The Indianapolis Colts, also known as the Texans adversaries, will visit Houston for a Thursday night divisional tilt with playoff implications on the line.
The Colts, under coach Frank Reich, have had the best of the Texans since the start of 2018, winning three of the last four rivalry matchups, including playoffs. How will Houston stop the efforts of the Colts and regain the crown of the AFC South? The Texans’ own explain.
Play sound football, tackling well, and winning at the line of scrimmage – Romeo Crennel
The best way to shut-down a good offense? Play good, sound defense.
“We’ve got to tackle, we’ve got to win at the line of scrimmage, we’ve got to run to the football,” said defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel on Tuesday. “All of those kind of things.”
Whereas Crennel stresses basic defensive competence from the Texans, they haven’t quite done that in 2019. Houston is 28th in the NFL in missed tackles (85), per Pro Football Reference, last in pressure-rate (17.8%) and 31st in yards after the catch allowed (1,336).
The Texans will need to see improvement in all areas. Though not a necessarily high-powered offense, the Colts, led by offensive mastermind Frank Reich, will exploit basic deficiencies in the Texans offense, such as tackling.
Don’t panic – Deshaun Watson
“Stay calm, everybody stay calm!” – Michael Scott.
Deshaun Watson’s key to beating the Colts echos the advice of Dunder Mifflin Scranton’s former Regional Manager: stay calm, don’t panic, take one moment of the time and build together a sound 60-minute game of football.
“We can’t look at it in that way and try to get carried away and try to panic or try to put too much pressure on ourselves,” said Watson on Tuesday. “We’ve just got to go out there and play Texans football and take it one play at a time, one moment at a time and play 60 minutes and see how the outcome comes.”
Watson’s leadership on Thursday — in a rebound effort from Sunday — will be the catalyst to if the Texans will be able to stay calm. He will lead an offense desperate to shake off jitters, one step at a time, ideally.
Move on from Sunday – Deshaun Watson
The 24-hour rule of grief was not applicable after the Texans’ 41-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. From the get-go, Houston stated that they are over the loss and moving on to the Colts in the short week.
“So, you’ve got to continue to have that mindset because you can never get too comfortable in this league,” Watson told reporters Tuesday. “It’s the NFL, it’s professional football, it’s a business. Everyone is good, so you’ve got to always be on your toes and always be on your p’s and q’s to be able to go out there and be successful. You’ve just got to make sure that regardless if it is good or bad, just keep moving, pushing forward.”
Bad losses happen. The Texans are in no place to dwell on them. It’s Colts week, time to win the division; reclaim the status of being well-respected; impress a national audience. Houston doesn’t have time for the despondent.
Find No. 10 – Deshaun Watson
What’s the key to beating a good team? Using your best player. Who would have thought?
DeAndre Hopkins, Houston’s all-world wide-out, is a primary focus for the Texans’ offense. Watson will find him to move the chains, get him out of tight spots and, in the best-case scenario, score in the red zone. As Watson alludes to, finding him is better in the clutch moments.
“He likes that pressure situation where… the drive is on the line so we’ve got to keep the chains moving and keep the possession of the ball,” said Watson on Tuesday. “So, he’s definitely a guy that understands what we need and what we want to do on that possession.”
In Hopkins’ last matchup with the Colts, he hauled in nine receptions (on 12 targets) for 106 yards and a touchdown. He did so against his mortal, cornerbacking, enemy Pierre Desir, who is questionable to play.
