Texans fan Chris Lockridge sums up the feelings of Texans fans Sunday at Reliant Stadium (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The New York Jets pounded the Texans into submission Sunday with a convincing 24-7 win that wasn't as close as the score might indicate.
The Texans were dominated physically and schematically as their offense put on a putrid and embarrassing show.
If this game reminded you of the Ravens visit to Reliant last season, you're all over it because it was the same level of domination by essentially the same defense, combined (coincidentally) with a good enough performance by a rookie quarterback that made the Texans look ... well ... inept.
It's gotten to the point where you have to wonder if this version of the Texans, with their 'finesse' offense, will ever be able to beat physical teams like Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Tennessee, and now the Jets more than once in a blue moon. And if they can't beat those teams, they're not going anywhere in the playoffs if they're lucky enough to get there.
Yes I remember the Texans win over the Titans last season. They duked it out and beat them at their own game. It was a great effort but one of those every three years isn't going to cut it if you want to live up to all those p-word expectations that are being thrown around. Plus, they lost to Oakland the following week.
This one is on Kubiak and Shanahan as much as it is the offensive line and Matt Schaub. The Texans coaching staff knew for weeks what they would be facing today yet they had no answer.
Whatever the cause, the result was the Texans offensive front being totally dominated by the Jets defensive front. There were no running lanes and it was clear from the get-go that Matt Schaub wasn't going to have any time to pass, and when he did, he couldn't find any open receivers or would miss those that were open. Add that all together and your offense gets shut out in an embarrassing way.
This wasn't a case of a few plays here or there making the difference. The Texans went nowhere on a consistent basis. The only real threat of the day for the offense ended when Steve Slaton coughed up the rock at the Jets 17 after a nice catch and run.
The stats look ugly for the Texans defense too, but they hung in there fairly well in the first half - giving up only 41 rushing yards on 15 carries for a 2.7 average. After hearing about how the Jets were going to pound the ball, I was fairly happy with the run defense in the first half. It was a lapse in the secondary that gave Mark Sanchez his first TD pass as a pro and allowed the Jets to go in at halftime with a 10-0 lead.
But I sensed the defense start to wear down as they saw the Texans offense struggle to put up 22 rushing yards in the first half. The funk carried over to the Jets first drive of the second half - a 12 play 82 yard beauty that essentially ended the game at the 7 minute mark of the 3rd quarter.
The boo birds were out in force and chants of 'we want Rex' could be heard coming down from above. Status quo for the Texans it seems, and what a way to ruin the start of another season.
The good:
- John Busing and Dom Barber combining for the Texans only score on a crazy interception/fumble/return for TD
- Brian Cushing with 5 tackles and 3 assists to tie DeMeco Ryans for the team lead
- Tailgating
The bad:
- No sacks of Mark Sanchez by the defense
- Allowing the Jets to convert 10 of 18 third downs
- Forgetting to put the flour tortillas and Pace in my cooler this morning
The ugly:
- The Texans defense allowing 462 total yards to the Jets including 190 rushing after doing a respectable job in the first half
- The Texans with only 11 first downs, 183 total net yards and 38 rushing yards.
- Texans pass protection (only two sacks allowed but a bucket-load of hurries)
- Texans run blocking
- Schaub's interception - a terribly thrown duck intended for Jacoby Jones and picked off by Lito Sheppard
- The 17+ minute disparity in time of possession (Jets 38:46 to 21:14 for the Texans).
- No trips to the red zone for the Texans
- The prospect of going to Tennessee next week and facing another defense that will do the same thing to you
Related:
Jets present major challenge for Texans
Comments
The only 'unit' I saw on the field today that showed up ready was the Cheerleading unit. Great performance ladies.
Good: drove from Austin area this morning in no traffic and didn't turn the wipers on once. Dry all the way.
Better: Tailgating with a couple of old friends and the Texans best fans this morning. Worth the drive all by itself. Even without the Pace and tortilla's. LOL
Bad: 4th year in a row the Texans opened the season and looked worse than our local High School football team, in terms of prepared. Heck in terms of the entire game.
Worse: Paying for NFL football tickets to see a Junior High School team show up to play the Jets today.
Let's see if they can surprise me TWO weeks in a row and win against the Titans.
Well, here we go again. As usual start out the season looking like an expansion team. Then tease the fans by beating up on the Bengals, Bills and Jaguars. Then settle in on another 8-8 season. We'll get'em next year. Thanks for having them prepared Kubiak.
I think the defense could have done better if the offense could have stayed on the field. Does Schuab ever audible? I mean, every single first down play was a run--even if the Jets had 11 men in the box.
Who replaces Kubiak?
It wasn't a great game for the Texans for many reasons, but the most poignant to me was the offensive line. The Jest would often rush the QB with only 5-6 guys and still make it to Shaub due to O-line not picking up everyone and getting manhandled the whole game. I saw one play where the RT and RG blocked the same Jet while the other went to the outside and hurried Shaub. Another play Jenkins just swats the center to the side and goes right after Shaub. It was crazy, and it makes me wonder why the Texans don't have a huge 400 pound guy able to do that to opponents. Maybe the Texans should branch out to Japan and look for a free agent sumo wrestler.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!