After two weeks, the Houston Texans hype train continued running strong with a 2-0 start. But, in Week 3, the Texans fell flat against maybe the league's biggest surprise so far in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Now sitting at 2-1, things aren't nearly as bad as some fans might think. Sure, it was a total beatdown the Texans endured. But, one NFL expert provided a little glimpse as to why this game could have been an outlier; or at least, he provided a way out of recent troubles.
ESPN's Benjamin Solak included C.J. Stroud and the Texans in his recent column focused primarily on quarterbacks after Week 3, diving into an alarming and rare stat:
"C.J. Stroud dealt with an average of 13.9 yards to the sticks on third down in Week 3 against the Vikings. It is the fourth biggest number for a QB in a single game since 2010.
"Now, Stroud had a third-and-31 late in the game that's juicing the stats," Solak went on. "But he also had 10 third-down drop-backs and never had one shorter than third-and-7. That's a recipe for complete disaster against a Brian Flores defense that wants to get exotic on known passing downs."
The Texans' glaring offensive problem is on first down
OK, then, the to-do list has been simplified.
Solak went on to note just how bad the Texans have been on early downs, namely first down. Texans fans who have been paying close attention are shouting "say it louder for those in the back!"
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The fact this Texans offense seems to rely on Stroud to make magic happen on third-and-long, time and time again, is inexcusable and it needs to be corrected.
Obviously, it didn't help that Joe Mixon was sidelined against the Vikings. Cam Akers may be a serviceable backup, but Mixon had been the far better talent so far this season, and that comes as no surprise.
Going forward, putting less pressure on a second-year quarterback should be the focus. As good as Stroud has been to begin his career, no quarterback is going to consistently succeed when placed in third-and-long situations over and over again. This repeated offense needs to be fixed, and it's on offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik to make it happen.
The good news is, Houston now gets to take on a Jacksonville Jaguars defense that is in shambles after giving up 47 points to the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football.
If there ever was a get-right game for Stroud and the offense, it's going against a Jags team that looked less than lifeless in Week 3. Here's to hoping the early down woes can and will be fixed in a hurry.
