Houston Texans offense ‘in a trance,’ plus other Week 4 takeaways

Texans Takeaway: The lack of tackling has become embarrassing

The Houston Texans’ defense has a few bright spots, but the negatives are too obvious to overlook. It was a challenging week to watch when the defense was always on the field because the offense’s inability to get first downs and stay on the field made the defense look even worse.

The positive was seeing the terrific matchup between rookie cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and 6’4″ monster Mike Williams. Stingley made some excellent one-on-one plays and gave it his all as he batted some passes and made essential stops when it mattered.

But Stingley had some rookie mistakes that he will improve on. Stingley got injured in the fourth quarter but refused not to play and kept returning, even when it was evident that he was in some severe pain.

The Texans’ defense can’t stop the run. The Chargers are one of the worst rushing attacks in the NFL, and they embarrassed the Texans. The Chargers ran for two touchdowns with no struggle, which is unacceptable.

Houston’s defense could not get to the quarterback other than once. They could not generate any pressure and left Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert enough time to make the correct read and perfect throw to his receivers.

Gerald Everett ran all over the safeties and linebackers, while Mike Williams had an excellent game. The defense could not compete enough to keep the Texans in the game. Hopefully, the run defense can improve, but only time will tell.