Texans Tidbits: what we learned from week 11
By Josh McSwain
The Houston Texans have now won three in a row and are tied for the lead in the AFC South. This team is one of the hotter teams in the league right now, seemingly firing on all cylinders. Here are the things we learned from Sunday’s win over the Jets:
1. The Texans made the right move in letting Ryan Fitzpatrick go
So far Brian Hoyer has been unsteady as a whole but very good lately. Meanwhile Fitzpatrick has been a lift for the Jets while back in the system run by Chan Gailey, his former head coach in Buffalo. But on Sunday he reverted back to doing seemingly what he does best—turning the ball over at crucial times. He makes big plays for both teams. Hoyer has been good as the starter in Houston and Yates has been steady in relief so far with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
2. There is some hope for the running game after all
Alfred Blue and Jonathan Grimes may have restored some hope in the running game after all. Blue ran for 58 yards and Grimes added 37 to give the two of them 95 yards. The Texans need to use the running back by committee approach even more in the coming weeks in order to take some pressure off of the passing game.
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3. Not even Darelle Revis can slow down DeAndre Hopkins
Remember this play of Revis getting burned by Ted Ginn? Well this one looked fairly similar. Granted, Revis is older now and Hopkins is already better than Ginn ever was, but Revis is still regarded as one of the best corners in the league. It just goes to show you what a great year that Hopkins is having, maybe the best receiver of 2015. I know Julio Jones is slightly higher in some of the numbers than Hopkins, but Jones has had a steady quarterback all season while Hopkins has caught passes from three different guys.
4. Maybe the Texans can stop the run after all
Throughout the season stopping the run has been the biggest thorn in the side of the Texans. Coming into this week they were one of the worst in the league with 118 yards allowed on the ground. Going against a Jets team that averaged almost 117 yards on the ground seemed like a mismatch but the Texans held them to 70 yards on 21 carries. Chris Ivory had 36 yards on eight carries, with 23 coming on one run. That’s a good performance by what is becoming a very good defense. Also, J.J. Watt is now back on top of the league in sacks. While the Jets did snap the streak the Texans had of keeping opponents out of the end zone at 12 quarters with a third quarter touchdown, there is no doubt Houston has the hottest defense in the league right now.