loss was the worst of the season for the Texans. They held the lead, and their defense picked off Jared Goff five times before the fourth quarter. Things were looking up until CJ Stroud started throwing interceptions of his own. A surefire Tank Dell touchdown turned into a Carlton Davis interception and changed the game. Jake Bates nailed two long field goals and won the game for the Lions.
Despite the consecutive losses, the Texans are in first place in the AFC South. They won the division last year and banked enough wins early in the season to survive this dry spell. That is just one of the reasons that the Texans are just fine despite their Week 10 loss.
Nico Collins is coming back
When the Texans were rolling early in the season, Nico Collins was the best wide receiver in football. Through five weeks, he had a league-high 567 receiving yards and added three touchdowns. With Stefon Diggs out for the season, their wide receiver depth has been tested. After a last-minute scratch on Sunday night, he should be back from his hamstring injury for Week 11.
CJ Stroud’s struggles can be masked by the return of his elite receiver. And a bonus for the Texans, John Metchie has looked solid in relief of Diggs. While the young Metchie is not the player the veteran Diggs is, he can be the solid third option that takes double teams away from Collins. Without him, the offensive line has been exposed, and Stroud has struggled.
No team is complete without their superstar receiver. DK Metcalf’s absence hurt the Seahawks in Week 9, the Eagles are not the same without AJ Brown, and the Rams floundered without Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. The Texans are no different, and when the second option is gone too, it was bound to be a struggle. With Collins expected to return next week, Houston should be in good shape moving forward.
The Texans’ defense is rounding into form
The first half of this game was stunning for anyone who has watched the Lions this season. Jared Goff had 22 incompletions total from Week 3 to Week 9. He threw three picks in the first half, including one on a last-second Hail Mary. That was thanks to the Texans’ defense, who scrambled an offense that is usually fundamentally sound. Their injuries left them exhausted by the end of the game, but that should be changing, too.
Will Anderson Jr. missed this game, and the run game dominated because of it. Without the ability to rotate guys in, the Lions won the stamina battle and ran the clock out at the end. The Texans have easier matchups coming up after this difficult one, including next Monday against the Cowboys.
This performance, despite the brutal ending, should give the Texans’ defense some momentum. With a game against some combination of Cooper Rush and Trey Lance, they should dominate. After that, they play the Jaguars and Titans before their bye. Rolling this five-interception performance into three dominant games will allow the offense to get back on track in December.
The AFC South is terrible
Even after the miserable collapse on Sunday night, the Texans are still two games up in the AFC South. The Colts, Jaguars, and Titans all lost as well, so it is still a commanding lead for Houston. In any other division, there may be a little bit of panic for the Texans. But with three of the worst teams in the NFL in the AFC South, there is no reason for Houston to worry.
The Texans proved last year that getting to the playoffs can lead to anything. They hosted the Cinderella story Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card game and won a close game. While it was a brutal loss in the AFC Divisional Round against the Ravens, they showed promise last season. There is no reason to panic that their promise has gone away after two rough losses.
