Though the Houston Texans lost by three points to the visiting New England Patriots, the 25-22 loss was something to build off of following a coupe not so great performances against some strong defenses.
This past Sunday at NRG Stadium the fans of the Texans saw a team willing to work on their craft and become a much better football team than the previous week, and that’s something that many of us need to give credit where credit is due.
Maybe the best part about the game was not only the fact the Houston Texans were still in the game during the late stages of the fourth quarter, but rookie quarterback Davis Mills put the previous week behind him and played well in Week 5 by taking a step forward against the Patriots.
Mills’ best number wasn’t his 312 passing yards, or his three touchdown passes, but his zero interceptions and zero fumbles, which helped change the game, keeping the Texans in contention. When the quarterback doesn’t make turnovers that’s when the Texans will have a shot for wins, or at least play competitive football.
The rushing game is still a head-scratcher with Mark Ingram II averaging only 2.6 yards per carry in Week 5, finishing with 16 rushes for 41 yards, and his longest run went for eight yards. That’s not going to cut it when the go-to running back for the most carries each week only averaged 2.6 ypc. The poor rushing numbers will eventually catch up with this offense, and when they play better defenses, that’s when it affects the quarterback.
Houston Texans: More numbers to talk about in loss to New England
1 – Chris Conley had a great touchdown reception for his one touchdown, but he also had one fumble, which the Patriots recovered. Also with the No. 1, Jonathan Greenard on defense recorded one sack, and Lonnie Johnson Jr. had one interception.
3 – The number of touchdown passes by Mills, but also the number of times he was sacked this past Sunday, resulting in a loss of 19 yards.
5 – Five is the number of receptions by Chris Moore, who led the Texans with 109 yards receiving including a 67-yard touchdown.
7 – This is the number of players who caught at least one pass from Mills on Sunday. It was good to see this many players involved, especially players who caught their first touchdowns of the season.
12 – Christian Kirksey led the Texans with 12 tackles, with six of them being solo tackles. He also had a pass defensed. Second in tackles was Desmond King II with 10.
23 – Brandin Cooks, the top wide receiver of the Texans, had only 23 yards on three receptions (five targets), as he was the main focal point of the Patriots’ defense and for good reason.
23.3 – This is the average yardage on the three kick returns by Andre Roberts. His best kick return was 24 yards.
Again, this was a better game on the stat sheet and on the field by the Houston Texans. Though the ultimate goal is to gain the win in the record books, it was still nice to see this team play a competitive football game, showing signs of some improvement as they move into Week 6 of the 2021 NFL season.