After losing to the Green Bay Packers on a last-second field goal, the Houston Texans were feeling some heat.
Despite being down five starters on defense, they had a chance to pull off a road win over Green Bay. Unfortunately, they gave the Packers’ offense too much time to work with, and that’s where the criticism comes in.
Houston was accused of “not playing to win,” but was worse than being conservative was the fact they couldn’t commit to a single plan. They ran the ball twice to kill two timeouts but gifted Green Bay extra time by throwing an incompletion on third down.
That last throw not only led the receiver out of bounds but would have been short of the sticks. That seems confusing on its own but what made it harder to follow was C.J. Stroud’s attempt to explain what happened.
Stroud said he wasn’t sure what the philosophy was on the final drive. He also stated he was unable to talk to head coach DeMeco Ryans before the final pass attempt.
CJ final drive:
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) October 21, 2024
“I don’t really know the philosophy right then & there. I try to talk to DeMeco but I can’t get over there. It seemed like we were trying to run out the clock”
How is the plan not communicated to your QB through the headset? Inexcusable pic.twitter.com/bGfOf7ze1d
Houston boasts an incredibly talented roster and coaching staff but this is a reminder that they’re also still very young. Stroud is in just his second season in the league and Ryans is in his second as a head coach. The same is true for Bobby Slowik, who had his first year as an offensive coordinator in 2023.
The future is still very bright but it’s clear there’s a lot the team needs to unpack and learn from when it comes to their Week 7 loss.