Bruce Arians knows a good offense when he sees one. The constructor of many of the great attacks of the 2010s, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach has the label of “quarterback whisperer” while also being one of the NFL’s most respected offensive minds.
He sees a good offense in what the Houston Texans will bring into Tampa on Saturday, starting with the Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson run-game coupled with receivers that will stretch defenses to the brink of their powers.
“Oh yeah, they’ve got a very potent running game and a lot of speed outside, so it’s a heck of an offense to try to defend,” Arians said on Thursday to Tampa media.
The Texans have the NFL’s seventh-ranked rushing attack, averaging 130.9 yards per game. Last Sunday, in a win over the Tennessee Titans, Hyde hit 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career. His complementary teammate, Johnson, creates a “fire-and-ice” attack with his speed and agility.
Johnson has 394 rushing yards and a touchdown on 5.1 yards per carry.
The wide receivers of DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller and Kenny Stills forces defenses to spread out. They offer speed and individual skill sets to create one of the NFL’s most feared threesome, led by the back-to-back All-Pro, Hopkins.
Then there is No. 4, quarterback Deshaun Watson. Arians regularly compares Watson to Seattle Seahawks passer Russell Wilson. He knows dual-threats, but still stresses that his defense must be disciplined and aggressive — no easy task.
“Having faced Russell [Wilson] and a couple others, it helps to know what you’re up against,” Arians said. “You have to be disciplined, but you still have to be aggressive.”
The Texans boast the NFL’s 10th-ranked scoring offense (24.4 points per game) and seventh-ranked yardage one (375.9 yards per game). Arians leads a high-profile all-out passing game attack, which ranks third in points (29.7) and yards (400.1) per game.
Saturday’s bout between the Texans and Bucs could be one that both defenses have a heck of a time.