Houston Texans: 3 Takeaways from OT win against Colts

The Houston Texans left Indianapolis with their first win of the 2018 NFL season, winning over the Colts by a 37-34 score in overtime.

The Houston Texans got their first win Sunday over the Indianapolis Colts in a nail-biter, defeating the host Colts 37-34 in overtime. This was a statement win that proved many analysts wrong, including the experts in Las Vegas who had the Colts as a one-point favorite entering the game.

The Texans played strong defense and offense against a resilient Colts team, led by a vintage Andrew Luck. Deshaun Watson and the Houston receivers were both in tempo, proving preseason predictions correct, while gaining a win along the way.

Additionally, J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney played lights out, pressuring Luck and the Colts running backs all game long. The Texans statement win can be highlighted by the following 3 takeaways.

1. The Texans’ linebackers are very powerful

The Texans duo of edge rushers Clowney and Watt put immense pressure on Luck. Watt sacked the Colts quarterback twice, adding on to his season total of now five sacks, all coming in the past two games.

Additionally, Watt forced two fumbles, which led to 14 points for the Texans. Clowney sacked Luck twice and recovered a fumble for a touchdown. Both Benardrick McKinney and Zach Cunningham combined for 12 total tackles, creating a powerful duo to go with the duo of Watt and Clowney.

The linebackers for this Texans team are very strong and should intimidate other offenses. If these linebackers continue to ravage opposing offenses as they did against the Colts, they can make the rushing attacks nearly ineffective, as they did Sunday against Indianapolis.

2. Keke Coutee is a great addition to the team

The Texans made a great decision to pick speedy slot receiver Keke Coutee in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft this past April. After missing the preseason and the first three games of the season due to a hamstring injury, Coutee had his long-awaited debut against the Colts.

Coutee’s debut did not disappoint as he had 11 receptions for 109 yards and made some very important (and clutch) catches. The Texas Tech rookie did not falter at the moment and made his impact felt.

Coutee, who was dubbed as a difference maker for the offense before the game, proved his true value and should torch more secondaries with his blistering speed and his amazing catching abilities in the future. Coutee has a great amount of potential and is a solid No. 3 wide receiver, replacing Bruce Ellington (who went to the IR last week). Expect Coutee to continue his pace and help the Texans, like he did this week.

3. The secondary is still very weak.

Despite the Texans winning the game and the strong effort put up by both the offense and the defense, the Texans still need to work on there secondary. The Texans gave up solid 7-8 yards passing plays to the Colts receivers.

Instead of pressuring the offensive weapons, the secondary stayed back and gave Luck a bigger window to throw short passes. As a result, the Colts were able to come back from an 18-point deficit. With the short passes, the Colts were able to march down the field without much pressure from the secondary.

All Luck had to do was throw short passes and then rush the ball until the first down. Additionally, the secondary cannot protect against deep throws. The Texans allowed an early 40-yard pass play to T.Y. Hilton, which set up an early touchdown and allowed receptions of 22 and 23 yards to players like Chester Rogers and Ryan Grant.

In order to be able to compete against good teams and good quarterbacks, the Texans must definitely solve this problem as it opens up many holes that offenses can take advantage of.