The Houston Texans have made positive changes on the offensive side of the ball, getting rid of Ryan Mallett and going back to Brian Hoyer. But the team's recent shift in fortune has more to do with a dominant defense than any changes made at quarterback.
Can J.J. Watt drag the Texans into the playoffs?
J.J. Watt is playing well again and the Houston Texans are stifling every offense they play.
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The Texans started the season with a 2-5 record, totally out of the playoff discussion. But since their last loss on Oct. 25, they have won four consecutive games and are now tied for first place in the AFC South with the Indianapolis Colts.
Houston's winning streak includes games against the then-undefeated Cincinnati Bengals and the high-powered New Orleans Saints. Drew Brees is always a dangerous threat, but for the first time in a decade, the Saints finished a game without scoring a touchdown. New Orleans had went 155 games since they last finished a game without a touchdown, and Brees himself had a streak of 45 consecutive games with a touchdown pass.
Houston beat the Saints, 24-6. Over the past 18 quarters of play, the Texans have allowed just two touchdowns. They have given up 38 points in total over that time, while scoring 104 points. They have also forced nine turnovers over that time.
Over their first seven games, the Texans allowed 370.9 yards and 28.4 points per game. Over their last four games, they have allowed just 250.5 yards and 8.8 points per game.
What changed
The Texans look completely transformed on defense, and that has a lot to do with some minor changes they have made to the lineup. The defense has more speed thanks to the benching of linebacker Akeem Dent. The team replaced him with rookie Benardrick McKinney, and he's doing great things in cleanup alongside Brian Cushing in Houston's base defense.
There's also a big change at the safety position. The Texans benched Rahim Moore, a high-priced free agent acquisition this offseason, and replaced him with Andre Hal. Hal is raw, but he plays with intensity and has a wider range than Moore does. Moore will go down a bust signing, but the Texans aren't thinking about that now.
At slot cornerback, Charles James has come in in place of A.J. Bouye, and he's been able to handle the speed of slot receivers much better.
Vince Wilfork, as noted by Patrick Starr of Scout.com, has also had a lightened workload over the winning streak. Wilfork is an effective tackle, but he's getting up there in years and the time on the bench has made his time on the field much more impressive. The Texans have also moved J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus around the line in some situations, creating favorable matchups where needed.
Watt is back
The biggest change, though, has been the play of Watt. Watt has 13.5 sacks on the season, but he struggled earlier in the year. He has put up 7.5 of his sacks in the month of November. With 70.5 career sacks, Watt is the second-fastest player to reach 70 career sacks, behind Reggie White.
White did it in 57 games, while Watt has now played in 75 career games. He has 55 tackles and also has a forced fumble on the year. Watt’s emergence has allowed the rest of the defense to remain comfortable. The secondary is able to play more effective zone coverage as they can count on Watt preventing passing plays from running until said zone coverage breaks down. Watt is a leader, and he makes the Houston defense run like an efficient, well-oiled machine when he’s on his game.
Can they keep it up?
Can the defense keep it up? The changes they have made aren’t exactly temporary, and the primary argument against more success is the remaining schedule. But there is only one loss that seems likely remaining, provided the Texans keep up their strong play.
Houston will take on the Buffalo Bills on the road in their next game, and the Bills' offense has been a wildcard this season. The game after that is the most difficult, a showdown against the New England Patriots. Tom Brady can handle any defense on his best day, but the most crucial games of the season are the next three — road games against the AFC South rival Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans and finally a home game against the rival Jacksonville Jaguars.
That’s three rivals in three games, and the Texans are already tied for the division lead. If they can take down the Colts, a team they lost to in Week 5, they should be bolstered by the fact that they have already beaten both the Titans and Jaguars this season.
They have a long road ahead, but the Texans are playing great football and are very much in control of their destiny.
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