The Houston Texans open the regular season with a Monday night showdown with the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Houston will be facing a team coming off of seemingly being robbed of going to the Super Bowl, and will want to take it out on their next consequential opponent. Here are six Saints the Texans have to worry about when they go to the Big Easy.
1. qb drew brees
The Super Bowl-winning quarterback has been the catalyst for the Saints’ success since 2006, and he has weathered the storm of a soft rebuild to play with a winner. Last year, Brees was remarkably careful with the football and threw just five interceptions and had the highest quarterback rating in the NFL at 115.7. If defensive end J.J. Watt and the edge rushers aren’t able to affect Brees, he could light up the Texans’ secondary.
2. wr michael thomas
Who is Drew Brees going to torch the Texans’ secondary with? None other than Thomas. The former Ohio State product earned a five-year, $100 million contract in training camp after he led the NFL with 125 catches and produced 1,405 yards and five touchdowns from it. The concern is the Houston secondary doesn’t have anyone that can keep pace with Thomas, and if that proves to be the case, it could be a performance on the level of T.Y. Hilton in NRG Stadium.
3. rb alvin kamara
The former Tennessee Volunteer has been a Pro Bowler in each of his two seasons in the NFL. Kamara provides a dual threat as a pass-catcher and as a runner. Where Houston could get into trouble is if he gets isolated with one of the Texans’ linebackers or if they fail to rally to the football. Kamara produced 18 rushing and receiving touchdowns last season and had 5.8 yards per touch.
4. de cameron jordan
Even though the Texans traded for left tackle Laremy Tunsil to protect quarterback Deshaun Watson’s blindside, the reality is Jordan wouldn’t make the Pro Bowl four times or earn an All-Pro if he were easily stymied by guys of Tunsil’s caliber. Jordan will find ways to get to Watson, and the way Watson plays with his ability to keep plays alive gives Jordan more chances to finish the play off with a sack.
5. cb marshon lattimore
Another former Ohio State product, Lattimore seemingly dropped off in his second year after snagging five interceptions en route to a Pro Bowl selection his rookie year. However, Lattimore was still impactful on defense. While he only produced two interceptions, he did generate four forced fumbles, up from one in his rookie year. Lattimore knows he can make a statement to the rest of the NFL that he has emerged from his sophomore “slump” if he can curtail Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins in any capacity.
6. lb demario davis
The 30-year-old had arguably one of his best seasons in 2018 with 110 combined tackles, 5.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and four pass breakups through 16 starts. Davis is going to have the chance to be a little bit more dominant than usual given the nature of the Texans’ offensive line and also their running back situation with starter Lamar Miller lost for the season with a torn ACL.
