(SportsRadio 610) - The Texans (1-7-1) will sift through the film and notes of yet another loss, this time at the hands of the New York Giants, falling 24-16 Sunday afternoon in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
That film will show much of what the Texans should already know.
The defense continues to be the absolute worst at stopping the run, allowing 191 more rushing yards Sunday, including 152 to Saquon Barkley, who torched the Texans for the fourth-highest total in a game for his career.
They’re still the worst tackling football team in the league, low-lighted by Texans rookie safety Jalen Pitre.
For Pitre, it was easily his worst moment of the season, whiffing on Giants receiver Darius Slayton in the third quarter, turning what should’ve been a five-yard gain by Slayton into a 54-yard touchdown to start the second half.
Offensively, after going just 1-for-5 in the red zone Sunday, the offense is averaging just 16.6 points per game though week 10.
Overall, they’re not talented, deep, athletic or coached well enough to overcome mistakes.
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It is not be harsh, however, it is quite simply the product of a football team constructed to systematically tank.
The Texans do currently have a 1.5-game lead over the Las Vegas Raiders for the top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, which they do not appear to be in any real danger of relinquishing any time soon.
There’s plenty of time to discuss how the Texans should use their draft capital, which currently stands at 12 total picks in 2023, and who the Texans should draft number one overall, if in fact that is where they wind up.
It’s also about developing players this season.
Through 10 weeks of the season and eight games remaining, whether it is the young or old, rookie or veteran, frustrations have to be running high at this point.
The message of just being able to finish has grown tired and stale.
Finishing is about holding it together for a drive or two defensively, continuing to play disciplined football in the games waning moments. Finishing is about controlling the game clock, making the fundamental plays, taking care of the football in the latter stages of games to secure wins.
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The Texans mistakes and ineptitude, on both sides of the football early, have cost them those opportunities to control their own destiny late.
A team that is routinely on the wrong side of the barrel, is not one that should be concerning itself with finishing ballgames, rather just starting them.
While Davis Mills spun his second 300+ yard game of the season Sunday, the Texans' quarterback continued to struggled with accuracy, turnovers and overall effectiveness.
Mills, finished the game completing 22 of his 37 passes for 319 yards, including a touchdown and an interception for an 85.3 rating.
It was the sixth 300-yard game of his career.
The Texans haven’t won one of those games.
Statistically, when a quarterback throws for at least 300 yards in a game, you should be winning more of those games than not.
In the 60’s, when a team threw for 300 yards in a game, they won on average 60.7% of the time.
During the dead ball era of the 70’s, when teams ran the ball much more than they did pass, teams won 52.7% of the time.
In the 80’s, teams won just 47% of the time. In the 90’s, teams won 50% of those games. In the 2000’s and 2010’s, teams won 52% of the time.
It might not have been necessary to pour over all of those numbers, going back 62 years, to tell you that the Texans have 99 problems and their lack of a quarterback is one. But, context can be important and in this case, interesting and also a little maddening.
Meanwhile, as Lovie Smith and his staff mull over the game tape from their latest defeat, they’ll head back to the drawing board and try to figure out how they can finish this season with Davis Mills as their quarterback.
When asked if he’d consider making a change at quarterback, similar to how other position players may rotate, Smith said after game it’s not something he’s planning on just yet.
"Just don’t think it’s time, as simple as that. Quarterback position is a little bit different," Smith said. "We rotate pretty much at most positions, we play more than one guy. Quarterback position is a little bit different. We can’t turn the ball over. Acknowledging what we did today is not good enough and anytime we’re turning the ball over especially in the red zone it’s not good enough. But that’s where we are right now."
A change at quarterback is coming.
However, the change needed to make a positive impact and yield more inspired play is still about five and a half months away from wearing a Texans jersey.
Shaun Bijani has spent the last 16 years covering the Houston sports scene for SportsRadio 610. Follow him on Twitter @ShaunBijani.
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