How good are the Texans? | NFL Today

How good are the Texans? | NFL Today

JB back here with coach Nate and Matt and let’s talk about that impressive win by Houston over Indianapolis. Well, I I thought they were Houston Oilers. I think CJ Strong in the second half of this game, nine of 13,23 yards, three of three on third down. I thought he got better as a game went on. Woody Mars has kind of emerged now as a kind of closer for them to his running game. And it was a very impressive win by them. Again, we always know what the defense can do. And for the Indianapolis Colts, they’ve lost three of their last four games. And right now, if Jacksonville holds up this lead, it looks like they will do, they now will take the lead in the AFC South. Yeah, big big credit to uh the Houston Texans and what they did on offense and defense. Before I even talk about Indie, I want to make sure that I give them some love. But on the flip side, when you look at Daniel Jones, he gutted out his performance out there. You can tell that he was bothered. I mean, he only had one rush for one yard, and I think that was just by him leaning forward after having the ball in his hands and getting hit. The reason I bring that up is because even though that’s not something we look forward to out of Daniel Jones’s game on a weekly basis, it is part of his package that makes him an ultimate threat. And when he can’t negotiate the pocket or run or lead to try to get a first down, when all else fails in the passing game, this offense really does struggle to have some identity because if you’re shutting down JT Yeah. and they’re not um as as as impactful in the passing game, even though they threw it well, it’s tough when he can’t move around the pocket. Well, I think particularly versus that defense too and the style of play that the Texans have. You saw the game plan was clear. They were going to, you know, collapse the center of the pocket. And you look at it right here what they did on third down, the inability for Indie to stay on the field. Three of 10. That’s excellent. The TFL’s tackle for losses there. Five of those creating negative plays, putting Indie off schedule, and then the one sack. So, I look at it. I I I think that injury, like you said, his mobility was limited and I think it was amplified and compounded by the fact that Houston is excellent. Yeah. At collapsing the center of the pocket and then they’ve got those edge guys that don’t allow you to escape and Daniel didn’t have the ability to do that. And you make a good point about that pressure. We talked about this actually in the pregame. Don’t be fooled by that one sack because when it comes to QB hits, pressures, that’s what makes a a quarterback uncomfortable. And you can tell that Daniel Jones never really got comfortable in this game. And I think you look at the month of December and look at the schedules we’re going on. There’s some teams that are trending in the right direction and there’s some teams that are trending the wrong direction. You sit there and look at their schedule, it’s a big time. You look looking at the uh Indianapolis Colts, they got to go down to Jacksonville next week. Their schedule ahead of them is a tough tough time. Jacksonville’s figuring it out at the right time. I’m really glad that you guys expounded on it because many people point to hey the schedule you know what they hadn’t played anybody for but those were legitimate points that you guys as pros made in terms of making the job more difficult for them for sure. Hey folks and with that mind let’s now catch up with our guy Evan Washburn who after the game talked with CJ Strad CJ congrats on the win early in the season one-score games were a problem for this team. What’s changed now with four straight? Uh you cut yourself a couple times. you started to heal and you started to learn how not to cut yourself anymore. So, uh, I thought, you know, we did a great job, man. All glory goes to God. And, u, man, I’m just grateful for this team, for, you know, our offense and our defense, our special teams playing together. So, man, it’s a big time win for us. We’re going to keep it rolling. You were on the sideline for basically a month. What was it like being back out on the field in this type of environment? Yeah, I was a little rusty, you know, uh, at first, you know, uh, that early interception off of a turnover. got to clean that up. But other than that, I feel like I I distribute the ball well, was accurate, uh, put our guys position, but it’s not me without our protection, our ability to run the ball, and our our receivers running around some tight end. So, man, it’s a collective group, and man, I’m I think I’ve knocked off some rust and be back rolling. Some people will say the season really starts after Thanksgiving. You guys have won four straight. How dangerous is this Texans team? Man, we’re super dangerous. Like you said, man, we’ve lost some close games against some really good teams. and you know, if we find a way to to win some close games going past Thanksgiving, you know, we’ll be able to put ourselves in position, you know, to do whatever we want. So, you know, it’s a great coach team um and we’re going to see them again, but you know, it’s a uh it’s a grind every week and it’s hard to win the league, but you know, if you can get it done, man, it’s a blessing. Good to have you back, buddy. Thank you, man. Good to see you. I think if you look at the schedules, I think the month of December, I always used to say the month of December, you either finish or you’re finished. I think, you know, because I think that’s the element of what you want to do trending into it and look at this schedule ahead of them right now. Let’s talk about the Houston Texans. Like when you look at their schedule, they are they are going into this thing in a very very good mode. I mean, look at that. You got um this is their schedule is just they beat the Colts and they got uh they got Kansas City. Okay. Um coming up and then they got Arizona win. Las Vegas. They’re going to be favored in that against the Chargers. So in Kansas City right now, they’re reeling. Yeah. So you’re looking at a situation right now. You’re going to team also and then you look at the Indianapolis Colts. This is a tough schedule going ahead of them and they’re going into it now feeling really good about where they are at Jackson who knows leading it. Seattle, San Francisco, Jacksonville again so they have a chance to go against a team that they’re behind now twice and uh it’s uh again where you are right now. Yeah. In terms of you need to be able to learn how to finish games and I think that’s the one thing the Houston Texans have done within these last last month. Yeah. And I think, you know, we looked at both those schedules for Indianapolis obviously looks much more difficult than for Houston to finish out, but I really liked CJ Stra’s mindset right there. I think he understands what their football team is. Their their football team is a defensive driven football team. He also mentioned pass protection and run game, explosive pass plays, that kind of stuff. That’s that’s at the bottom of the list right now. He talked about taking care of the football, making good decisions with the football, understanding the pieces that he has around them. And I think if he plays that type of way, this team is as good as anyone is playing as well as anyone right now. They’re a scary football team if CJ Strad starts to find that stride. And I think he is. I think he played very, very well in the second half. You know, we’ve said since he got in the league that he is wise beyond his years. And just sitting there with Evan Washurn, he said, you know, you cut yourself a couple of times, you start to heal, you learn not to cut yourself. I love that because at this point in the career, you I mean, this point in the season, you could point to a thousand different things. You know, listen, we had some injuries, played some tough teams, we’re still trying to get on. No, no, no. What he is saying is we lost some games because as players, we screwed up. Yeah. We healed from those screw-ups. We learned from those screw-ups. Now, at this point in the season, November, December, we have learned not to screw up and lose games. And if they have that mindset and are truly cleaning up things, not saying they’re playing perfect football, but if they have that mindset, that’s a good good mindset to go into December with. And if you understand who your identity is and you don’t beat yourself with turnovers, with penalties, and you understand what your strengths are, yeah, you understand what your limitations may be, you are a dangerous football team because you you have confidence in who you are, in your skin. And and I think I think the other thing to remember is because he has played so much football since he first got there. We we kind of forget that he’s still a young player. True. He’s still a young player figuring out how to not lose games and what he has to do and how he has to play in order for them to win. I think we’re starting to see that maturation.

Bill Cowher, Nate Burleson, and Matt Ryan recap the Week 13 matchup between the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts

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