Battle Red Blog
The Most Interesting Defense in the NFL showed up on Thursday night. It wasn’t the greatest defensive performance in the history of football. There were breakdowns and plays that made you yell at your television. Still, it was a brilliant performance just the same and the Texans pulled out an improbable 23-19 victory over the vaunted Buffalo Bills.
Even a day after that brilliant win, emotions are running high. Most of them are of the positive variety. When the Texans were 0-3 this day didn’t seem possible. When they were 3-5 and without C.J. Stroud at quarterback it didn’t seem possible. Yet, there are also moments through this 3-0 run and 6-2 run that make you want to scream as well. This is the life of a Houston Texans fan. It isn’t always great or even good, but it is never boring. In this feature, we try to put the feelings behind and look at the data.
The important column is obviously the turnovers. The Texans have lost more +3 turnover games than any team in the history of the NFL. They almost lost another one last night. It took the third turnover of the game to seal the deal for the Texans. Of course, that starts to spill us into the great, good, and bad. We will get there soon enough.
In most Texans wins, they far outgain their opponent, possess it longer, and run more plays. These games usually leave you scratching your head about how the game was that close. This is one where you leave wondering how the game ended in a victory. Add in a return for a touchdown by the Bills and it seems improbable that the game turned out this way. Things usually even out in the end and this is one of them that levels things out in the universe.
We cannot move on without extolling the efforts of Will Anderson and Daniele Hunter. I honestly can’t decide between them for AFC Defensive Player of the Week, but one of them deserves the honor. Anderson had 2.5 sacks and Hunter had 2.0. I suppose Calen Bullock and his two interceptions also might have a claim on the honor. Hell, let’s just give it to the whole defense and call it a day. Take away the kick return and this defense held the Bills to 12 points.
It is mind-boggling that they did this two years in a row. Yes, it was not perfect. Matt Burke and DeMeco Ryans will definitely have a field day in the film session. They surrendered a little over 300 yards on the day and about 200 of...
