Texans: Week 1 Takeaways both good and bad

Game 1 of the 2022 Texans season has given us many things to discuss. Some good, some bad and some ugly, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The Texans’ defense was better than you might think

The Texans defense truly was better than the numbers show. Many will condemn their stats, but, the rushing yards given up to Jonathan Taylor, and Matt Ryan’s passing yards look worse than they seem. Teams are going to give up yards to great running backs, and some will look at Matt Ryan throwing for 352 yards, but even The Sporting News called his day “shaky.”

From a realistic standpoint, the numbers for the Colts’ two key players were inflated. Taylor ran 31 times and Ryan threw 50 times. Yes, the defense gave up yards, but, they held him to one touchdown, one interception and two sacks.

The Texans harassed him all day, and let’s add in that the Texans defense held the Colts to three points in the first three quarters.

The Texans’ offensive line needs time

The offensive line showed a lot of improvement, but there is still work to do. They still don’t run block as well as needed and there were some breakdowns in blocking assignments, which led to three sacks for Davis Mills, so this is real bad.

What the line needs to more time together as a unit. Offensive lines must know each other and be able to cover each others weaknesses. This will come with time.

One big play

The Texans looked like they were going to “shock the world” and beat the Colts. The defense held Indy to a field goal after a long drive in the fourth quarter, then the Texans had the ball with a chance to burn clock.

Normally it’s silly to say that a single play loses a game, but in this case, it was a major factor. The defense was tiring at this point. Mills dropped back and Laremy Tunsil completely missed E.J. Speed coming off the edge which allowed him a blindside hit on Mills resulting in the fumble.

Two plays later the score went from 20-6 to 20-13. If that sack and fumble doesn’t happen, this could have been a different game. It also kept the defense on the field longer which lead to a tired defense in overtime. So that one play was a very impactful play.

Things can be fixed

The most exciting thing about Week 1 is that most of the issues are coachable things. This was not about one team being significantly more talented as it has bee the last two years. The Texans have actually NFL caliber players now.

Mills will get better with time, the offensive line will grow together, and the mistakes can be fixed because the talent is there to fix it.

The first game of the season showed that the Texans and general manager Nick Caserio are on the right track. It showed that six-to-seven wins are attainable. The key now is to improve week-to- week and show the rest of the NFL that the Texans aren’t a “bye week” like they have been in the past.