Battle Red Blog
Another week and another improbable Texans victory. If you had told the fan base that the Texans would be 7-5 at this point in the season at the beginning of the year, it would have made a ton of sense. This has been a 10-7 football team two years in a row and 7-5 points to 10-7 when you look at the remaining schedule. Obviously, there is an outside chance of 9-8 or 11-6 but I think everyone knows the score at this point.
When you look at how the Texans have done it then it doesn’t make a ton of sense. Sure, they win playing strong defense and opportunistic football. That has been the Texans modus operandi for over a decade. Specifically, it was the 0-3 start and 3-5 low point that makes it improbable. Naturally, no one predicted that the Colts, Broncos, Seahawks, and Rams would be THAT good. It is all part of the fun of playing in the NFL. The five teams beating the Texans have averaged nearly nine wins so far on the season. Maybe that number means more than any other.
It is difficult to win when you don’t possess the football. The DeMeco Ryans blueprint for victory has been pretty clear all season. You possess the ball longer than your opponents by getting off the field and not allowing them to run plays. I’m sure if someone were so inclined, they could do an over/under on plays run in Texans victories and see a stark difference.
When you are a combined 3 for 12 on third and fourth down you are not going to have a good day. The Colts did not have a good day offensively. It wasn’t a terrible day offensively. Taylor had over 100 yards from scrimmage because he usually will. Daniel Jones threw a couple of touchdown passes because he has become a better than average quarterback. Competent NFL offenses make plays every Sunday. You limit the plays and you limit the number of chunk plays they will make.
By virtue of the Rams giving up 31 points, the Texans regain their lead on points given up per game. It’s another week and another game where the defense gives up less than 20 points. When you do that consistently you end up winning more games than you lose. Even the Texans offense (which we will get to shortly) can’t foul that up often enough to make you a losing football team. Erase the first half interception and they may very well have shut the Colts out in the first half....
