Houston Texans Daily Roundup: Can the defense stop Ezekiel Elliott?
The top goal for the Houston Texans to gain a win over the Dallas Cowboys is to stop the current leading rusher in the NFL this Sunday night.
Game day keeps nearing closer for the Houston Texans. They will host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, and if the Texans want to win, they must be able to stop Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Elliott is the league-leading rusher after the first four games of the season, currently having 426 yards, ahead of second-place rusher Todd Gurley, who has 338 yards. Elliott is averaging 5.8 yards per carry (73 carries) with three rushes over 20-plus yards. The Cowboys running back also has 15 receptions this season (22 targets) for 125 yards and one touchdown.
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The defense of the Texans is ninth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game at 94.2, so with Elliott averaging 106.5 yards per game rushing, the Texans could just stack the box and force the Cowboys to beat them in the air on Sunday night. This will be maybe the most interesting battle between the two teams during the game as Elliott can take over a game, and the Texans can ill afford to let Elliott do that.
In terms of leading rushers against the Texans this season, Rex Burkhead led New England with 18 carries for 64 yards in Week 1, followed by Derrick Henry having 18 carries for 56 yards in Week 2 for the Tennessee Titans. In Week 3, New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley led the team with 17 carries for 82 yards. This past Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts’ leading rusher was Jordan Wilkins with eight carries for 16 yards.
The Cowboys and Texans should be exciting and a good way to end a Sunday full of NFL action. With that said, here are headlines for Thursday.
• The official website of the Houston Texans provided quotes from Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett as he spoke about Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson:
"“He can beat you out of the pocket with his feet out of the pocket when he buys time and throws the ball all over the field.”"
The Cowboys defensive front seven has been playing strong at times this season, especially defensive end Demarcus Lawrence, who will have his sights set on Watson this Sunday. That said, this Sunday night on SNF, this is the opportunity for Watson to show the national audience just how good he is and what he’s capable of doing. To do so, the pass protection of the Texans will need to be better than ever, so look for Watson to work on creating opportunities for his team as it should be exciting to watch.
• John McClain of the Houston Chronicle has a column on J.J. Watt saying the defensive end “is back.” McClain wrote:
"“If Watt can continue his impressive performance against the Cowboys, the nation will find out what the Texans already know — Watt is all the way back after missing most of the last two seasons with injuries.”"
Like McClain said, Watt is back, and the Cowboys should be very cautious of the defensive end because if Watt is back to the level of play he was just a few short years ago, that isn’t fair to them or any other Texans opponent for the remainder of the season. That said, that’s a very good thing for the Texans as Watt’s improved play will make everyone else on the defense better too.
• Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com took a closer look at the game Keke Coutee had in Week 4 in the win over the Indianapolis Colts as Wolfe wrote:
"“If Coutee, who missed the first three games due to a hamstring injury, can be a consistent producer, it could really open up Houston’s offense.”"
It is going to be very intriguing to watch how the Texans continue to use Coutee the rest of the season and to see if Coutee can not only stay healthy, but keep up a consistent production level for the season as well.
• Tweet of the Day
"I don't think any receiver could do what I've done with the QBs I've played with."@HoustonTexans All-Pro WR @DeAndreHopkins on why he should be considered the best WR in the game.#Texans pic.twitter.com/MBKiKh00W2
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) October 4, 2018
Hopkins is telling the truth as he’s not played with a who’s who list of quarterbacks throughout his career since entering the league in 2013.
Next. Texans: Tyrell Adams signed to the practice squad. dark
That said, having Watson as his quarterback this season, hopefully the trend of bad quarterback play has stopped and Watson and Hopkins can have stability from quarterback.