ratio of 1:5, with a 62 QB rating. In the 7 games Schaub started this season, the Texans allowed 22 sacks. He finished the season with 8 TD and 9 INT, with a 62.2 Comp% on the year. When Arian Foster started, the Texans ran for 100 or more yards in 5 out of the games he started, but once Arian got injured, the running game ran for 143 yards, then averaged 81 rush yards per game. Ben Tate and others couldn't get the running game going as the blocking started to tumble, even against bad run defenses. After losing TE Owen Daniels in the first week of the season, the Texans looked doomed without a reliable target down field. Without Andre Johnson, this Texans offense would be a mess as he ranks top 5 in the NFL in receptions and receiving yards. Rookie DeAndre Hopkins has done some damage as a deep threat, but has been mostly quiet. Tight End Garrett Graham has found some decent chemistry with back undrafted rookie QB Case Keenam. When Schaub was the QB, the Texans had some mind-blowing defeats and no offensive power. They lost to the 49ers 34-3, lost to the Ravens 30-9, and lost to the Rams 38-13. The Texans Red Zone Offense, like Defense ranked 30th in the NFL in scoring percentage. Despite the fact that the Texans offensive line haven't allowed a lot of sacks when Case Keenum in Quarterback, Keenum wasn't the most accurate QB as he completed only 55% of his passes. Keenum had two huge games during his stint thus far. Against the Colts, Keenum threw for 340 yards, including 3 first half touchdown passes to Andre Johnson. A second half collapse against the Colts (Lost 27-24 after winning 21-0 at half), and a missed field goal by rookie kicker Randy Bullock (one of 9 misses on the year, 67.9% field goal). Keenum threw for 300 yards against Oakland. Part of the reason why Keenum and Schaub haven't been able to get back into games is because of their horrendous 4th quarter performances this season. Both Quarterbacks have had a combined 56.1 Comp%, a TD-INT ratio of 2:4, and have had a 65.3 QB Rating in the 4th Quarter. Keenum failed to mount or convert a couple of key third and fourth downs against Oakland, Arizona, and Jacksonville. 2 of the 3 games Keenum turned over the ball in the final 2 minutes of the game. The offensive line should be getting blamed for most of this due to the lack of protection and 13 sacks they have given up in the 4th Quarter. Keenum does tend to hold the ball too much, letting defenders have more time to react and sack him. All in all the Texans have had a disastrous season, and nothing has really gone their way. Whether it's missed opportunities, or injuries, the Texans don't have an answer for anything this year. Hopefully next season things will look better.