It’s been a long NFL season, but the postseason is finally here. Now, you probably didn’t get to study the entire playoff field in-depth during the regular season. No worries. We’ve put together guides that will help you become an instant expert on all 12 teams making up the field.
These guides will tell you how each team uses its personnel on both sides of the ball, what its strategic tendencies are and how efficient the team is based on several advanced metrics.
In this guide, we’ll be looking at the Houston Texans, who held off the Titans to win the AFC South with a 10-6 record. Let’s get to know them…
[Or find the strategy guide for another team here.]
TEXANS OFFENSE
The Texans do not utilize a lot of personnel groupings, and it’s not hard to figure out what they’re trying to do based on the players out on the field. Bill O’Brien prefers to pass out of spread sets with three receivers, and when he wants to get the running and play-action games going, Houston will put an extra tight end on the field. The Texans are at their best when they can get DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller both on the field.
O’Brien has heard some criticism for his boring offensive schemes, and, based on Houston’s tendencies, it’s been warranted. The Texans do not do a whole lot in the passing game. They’ll go to empty sets when they want to get the ball out quickly. They use play-action when they want to push the ball downfield. But Houston does not use play-action enough nor does it get Deshaun Watson outside of the pocket (by design), which is where he’d be at his most dangerous. The screen game is non-existent. Despite the lack of variety, the Texans offense has been productive, even if it has been inconsistent.
O’Brien does deserve credit for working around a bad offensive line to create a good running game. Houston uses the threat of Watson’s mobility to even up numbers in the box. Running mostly out of shotgun formations has allowed them to do that. Watson doesn’t run often but he does enough to force defenses to account for him, which has opened up space for Carlos Hyde, who is enjoying a nice bounce-back season.
TEXANS DEFENSE
As predictable as the Texans offense has been, the defense has been anything but. That’s been out of necessity. Houston’s defense has been hit hard with injuries and the secondary got a midseason makeover.
The Texans do have a bit of a tell in passing situations. When there are two safeties deep, you can bet defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel has some sort of zone defense called. When there’s only one safety deep, it’s almost certainly a man coverage. The Texans have been undermanned in the secondary but that hasn’t stopped Crennel from dialing up a lot of creative pressures.
The numbers are really ugly. The Texans can’t get after opposing quarterbacks and the secondary has struggled to hold up in coverage. And as bad as the pass defense has been, the run defense hasn’t been much better. It’s been fine on a down-to-down basis, but Houston has given up too many explosive runs. The Texans are getting J.J. Watt back in time for the playoffs, but you have to wonder how many snaps he’ll be able to play after being sidelined for significant time.
