Texans morning huddle: Victory Monday, Watt pushes through illness
By Randy Gurzi
What a Sunday Texans fans. The Houston Texans were the only AFC South team to escape Week 6 with a victory as they defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts both suffered defeats.
The outlook after a 31-20 victory is much better this week after struggling through a couple of tough games the previous two weeks. So, with the joy of a great weekend making this Monday great, let’s see what kind of news links the huddle has brought together. Enjoy;
Brian Hoyer enjoys two big wins in one weekend – by Deepi Sidhu, HoustonTexans.com
"Brian Hoyer was asked about his Michigan State Spartans’ good fortune rubbing off on him Sunday.“The Luck of Sparty, huh?” Hoyer laughed, referring to the school mascot.From the Jacksonville hotel, Hoyer watched the Spartans last-second heroics on a mishandled punt returned for a touchdown in the 27-23 win at Michigan. Hoyer recalled his own win as Spartan quarterback against the Wolverines, also at Michigan.But on Sunday, Hoyer finally got his first win as a Texan quarterback. After starting Week 1, Hoyer was benched and played only in relief, up until Houston’s 31-20 victory over the Jaguars in Week 6.“Obviously it’s huge to get a win on the road, against a division opponent. We knew we were going to come in here and they were coming off a tough loss too,” Hoyer said. “They were going to give everything they had and it was definitely challenging.”On Thursday, Bill O’Brien said what he’d like to see out of Hoyer in a perfect world: “no turnovers, good on third down, get us into the right play, good leadership, and just a good, smart football game.”O’Brien got what he asked for. After the game, he said he was pleased with how Hoyer managed the game and the calmness that he displayed.The seven-year veteran completed 24-of-36 passes (66.7%) for 293 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 119.3 passer rating. He tied a single-game career-high with three passing touchdowns, while his passer rating was the second-highest mark of his career.“Hoyer’s a leader,” DeAndre Hopkins said. “He’s a natural born leader.”"
After fighting through illness to play, J.J. Watt earns long nap – by Tania Ganguli, ESPN
"J.J. Watt didn’t feel well enough to do on-camera interviews after the Houston Texans defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-20 Sunday.He spent all the energy he had getting through the game despite a severe illness — likely having caught a bug going around the locker room.“It was all right. I’m just tired now,” Watt said, with a low and raspy voice. “It was a good win. It was a good win for our team. Great day. …We got a good win. I just need a nap and a lot of sleep.”Watt had several pressures of Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles, and one official quarterback hit. He had two tackles and one batted pass and was penalized twice.“You talk about a guy like J.J. Watt, you can’t say enough about the guy,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “Sick as a dog, shows up here, ready to help. plays the whole game. that’s what great players do. obviously if he stays healthy in his career he’ll be a Hall of Famer. That’s what those guys do. They just show up no matter how they feel and they’re ready to help the team.”To gear up for the game, Watt went through his normal routine. He played catch around the stadium with Texans fans big and very small. He practiced pass-rushing moves on the goal post. He caught one-handed passes from a teammate"
DeAndre Hopkins, Brian Hoyer lead Texans to first division win – by Tania Ganguli, ESPN
"The situation rang a bit familiar.A Houston Texans quarterback took a hard hit (which drew an unnecessary roughness call this time), and left the game briefly, expecting to return soon.This time, though, he did.Not only did Brian Hoyer get to go back into the game after missing just one play, he followed up by throwing two more touchdown passes to DeAndre Hopkins for a career-high of three in the game, propelling the Texans to their second win of the season, a 31-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.Remember, Hoyer returned to lead the Texans last week after Ryan Mallett left for what he thought would be a play or two. This time, Hoyer and Hopkins together secured a sizable lead for the Texans that Houston held onto.What it means: The Texans gave themselves some good vibes by getting a win and improving to 2-4. They were able to rush the passer while the game still mattered — which hadn’t happened since Week 1. They were able to move the ball fairly smoothly. They’ve still got a lot to clean up, but depending on what happens Sunday night when the Colts face the Patriots, this could keep the Texans alive in the division race.What were they thinking? Near the end of the third quarter, the Jaguars were driving when quarterback Blake Bortles found tight end Julius Thomas wide open in the middle of the field. Bortles hit Thomas, who ran the ball into the end zone untouched. It was a complete breakdown of the Texans’ coverage.One reason to get excited: This isn’t the first time I’ve had this opinion, but there really wasn’t a lot to get excited about on Sunday. Arian Foster had a few nice runs, but overall the Texans’ run game was lukewarm."
Texans’ Lonnie Ballentine: Suffers season-ending knee injury – ROTO Wire Staff, CBS Sports
"Ballentine suffered a season-ending knee injury during Sunday’s game against the Jaguars, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports.A 2014 seventh-round draft pick, Ballentine get mosts of his snaps on special teams. He’ll likely be placed on injured reserve Monday or Tuesday."
Whitney Mercilus up, Lonnie Ballentine down in Texans 31-20 win over Jaguars – by Tania Ganguli, ESPN
"A look at Houston Texans players who were “up” and those who were “down” in Sunday’s 31-20 win over the Jacksonville JaguarsUpOLB Whitney Mercilus: The Texans had only six sacks this season, four of them by J.J. Watt, entering Sunday’s game. Mercilus had two of his own on Sunday. Fellow outside linebacker John Simon joined in for another.S Andre Hal: The Texans badly needed turnovers and Hal produced two. One came at the goal line just as the Jaguars were about to score. The other was an interception he returned for a touchdown to put the Texans up an insurmountable 31-14.WR DeAndre Hopkins: Hopkins became the second Texans receiver to have back-to-back games with 10 or more catches. He also tied a franchise record with four consecutive games with at least 100 yards receiving.QB Brian Hoyer: Texans coach Bill O’Brien liked his confidence and calmness in Sunday’s win. Hoyer completed 24 of 36 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns without any interceptions. His passer rating was 119.3.DownCB Kareem Jackson: The Texans have had three interceptions wiped out due to penalties this season. Jackson was the culprit this time, though he wiped out his own interception because he held the receiver. Jackson then suffered an ankle injury and wasn’t able to return to the game."