The Houston Texans are in for a slugfest against the Carolina Panthers.
After taking the Cleveland Browns to the limit in Week 2, the Houston Texans return home on a short week to take on the surging Carolina Panthers. If the league hasn’t noticed by now, the Houston Texans can compete with some of the best teams in the league. The fact that Carolina only beat the New York Jets by five points is one of the few reasons that Houston can pull off this win.
It’s early and two games don’t make a season (yet). How do we know for sure which Panthers team will show up to play in primetime on Thursday Night? Sam Darnold hasn’t really fared all that well in primetime in his career. Is his 2-0 start a stroke of luck or a sign that Darnold himself has actually turned the corner in his career?
Can either team trust their Kicker to hit a crunch-time field goal when it matters? Will Houston’s defense continue to force turnovers? It’s a more interesting TNF matchup than most people think.
The NFL world may just see Deshaun Watson play this week after Tyrod Taylor got hurt. Davis Mills is going to be heading into his first-ever primetime game, and the nerves will definitely be present for a critical game for the Texans. Starting 2-1 will do wonders to keep any sort of playoff dreams alive.
The Texans currently sit tied for first in the division. If it wasn’t for a comeback win by the Titans, they would be all alone. Let’s see if the Texans can keep their first-place status come Thursday Night.
Sam Darnold’s TNF record should bring hope to Houston Texans fans
With one of the gutsier moves of the offseason, the Panthers traded for Sam Darnold. It was funny because, during his time in New York, Darnold was beaten, battered, and made into a meme after he claimed he was “seeing ghosts” in a big loss to the New England Patriots. Here’s the other thing: Sam Darnold has never won on a Thursday Night in the NFL.
Take a look at his career stats in relation to what’s happening in Week 3:
- AFC South record? One win.
- Retractable roof record? Winless.
- Weeks 1-4 record? 3-8.
- September record? 3-7.
Old habits die hard, and the Houston Texans can bet on this come Thursday Night. Once a Jets quarterback, always a Jets quarterback.
With the exception of Chad Pennington having a career revival in 2008 with Miami, who else has been able to shake off their “ghosts” from when they played in New York? Frank Reich’s comeback in Buffalo is the only one that stands out. Ryan Fitzpatrick is also an honorable mention, but his play has been inconsistent over the years.
The pressure is going to get to Sam Darnold and it remains one of the biggest reasons the Panthers will win this game. Think of Darnold as the AFC’s version of Kirk Cousins (who struggled to win on Monday Night Football for a while).
Zane Gonzalez will miss kicks, giving the Houston Texans breathing room
If you somehow perhaps followed the Arizona Cardinals last season or know of Zane Gonzalez’s career, you know that he has been absolutely brutal when it comes to crucial kicks. Two missed kicks against the Patriots and Dolphins basically cost Arizona the playoffs last year. Gonzalez also missed several kicks in Cleveland when it mattered in an agonizing fashion.
So lo and behold that Gonzalez landed in Carolina (after being cut by Detroit) and once again struggled in the powder blue. Gonzalez had a kicked block and missed an extra point. The blocked field goal can be debated on whose fault that really was, but a missed extra point can be a death sentence in a closer game. He was so bad that he was declared the second-biggest loser in Week 2 by our CatCrave site.
It could turn into a revenge game for Joey Slye, but Gonzalez is way worse than Slye has ever been. When Gonzalez was cut from Arizona, fans rejoiced. There should be no reason that Gonzalez should be trusted (or Slye for that matter) to make critical kicks.
If the game is on the line and Gonzalez lines up to kick and the kick is between 40-49 yards, then don’t expect Gonzalez to make it. It’s where he struggled the most in his career.
The Houston Texans pass rush will make Carolina have a Thursday nightmare
Lovie Smith loves to bring the pressure, and the Houston Texans have an underrated group when it comes to that. In two games this season, the pass rush has played a role in the Texans having four interceptions. They even stripped the ball from Baker Mayfield last week, one of their 3 FF’s on the season already.
This has the potential to get ugly for the Panthers offensive line, especially Dennis Daley. Daley was also named one of CatCrave’s biggest losers from Week 2, and the pressure should be sent to his side. If the Texans can win this matchup, then it’s the offense’s game to lose.
Running the ball is going to help keep the explosive Carolina offense on the benches. This translates into Mills gaining confidence and fits into the “run to set up the pass” mantra that the Texans offense wants to run.
In terms of the final score, this would be a close one. Davis Mills may just have the defense gift him another possession and lead the game-winning touchdown drive. It would be a game-winning touchdown pass to Nico Collins with just over 1:30 left in the fourth quarter. 30 to 24 would be the final score.