Texans Win Fifth Consecutive Game
The Texans offense was hopeful heading into 2018 with the return of Deshaun Watson.
Seven games into the season, Bill O’Brien had yet to see his offensive unit put it all together in a game to this point.
That changed on Thursday night.
The Houston Texans defeated the Miami Dolphins 42-23 on Thursday night at NRG Stadium to win their fifth straight game.
Deshaun Watson tied his career-high with five touchdown passes to go along with 239 passing yards in the Houston Texans rout at home.
The Texans quarterback tossed four of his five touchdowns in the second half as the Texans offense as a whole could do no wrong vs the fading Miami Dolphins.
Will Fuller IV led the team with 124 receiving yards, which included a 73-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
Pro Bowl receiver DeAndre Hopkins added to his touchdown total with two more touchdown grabs on Thursday night as he finished with six receptions and 82 receiving yards to go along with it.
Lamar Miller had his second consecutive 100-yard day as he finished with 133 rushing yards and one touchdown.
The Houston Texans (5-3) racked up 427 yards of offense as they went 4-for-4 in the red zone vs Miami’s defense.
While a valiant effort to stay in the game until the fourth quarter as they trailed 28-20 to begin the fourth, Miami was facing an uphill battle for much of the second half.
Brock Osweiler, who made his third consecutive start for the Miami Dolphins in place of Ryan Tannehill, finished the game with 241 passing yards and one INT as he completed only 56 percent of his passes.
Miami got a strong performance out of wide receiver Devante Parker, who finished with a career-high 134 receiving yards on the night.
J.J. Watt and the Texans defense got after Brock Osweiler early, forcing him to rush the clock in his head to make decisions because of it.
Watt recorded his eighth sack of the season as the Texans defense limited the Dolphins to 4-for-13 (30%) on third down.
Coming into the night Houston averaged 22.1 PPG, good for 21st in the NFL. The offensive problems for Houston was a mix of a offensive line unable to run or pass block effectively.
The problems also extended to Deshaun Watson, who in essence is still a rookie quarterback after having his season cut short by an ACL injury last season.
For a night at least and maybe a prelude to the rest of the season, the Texans fired on all cylinders to further put an 0-3 start to the season in the rear view mirror.
In the first six games of the season Deshaun Watson was sacked 25 times behind a porous Texans offensive line. Over the past two games he has been sacked once, with tonight being a clean night for the 23-year-old quarterback.
An emphasis on running the ball is one of the reasons for the decrease in hits on Watson over the past two games. Houston has run the ball 30+ times while Watson has thrown under 25 passes in each of the games.
Tonight he completed 80 percent of his passes as he went 16-for-20 vs the Miami Dolphins.
It took nearly two months into the season, but it appears as if Bill O’Brien’s Houston Texans, up and down on offense, have found their identity.
For Miami, it’s the fourth loss in their last five games as a 3-0 start seems ages ago. As Houston built momentum after a close and competitive first half, Miami abandoned the run.
That’s something that coach Adam Gase should consider a personal coaching failure on his part as there was no way Miami would be able to keep this game close relying on Osweiler to throw the ball 30+ times.
Kenyan Drake (58 rushing yards on 12 carries) and Frank Gore (53 rushing yards on 12 carries) both averaged well over four yards per carry, but were mostly nonexistent in the second half in terms of touches.
Miami used a nice trick play in the third quarter to draw closer as Danny Amendola threw a 28-yard touchdown to Kenyan Drake, but success on offense through the air was few and far between.
Now in desperation mode, Miami will look to rebound at home in a Week 9 matchup with the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Houston Texans will prepare for a trip to the Mile High City as they take on the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field.
What are your thoughts on the Houston Texans win Thursday night? Leave your comments below!