Texans secondary will be tested with Lamar Jackson coming to town
Lamar Jackson, the reigning league MVP, looked like an extremely dangerous passer in Week 1… and he will be a tough test for the Houston Texans defense.
Last year, the Houston Texans were positively torched by the Baltimore Ravens… or, more specifically, by Lamar Jackson.
While Houston lost a laugher 41-7, it was the Ravens QB who really embarrassed the Texans that day, passing for four touchdowns and 222 yards through the air while chipping in an additional 79 yards on the ground. All in all, the former Louisville Cardinal had over 300 yards from scrimmage against an undermanned Texans D.
Will Houston be able to better contain him this year? We’ll soon find out, as the Ravens head to the Lone State State next week for the Texans’ home opener.
If Jackson’s performance in the Ravens’ season-opening win over Cleveland is any indicator, the Texans D — particularly its precariously-constructed secondary — could be in for a long day. Jackson shredded the Browns to the tune of 275 yards and three touchdowns through the air (he went 20-of-25 passing). That’s not even mentioning or taking into account the 45 yards he had on the ground, which led his team in rushing.
As improved a passer as Jackson was last year in his MVP season, it was usually his legs that did most of the damage to opponents. In Week 1, we saw an even better passing version of Jackson.
Sure, it was against the Browns and their potentially-horrendous defense, but it still should raise some major alarm bells for the Texans… who just got shredded themselves by the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1.
Chiefs had their way with the Texans defense on Thursday night
Patrick Mahomes tossed three touchdowns and had over 200 yards through the air on Thursday night. Worse, the Chiefs were able to run all over the Houston defensive front as well, piling up 166 yards on the ground (138 alone to rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire).
It’s certainly too early to jump to any major conclusions about this Texans team. On that note, no one in the NFL has a more difficult opening two-game slate than Houston, going up against the Chiefs and the Ravens back-to-back like this (who are, arguably, the two best teams in the entire NFL based off last season’s results and what we saw in Week 1).
dark. Next. David Johnson, Will Fuller bright spots for the Texans
Can the Texans slow down Jackson and climb up to 1-1 on the season, or will Houston fall into an early 2-0 hole? Drop us your prediction in the comments section below!