In a low-scoring contest, the Houston Texans put up a good fight against the Atlanta Falcons, but it wasn’t enough to notch their third victory of the campaign. A last-second field goal off the leg of kicker Younghoe Koo locked in a 21-19 victory for Atlanta, though it did not come without its fair share of interesting plays.
Plenty of storylines generated excitement for this contest. The battle of the high draft picks was commended, with Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson and Texans rookie sensation C.J. Stroud taking their respective spots on the gridiron.
Both men made their mark for their respective teams, with Robinson securing an impressive touchdown snag to give the Falcons the lead in the fourth quarter.
Stroud was equally impressive for the Texans, nearly leading the team to a comeback victory with his own fourth-quarter heroics, in the form of a late touchdown strike to tight end Dalton Schultz. Unfortunately, it was not enough to get over the hump and extend Houston’s win streak to three.
Despite the loss, the Houston Texans put up a remarkable effort and deserve to have their praises sung for a third straight week. Here are three takeaways from their impressive performance.
Stroud shows resilience in the face of adversity and continues his historic pace.
As mentioned in the prior page, C.J. Stroud fought like a madman to extend the Texans' two-game winning streak. It wasn’t enough but the rookie showed in that moment that he was far ahead of the curve in terms of development.
For starters, Stroud completed yet another contest without an interception, breaking a rookie record set by Dak Prescott in his 2016 rookie campaign. Stroud needed 25 passing attempts to beat it, and did so handily.
The rookie signal-caller amassed 35 passing attempts on the day, completing 20 of them for 249 yards and a touchdown. His efforts were a huge reason why the Texans remained in this contest up until the final whistle.
Stroud has been consistently defying expectations week in and week out. The Texans got a good one with the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
One week after the rushing attack wakes up, it is nowhere to be found.
The Houston Texans have gotten little production out of their run game. Sophomore rusher Dameon Pierce changed that narrative last week in a productive 80+ yard effort. That production could not be replicated for a second consecutive week.
Pierce led the way for the Texans again in that department but did not put together an impressive performance. The 23-year-old finished the day with 20 carries for 66 yards, an average of 3.3 yards per carry.
Beyond Pierce, there weren’t any significant contributions, with C.J. Stroud’s two-yard rush being the only other source of rushing production on the afternoon. That simply isn’t enough.
64 yards on the ground as a team simply won’t get the job done. Sure Stroud has been impressive and has put the team in a consistent position to win, but even he is going to need help from the run game at some point in the near future.
Dameon Pierce and backfield mate Devin Singletary were signed to man an improved backfield. It is long overdue to put up some respectable production.
Linebacker Blake Cashman continues to impress
The Houston Texans defense had an up-and-down performance against the Atlanta Falcons, but linebacker Blake Cashman continued to do his thing.
The 2019 fifth-round pick of the New York Jets has continued to make his mark in his second NFL home. After an injury-filled tenure in the Big Apple, Cashman has found new life with the Houston Texans.
The 2022 season marked the first time that Cashman has appeared in more than seven contests, making 16 total appearances. In those games, Cashman played mostly a reserve role, finishing the season with 26 total tackles (four for loss), and a career-high five quarterback hits.
So far in 2023, Cashman’s role has been expanded, with today’s performance being a fitting encore for his efforts. The 27-year-old recorded nine tackles, and two for loss, while also being consistently disruptive in both the pass and rushing defense.
With injuries creeping into the Texans linebacker corps early on, Cashman has been a pleasant surprise. If he can stay on the field, I see him being a weekly impact contributor for this Houston defense.