Amid the cries of a swath of Houston Texans fans over the last 24 hours, the sobering questioning of the situation has started to set in. Without Nico Collins, now what does the offense do?
After news that Collins might be unavailable for the next week or two of games due to a hamstring injury sustained in yesterday's practice, the Texans are faced with having to prepare for Sunday's AFC clash with the visiting Cincinnati Bengals without their best wide receiver.
Even though Houston saw plenty of production from around the offensive unit in last Sunday's shootout with the Buffalo Bills, Collins was still responsible for roughly 30% of the 257 total receiving yards on the day with his output of 75. And that's not even mentioning the kind of gravity that Collins produces for other receivers as a decoy to get said other receivers less defensive pressure from the secondary.
With the certainty of Collins missing this Sunday's contest, there are two solutions that the Texans could consider offensively to make up for the Pro Bowler's absence.
Two solutions for the Houston Texans as they prepare to face the Cincinnati Bengals without Nico Collins
Replacement by committee
Last Sunday, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud peppered Buffalo's defense by hurling footballs at 11 different pass catchers. Six of them (including Collins) came away with multiple catches on the day, and five of them had at least 20 yards or more that afternoon. Without Collins, even more emphasis could be put on the "by committee approach", which actually worked out pretty well the last time they were in this situation in the regular season.
In week eight's 26-15 blowout of the San Francisco 49ers last season, Collins was sidelined due to a concussion that occured against the Seattle Seahawks the week before. With him out, Stroud and the offense went on the have one of its most productive outings of the season, igniting for:
- 475 yards of total offense (318 passing, 157 rushing)
- 6.3 yards per play averaged
- 23-12 first down advantage
- Zero sacks allowed
- 9/16 3rd down rate (56.25%)
- Only two punts
Along the way, nine different receivers hauled in a pass, with eight of them grabbing at least two passes and five of them eclipsing at least 30 yards or more. If that explosive performance is any indication of what could happen against the Bengals, then Houston may be in great shape.
Pound the rock into dust
Running backs David Montgomery and Woody Marks combined for one of the most productive games in recent Texans' history. On top of the tandem being credited with a total of 102 yards and three total touchdowns (all by Montgomery), it was the first time in team history where a player had at least three touchdowns in their debut appearance with the franchise (Montgomery).
They two helped to conquer multiple short yardage situations that would've doomed this offense last season, and they are a big reason for why Houston wasn't outright boatraced by the Bills' nuclear offense on Sunday. If the Texans really want to make a statement after such an outing in the game before, pounding the football until its reduced to nothing but overused leather and lace tatters would be quite the way to do it. Without Collins in the lineup, why not?
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