.... and a football game broke out.
Final score: Texans 23 NY Jets 17
Of course, this has caused ChronBlog's 33 year veteran "NFL reporter" to go into full meltdown mode. If you were reading his Twitter feed during the game last night you might have thought he was live-tweeting a Rice football game. Filled with such adjectives as "pathetic" and "horrible" the descriptors felt more like you were watching an 0-5 team rather than one that had just ran it's record to 5-0. John McClain is in full-on, my buddy K.S. (Bud) Adams has a losing team and I'm mad dammit, melt-down mode.
While last night's game was not a stunning spectacle of football that would bring a tear to Vince Lombardi's eye, it was a win, on the road, in the NFL, against a team who's back was against the wall. Step back and let's take a look at the positives AND negatives instead of relying on the angry pecking of a writer who's thrown in the towel.
The Good:
J.J. Watt: Probably the BEST thing about this Texans team has been Mr. Watt for a few weeks now. It's not that he makes every defensive play, but he's sure involved in most of them. Put aside the Hall of Fame hyperbole and you have the beginnings of a Defensive MVP season. He just needs to stay healthy.
Arian Foster: Say what you want about his vegan diet (and I've poked fun more than a few times on Twitter) but last night's Foster ran with authority and strength, he easily had his best game of the year against a team that was ripe for the picking against the rush. Good players are SUPPOSED to do well against teams with a running defense like the Jets.
Road win: People forget this: It's HARD to win in the NFL on the road. Especially against a team like the Jets who were humiliated the week before by one of the best teams in the league. Yes, the Texans did not bring their "A" game to the Meadowlands, but they were good enough to win with their "C" game. That says a lot about the make-up of this team.
Brooks Reed & Conor Barwin: Signs of life. Good sign.
Matt Schaub: Every week this becomes more and more Schaub's offense. I don't remember a time last night that he was sacked, or even seriously pressured.
Offensive Line: See above, easily had their best game of the season protecting Schaub and opening up big holes for Foster to run through.
The Bad:
Special Teams: It's time to end the Trindon Holliday experiment. At this point it would be better to take a knee on every kick-off and fair catch every punt then to keep trotting him out there kick after kick. Return blocking needs serious work.
Andre Johnson: It's not that he's done, it's just that he has lost a step over ten years and can now be covered one on one by elite corners. For the fans saying he sucks: You're wrong. He's still very good but he's now become one option in an offense that has many to choose from.
Jonathan Joseph: Easily his worst game as a Texan. Probably just a case of a good player having a bad game but it sure was rough to watch.
Cushing's Injury: Reports out this morning report that he suffered an ACL tear that will end his season. This means that Tim Dobbins and Brady James are the new starting LB's until Darryl Sharpton comes off the PUP, probably after the off week. Until then, hopefully they'll cut Holiday and pick up a street-free agent linebacker for depth and special teams.
Play calling: It felt like the Texans were trying to force the ball to Andre Johnson too often and, when that didn't work, Schaub was forced to throw the ball out of bounds. There is a time to go conservative, and a time to be more aggressive, Kubiak still needs to understand where that line lies.
Overall I would think that Houston Texans fans should walk away from this one pretty happy. The team proved something Monday night, that they can win despite not playing at their best. That's a huge step forward for a team that still has a lot to prove in regards to it's toughness when things go pear-shaped. Unfortunately, the former newspaper of record has shown that they cannot handle the same.
