Will the Real Houston Texans Please Stand Up?

Offensive Review of Broncos Game

Though the total numbers may appear intriguing, the overwhelming majority of team success came during garbage time in this one. Watson finished with 292 yards passing and 44 yards rushing, yet two costly interceptions ultimately swung the game in the opposite direction.

The first pick was not 100 percent his fault, seeing as the ball ended up touching five pairs of hands on the play. Though thrown into a tight window on fourth down, Jordan Akins needed to pull down the critical catch to mount any semblance of a comeback.

Another significant mistake was made by Keke Coutee, who has been a healthy scratch from numerous games this season. Coming out the slot, the former Texas Tech standout caught a short pass up the middle, but fumbled the ball as he inched toward the first down marker. The loose ball was picked up by linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu, then wisely lateraled to former Texan Kareem Jackson who expeditiously found his way to the opposing end zone.

Again, small mistakes that turn into huge opportunities for the other team are starting to pile up here, and a monsoon of bad luck emerged.

The second pick can be mostly chalked up to Watson trying too hard at the end of the game to will his team back, throwing into what appeared to be triple coverage. His uncharacteristic 56 percent passing was the result of forced throws, drops, and an offense predicated on coming back rather than balance.

In a reversal of roles, Carlos Hyde found himself back in the driver’s seat ahead of Duke Johnson, muscling his way to 5.2 yards per catch and 78 yards total. The only significant passing highlight was a wide-open 43-yard bomb to Hopkins, who didn’t seem to have a defender within 10 yards of him after he broke on his route.

Though the offensive line played sloppily for the majority of the afternoon, they did pave the way for Watson to find the end zone rushing twice. Laremy Tunsil has been a steady stronghold on the left side of the line all season. That being said, he totaled the same number of false starts as first-round picks the team traded for him (two).

Attaochu slid by defenders for two sacks, Josey Jewell tacked on one more, and the team made  Jackson look like vintage Darrelle Revis out there.