The Houston Texans played the Los Angeles Chargers this past Sunday. The Chargers were the heavy favorite, but the Texans almost pulled together a comeback but once again fell short.
There are a lot of noticeable improvements from Houston, but the offense took too long to get moving as there was poor offensive play calling, and yet again, too many missed tackles on defense. The rookies looked great, but there is much to improve to become competitive.
Here are three takeaways from the Week 4 loss to Los Angeles, moving Houston to 0-3-1 overall after four games in the 2022 season.
Texans Takeaway: The offense is in a trance
The Houston Texans’ offense has been in a trance, doing the same thing every game with no adjustments. The Texans will run the ball, which went very well, but quarterback Davis Mills will either make incorrect reads or rely on veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks. Until the fourth quarter, Mills missed reads, threw uncatchable balls and turned the ball over twice.
When the fourth quarter came, Mills finally opened his vision and made good reads, throwing it to three different receivers. Mills made a great throw to tight end Jordan Akins and followed that up with a short pass to running back Rex Burkhead.
Mills finally targeted second-year wide receiver Nico Collins for a deep 58-yard dart. Mills looked like he did at the end of last season with a few perfect passes and more trust in Collins. Mills looked great that drive, taking the right shots downfield and throwing to multiple pass catchers.
The Texans came close to substituting Kyle Allen in for Mills and having him warm up on the sideline, but then Mills looked good in the last quarter.
If Mills doesn’t play as he did in the fourth quarter on Sunday this Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he may be riding the bench very soon.
Many Texans fans are already looking into the 2023 NFL Draft, hoping to select quarterback CJ Stroud from Ohio State or Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. It may be time to move on if Mills can’t blow fans away and get their belief and trust in Week 5.
Texans Takeaway: Dameon Pierce is special, but the offense is not
Last week when the Houston Texans played the Chicago Bears, Houston’s offense had some of the worst play calls we have seen all season. The play calling could not worsen, and thankfully, it improved slightly. The Texans were highly successful when running the ball against Los Angeles.
Dameon Pierce is legit, and he is the best rookie running back in the league by a mile. Pierce rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown in the 34-24 loss.
Pierce looked terrific and had an incredible 75-yard touchdown. Even when Pierce is the only offensive positivity we have seen with the Texans, Pierce still only received 14 carries. The low number of touches for Pierce, who should be the focus on the offense. Rookie fullback Troy Hariston was very impressive, making Derwin James ineffective against the run.
Offensive Coordinator Pep Hamilton and quarterback Davis Mills need to figure something out ASAP because they may be in question for the organization’s future.
The duo needs to continue success by taking intelligent risks when necessary and focusing on spreading the ball and running it with Pierce, but if the offense doesn’t improve moving it downfield, we can expect things to change at the starting quarterback position.
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.