Texans morning huddle: Tough loss to start the year
By Randy Gurzi
Well Texans fans, yesterday was a tough one and we are still in the 24-hour window to be mad. So let’s read up on the loss and get it all out before we move on to Carolina. Check out all the stories from around the web about yesterday’s game. Enjoy;
Texans bench Brian Hoyer, replaced by Ryan Mallett late vs. Chiefs – by Eric Edholm, Yahoo Sports
"Brian Hoyer won the Houston Texans’ starting quarterback battle in a dramatic scene that was played out with the “Hard Knocks” cameras rolling.His debut as Texans starter, however, didn’t go so well.Hoyer struggled badly against a ferocious Kansas City Chiefs pass rush, taking four sacks, throwing an interception and completing only 21 of 39 passes as the Chiefs built a 27-6 first-half lead.The NRG Stadium crowd started chanting Ryan Mallett’s name in the second half, and it got its wish.Texans head coach Bill O’Brien made it clear when he informed Hoyer he was starting that it was hardly a permanent thing. That became clear when O’Brien yanked Hoyer and replaced him with Mallett with 6:10 left in the fourth quarter.Mallett went to work instantly, completing 4 of 5 passes on his first drive for 42 yards and an 8-yard TD pass to DeAndre Hopkins to cut the score to 27-17 when Mallett found Hopkins on the two-point conversion.On Mallett’s second drive, he helped the Texans flip the field in just over a minute of game time and score a field goal — it doinked in off the crossbar — to make it a one-score game with 1:23 remaining. The Texans’ ensuing onsides kick attempt failed."
Smith’s 3 touchdown passes lead Chiefs over Texans, 27-20 – ESPN
"Kansas City’s defense forced Houston into some early mistakes, and Alex Smith capitalized on enough of them to give the Chiefs a win.Smith threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns in the first half as the Chiefs built a big lead and held on for a 27-20 victory over the mistake-prone Texans on Sunday.“It’s tough to turn the ball over a couple of times and win the game,” Kansas City coach Andy Reid said. “With that we were able to score points … and get up fairly quickly and decisively.”Travis Kelce caught two touchdown passes in the first quarter, the first one coming after Kansas City intercepted Brian Hoyer’s first pass as a Texan.The Chiefs were up by 14 in the second quarter when Justin Houston sacked Hoyer, forcing a fumble. Kansas City recovered it and a 7-yard touchdown reception by Jamaal Charles pushed the lead to 27-6.“We got the couple of turnovers in the red zone and were able to capitalize and I think in the end that was the difference,” Smith said.Hoyer struggled in his debut before Ryan Mallett took over with about six minutes left and led Houston on two scoring drives to cut the lead to a touchdown."
Randy Bullock misses the first extra point of the season – ESPN
"Houston Texans kicker Randy Bullock is now the answer to a trivia question: He’s the first player to miss an extra point under new NFL rules, requiring the point-after attempt to be snapped from the 15-yard line.The miss came after DeAndre Hopkins made a four-yard touchdown catch on a jump ball in the corner of the end zone.Kickers last season hit 95.9 percent of their field goal attempts from 30-35 yards, and according to this post from Kevin Seifert, if a similar rate holds this season, we’ll see around 58 missed PATs."
J.J. Watt has record day despite loss – by Deepi Sidhu, HoustonTexans.com
"J.J. Watt may not have taken a single snap in this preseason, but it didn’t affect the NFL’s two-time Defensive Player of the Year.Against Kansas City, Watt had nine solo tackles, including six for a loss to tie his career high from three years ago. He also registered two sacks on Alex Smith, tied for the most in a season opener in franchise history. He even lost his helmet on one of them, another personal first.“I think I’ve had a tackle without a helmet, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a sack without a helmet before,” Watt said after the game. “I mean, the guy’s hands were in my face and knocked my helmet off and I’m not going to just stop playing. It turned out to be a sack, so I’ll take it.”Watt has now posted a sack in his sixth-consecutive game, dating back to 2014. It’s the second-longest active streak in the NFL, the first being Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston with seven games.Watt lined up next to Vince Wilfork in his first start as a Texan. Wilfork also didn’t play a snap in the preseason. The 12-year veteran defensive tackle offered a lot of insight in-game. Wilfork can communicate what he sees immediately coming off the field onto the sideline, according to Watt. The three-time All-Pro gave credit to Wilfork and his teammates for Sunday’s performance."