The Houston Texans are coming off of a devastating loss to the New York Jets in Week 9, a game where they had plenty of chances to win. Houston fell to 6-3, and despite being first in the division, needs to improve quickly before their schedule becomes more difficult.
This week, they face the Detroit Lions, who are 7-1 and first place in the AFC. A banged-up Texans team will face a difficult task in multiple areas on Sunday night and will need everyone to step up.
The Lions are averaging 32.3 points per game, according to ESPN, and have 14 rushing touchdowns between Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. Detroit is firing on all cylinders, and just added to their pass rush by acquiring Za’Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns, as Ian Rapoport reported. So, what needs to happen for the Texans to win this game?
Contain Jahmyr Gibbs
Yes, David Montgomery can be a part of this as well. However, I want to single out Gibbs here, seeing he’s more of the explosive running back in this Lions offense. He’s totaled 656 yards and seven touchdowns on the season, including two games over 100 yards (127 and 116).
Gibbs has been a factor in the passing game this season as well, totaling 20 receptions for 165 yards and one touchdown. Gibbs is capable of breaking a long touchdown at any point in the game, and the Lions are doing a great job of getting him into space. The Texans' interior defensive line, specifically Tim Settle Jr, and Foley Fatukasi, will have a hard time containing Gibbs and co.
Control the Time Of Possession
This plays along with containing the Lions’ run game. This is a high-scoring, versatile offensive unit that can beat you from anywhere. The Texans currently lead the league in time of possession with an average of 33 minutes per game. Houston will need to get the run game going this week and make sure their offense doesn’t come off the field. If they can continue to run the ball well with Joe Mixon, who has found the fountain of youth this year, this should be easy for Houston.
Get the pass rush going early
The Texans' pass rush has been tremendous this season, led by Will Anderson who has 7.5 sacks on the year. As a whole, the defense has sacked the quarterback 29 times, and against the Lions, that should be no different.
Goff has had 2.4 seconds to throw this season, according to Pro Football Reference, and has been sacked 18 times. The Texans' pass rush hasn’t cooled off at all this season, and chances are that doesn’t change. This will be a good matchup for the Texans, however, as Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker are arguably some of the best tackles in the league.