All hands are going to need to be on deck if the Houston Texans want to topple the Detroit Lions in Week 10. The good news for Houston is that Nico Collins looks like he might be ready to play, and his presence has been sorely needed in this offense. It will be an uphill battle for sure, but there still are certain things the Texans can do to earn a victory here.
Make Quick Decisions With The Football
Calling out the offensive line of the Houston Texans at this point is beating a dead horse. The bottom line is that this isn’t that bad of a unit, with players like Laremy Tunsil leading the way. What C.J. Stroud can do to lower the pressure put on himself is to make quick decisions with the football.
Stroud can’t afford to take anywhere near the eight sacks he suffered at the hands of the New York Jets defense. The problem is that Detroit has a very good defense, and their rushers will find the backfield often in this game. Stroud simply can’t hold the ball; he either needs to take off if he feels pressure or simply throw the ball away.
Keep A Hat On Everybody
Jared Goff doesn’t really have a key target on his offense. Of course, Amon St. Brown is the most gifted receiver in his arsenal, but he has plenty of pass-catchers at his disposal. It’s nearly impossible to keep St. Brown doubled and make sure Laporta and the other weapons on the offense are covered at the same time.
Therefore, it makes more sense to simply put a man on a man. The Houston Texans can decide whether or not they want to use extra guys to blitz Goff or give their corners safety help, but this is not a team that you can beat by taking one weapon away. Switching up zone defense with the man coverage can also help by keeping Goff on his toes.
Mix Up Run With Pass for Houston Texans Offense
The decision between running and passing the football has come under lots of scrutiny with the Houston Texans. They have one of the best running backs in the game (Joe Mixon), and yet there are times when they forget to get him the ball. This can be a huge problem because it forces Stroud to be perfect, or he finds himself in third and long.
The offense needs to keep themselves out of this situation as much as possible. If they face third down and 10 (or more) to go, the Lions are just going to blitz their best pass rushers and force a bad decision from Stroud. It’s much better to use Mixon to close that gap between the line of scrimmage and the first down marker. That way Stroud doesn’t have to force long throws to Collins or Tank Dell.
