Battle Red Blog
The Houston Texans defeated the Carolina Panthers 20-3 in an uneventful game between two teams at different stages of development. The Panthers are most aptly described as “perpetually on the rise.” That is how we used to describe SMU at TCU. They are like an etch a sketch that always seems to get erased just as it is building something. The Texans took on the Panthers during a joint practice and based on the observers who were there, the Texans dominated those as well.
The second preseason game has turned into the dress rehearsal for most teams. The first and third preseason games are for finding practice squad guys and the guys at the end of the roster. Therefore, there are two objectives for every team in the second preseason game: experience some success on offense and defense and come out healthy. Clearly, the Texans succeeded on both fronts. So, instead of the good, bad, and ugly, we will go with the great, good, and bad. First, let’s take a look at the numbers.
These numbers are almost the inverse of the numbers last week. The Texans dominated in nearly every category. The rushing in particular is one of those that looks far different than even the numbers represent. Quarterbacks had 13 yards on six carries. None of those attempts were for C.J. Stroud. If we remove those then suddenly we are looking at 95 yards on 22 carries. That is more than four yards a gain for the running backs and far more promising than what we saw the first week.
Of course, we are diving into great, good, and bad category when we start breaking down these numbers. Suffice it to say, the Panthers were never in this game and even for a preseason game it came with very little drama in any part of it. Most people would say that is a good thing. We don’t want to waste any bullets before September. Hopefully, the preseason finale will be just as uneventful.
As much as we might want to see the offense score 30 and 40 points a game, this game is probably the blueprint the Texans will take to victory. Granted, the Panthers are a bad football team. There is no getting around that. They have not surrounded Bryce Young with enough talent and there is no guarantee that he will be a starting NFL quarterback beyond this season. Did they pick the wrong guy or was anyone destined to fail in that environment? We have seen a number of quarterbacks recently have success in their second and third opportunities elsewhere. That might end up being Young’s fate.
All that being said, it...
