The Houston Texans have been hit with the injury bug; there’s no doubt about it. Specifically, the Texans wide receiver room has been decimated, but there’s not yet reason to panic for this 6-2 squad.
Still, it’s not looking good regarding the injuries. Nico Collins is on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, and Stefon Diggs — the Texans’ big offseason addition — suffered a season-ending torn ACL against the Indianapolis Colts.
Collins should be back once he gets off the IL, but the loss of Diggs is especially tough for the Texans to stomach.
“Hurts our team to hear that news. He’s been such an important part of our team and everything that he brought, not only on the field but off the field. The energy, the leader, the way he worked every single day,” head coach DeMeco Ryans said of the Diggs injury, according to ESPN. “Have to pick up the slack. A lot of guys have to step up and pick up the slack. Definitely praying for him.”
The Diggs injury makes things especially bleak, but the fact of the matter is that this is still a Houston team that can make a run. Winning the Super Bowl this season just got a lot harder, but there’s no reason for the Texans to panic just yet.
C.J. Stroud is good enough to elevate the Texans
Undoubtedly, the biggest thing the Texans have going for them is the presence of second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud.
He was the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year last season after throwing for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns with just five interceptions. He also had three touchdowns on the ground for a total of 26 as a rookie, which is outstanding. Through eight games this season, he has thrown for 1,948 yards and 11 touchdowns with four interceptions. He ran into some issues in a loss to the Green Bay Packers — in which he was held to just 86 yards and no touchdowns on 10-of-21 passing — but he’s undoubtedly already a Top 15 quarterback in the NFL. He’s currently ranked seventh in passing, tied for 10th in touchdowns with Dak Prescott and Brock Purdy, and his season passer rating of 95.6 is 13th best in the league.
As long as Stroud is healthy, the Texans will have a shot. More than anything, he’s proven himself able to handle the moment and able to handle adversity. The Texans have remaining games on the schedule against the New York Jets, Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans (twice), Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, and Baltimore Ravens. All of those, outside of perhaps the games against the Lions, Chiefs, and Ravens, are more than winnable for Houston as long as Stroud is the quarterback.
Nico Collins will be coming back for the Texans
Collins hasn’t played since October 6th, when he had to leave a game against the Buffalos Bills with a hamstring injury. This was after he took a 67-yard pass to the house. At the time of his injury, Collins was the NFL’s leading receiver in yardage. That now belongs to Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Still, despite being gone for the last three games (and he’s also expected to miss the upcoming game against the Jets), Collins is the ninth-leading receiver in the NFL with 32 catches for 567 yards and three touchdowns. That shows you his importance to the Texans.
The good news is that at the last update, he is on track to return for the massive “Sunday Night Football” game against the Lions on November 10th.
Getting Collins back will be huge for the Texans, especially with Diggs now gone.
The Texans have enough players who can step up
Losing Diggs and his 47 catches for 496 yards and three touchdowns hurts, but the Texans aren’t devoid of talent on the offensive side of the ball. Frankly, you could give Stroud a band of practice squad players, and he could probably string something together, but the Texans have more talent than that, of course.
Tight end Dalton Schultz hasn’t found the end zone yet this season, but he’s a steady receiver and can be a downfield threat, so he’ll need to step up. Running back Joe Mixon is a good pass-catcher in the backfield, but his presence in the run game will be massive for the Texans when it comes to opening up the passing attack. He’s rushed for 503 yards and five touchdowns so far this season and has also caught 14 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Second-year receiver Tank Dell has 229 yards and two touchdowns to his name, but he has the talent to step up, and fellow second-year receivers John Metchie II or Xavier Hutchinson are interesting options as well. That’s not even to mention veteran Robert Woods.
The point is the Texans still have plenty of weapons.
“Once you lose one of your star players, everybody’s got to step up,” Dell said, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC. “Even if you are one of the star players, you still have to step up and do more and produce more. I know all of us are more than capable of doing that. So, we are going to try to go out there and make plays.”
