Tag: AFC Divisional

Texans coach Bill O’Brien says QB Deshaun Watson has ‘excellent instincts for the game’

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien says that quarterback Deshaun Watson has uncommon instincts for the game of football that aren’t easily paralleled.

What makes Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson dangerous to opposing defenses is his ability to be just as dynamic as a rusher as he is as a passer.

However, a quarterback isn’t helpful to his team if he gets hurt running the football as his main job is leading the passing game. Watson has to ride that fine lead for Houston’s offense, and coach Bill O’Brien believes the answer is to let the field general play the game his way.

“I think that one of the things that makes him a great player is that he’s got excellent instincts for the game,” O’Brien told reporters Wednesday. “So, I think at the end of the day you need to let him play.”

O’Brien, who is 2-3 in the playoffs after spending his first six seasons coaching the Texans, says that when he does have to intervene, it’s not frequent.

“I think there’s certainly times that you point out that ‘Hey, maybe you can make a better decision here,’ but not very often,” said O’Brien. “You’ve got to let them play the game, you got to let them see it, you’ve got to let him do what he does best.”

Watson’s ability to take hits was one of the elements the Texans look at when they considered drafting him leading up to the 2017 NFL draft.

Said O’Brien: “I think that the other thing you look at is when you watch film and you think about phrases like ‘playing strength’ and things like that, how they play the game and how they’re able to withstand hits. That’s one of the things to be an NFL quarterback, you’ve got be able to stand in there and deliver the ball and take a hit, and that is definitely a factor when you’re looking at quarterbacks.”

Aside from missing nine games in 2017 with a torn ACL that was sustained in practice, not in a live game, Watson has not missed any time with the Texans, save for Week 17 versus the Tennessee Titans when Houston chose to rest their starters for the wild-card playoffs versus the Buffalo Bills.

Texans DE J.J. Watt doesn’t know how much he will play against the Chiefs

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt says he doesn’t know how much he will play against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in the AFC divisional.

J.J. Watt made his surprising return in the Houston Texans’ 22-19 overtime wild card thriller over the Buffalo Bills.

Watt, who tore his pectoral in Week 8 and had a subsequent surgery, did not play the full game. The defensive end played 61% of snaps (52) and started the game as a situational pass rusher. He racked up a sack and two quarterback hits despite his limited snaps.

Heading into Sunday’s divisional round bout with the Kansas City Chiefs, Watt isn’t sure about his plan for the game.

“I’m not sure. We’ll have a plan,” Watt said on Wednesday. “Just because I played one game doesn’t mean my pec magically healed. It’s still in basically the same situation it was in before this game, and obviously we played a little bit more in the last game than we expected to. So, it’s just a matter of making sure we have a good plan, sticking to the plan and doing what we need to do all week long to make sure it’s where it needs to be. But yeah, I don’t know. We’ll see.”

One can expect Watt to see a marginal increase in his snaps. He says he feels good after coming back — after a few days of management for swelling — and is ready to go for Sunday against the Chiefs.

“It feels good,” Watt said. “Obviously after not playing football for two months, then playing 50-plus plays, you’re going to be sore, you’re going to be a little beat up. It was a quick reminder of how difficult the game of football is when I woke up on Sunday morning. That extra day was nice to be able to rest and recover and get back to work now with the guys. I’m ready to go.”

Watt has an extra day of rehab. The Texans have an eight-day break between the Bills win and the game at Arrowhead Stadium. He was limited during Wednesday’s practice.

Texans-Chiefs Wednesday injury report: J.J. Watt limited with shoulder injury

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt was limited in Wednesday’s practice with a shoulder injury.

The Houston Texans released their first injury report of the week on Wednesday as they get ready for their AFC divisional playoff game with the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday at 2:05 p.m. at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Texans had four contributors on the injury report who were limited, including defensive end J.J. Watt, cornerback Johnathan Joseph, and receivers Will Fuller and Kenny Stills.

No participation

OLB Jacbon Martin ⁠— Illness

Limited participation
S Jahleel Addae Knee
TE Jordan Akins Hamstring
CB Keion Crossen Hamstring
WR Will Fuller Groin
CB Johnathan Joseph Hamstring
S A.J. Moore Hip
WR Kenny Stills Knee
DE J.J. Watt Shoulder
Full participation

OT Chris Clark ⁠— Concussion

Tight end Travis Kelce was a limited participant in practice as he deals with a knee injury For more information on the Chiefs’ complete injury report, visit Chiefs Wire.

Report: Texans and D.J. Reader nowhere close to an extension

The Houston Texans and defensive tackle D.J. Reader are reportedly not close to an extension at this time.

The business side of football won’t come to the foreground until the end of the postseason, and one issue that will be there is the contract extension status of Houston Texans defensive tackle D.J. Reader.

According to a report from the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, the two sides aren’t close to an extension as the club prepares to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional playoffs Sunday at 2:05 p.m. CT at Arrowhead Stadium.

However, just because there is a chasm between the Texans and Reader as far as an extension goes doesn’t mean the former 2016 fifth-round pick from Clemson doesn’t want to remain with his original draft team.

“Oh, you know I love it here,” Reader said via Wilson. “I love the fans. I love the organization. They gave me my first real job. I love the city. People love me here. Hopefully, that opportunity comes around.”

From the organization’s point of view, they also highly respect Reader and his contributions.

“D.J. Reader has had a really good year for us,” coach Bill O’Brien told reporters on Jan. 6. “He does a lot of things that, you’re right, don’t show up on the stat sheet. He’s an excellent inside defensive tackle that plays the run very well. He gives us some juice in the passing game.”

Now, it will be up to the Texans to determine just how much bread to give the 6-3, 347-pound defensive lineman. Reader has collected 52 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and six tackles for loss in 15 games for Houston, all of which he started.

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The Texans’ trade for LT Laremy Tunsil proved to be a brilliant move

The Houston Texans’ trade for left tackle Laremy Tunsil was their most brilliant move of the offseason.

The Houston Texans went cheap at protecting quarterback Deshaun Watson’s blindside with re-signing Seantrel Henderson to a one-year deal and signing Matt Khalil in the second wave of free agency. They also went youthful drafting college tackles Tytus Howard in Round 1 and Max Scharping in Round 2 of the 2019 NFL draft.

On Aug. 31, the concluding solution was to trade for Miami Dolphins left tackle Laremy Tunsil, and this move is one that Barry Werner of the Touchdown Wire lauds as one of the brilliant moves among the remaining eight playoff teams.

The Texans swung a deal with the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 31, 2019, to shore up their offensive line and it worked out nicely as former first-round pick Laremy Tunsil has been stellar. He has earned his first Pro Bowl slot and is a force protecting Deshaun Watson. You can kick in Kenny Stills, who came along in the deal and had 40 catches for 561 yards in 13 games.

Though Watson took seven sacks against the Buffalo Bills in the 22-19 overtime win against the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round, they wouldn’t have been in the postseason if not for Tunsil’s Pro Bowl efforts throughout the season.

Now, it will be up to Tunsil and the rest of the offensive line to protect Watson and clear running lanes for running back Carlos Hyde en route to a win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round at Arrowhead Stadium.

Bill O’Brien says DT D.J. Reader ‘does things that don’t show up on the stat sheet’

Coach Bill O’Brien says that Houston Texans defensive tackle D.J. Reader is a catalyst for their pass defense.

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien has long been a fan of defensive tackle D.J. Reader.

The sixth-year coach’s appreciation for the 2016 fifth-round pick from Clemson was on display when he met with reporters Monday.

“D.J. Reader has had a really good year for us,” O’Brien said. “He does a lot of things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. He’s an excellent inside defensive tackle that plays the run very well. He gives us some juice in the passing game.”

On the season, Reader collected 55 tackles, 3.0 sacks, six tackles for loss, and 14 quarterback hits.

For O’Brien, the best example of what Reader means to the defense can be summarized on a first-and-10 with 4:37 to go in the fourth quarter of the Texans’ 22-19 overtime win against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC wild-card. Though rookie running back Devin Singletary earned a chunk play on a 38-yard screen pass, Reader’s effort kept it from being more.

Said O’Brien: “On this one play down the opposite sideline from our sideline, D.J. Reader must have ran at least probably, from where he was in the backfield, probably about 50 yards. You’re talking about a big man that gave unbelievable effort on that play and then [safety] Mike Adams did a good job of using the sideline and they were able to get the guy down on the ground.”

The Bills weren’t able to get any points out of the potential game-winning drive, as outside linebacker Jacob Martin sacked quarterback Josh Allen for a loss of 19 on fourth-and-27.

It wouldn’t have been possible if Reader hadn’t chased Singletary.

“That’s another example of D.J. Reader and effort that he plays with, and that was a big play in the game,” said O’Brien.

The Texans can use Reader’s best effort as they face the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional Sunday at 2:05 p.m. CT at Arrowhead Stadium. A win would give the Texans their first AFC Championship Game berth in franchise history.

Texans coach Bill O’Brien says the run game is especially important in the playoffs

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien says that starting the run on offense and stopping the run on defense are two big priorities in the playoffs.

The Houston Texans prevailed 22-19 over the Buffalo Bills in overtime of the AFC wild-card, and one of the keys to success was relating to running the football.

According to coach Bill O’Brien, as the Texans get deeper into the playoffs, they have to be able to run the football better.

“I think you do have to be able to run the football,” O’Brien told reporters Monday. “That doesn’t mean you have to run it 50 times. I think you have to be balanced, but you’ve got be able to run the football. We did at times. There were certain things that we did really well in the running game. There were other times where we have to do a better job of coaching and executing.”

Running back Carlos Hyde carried 16 times for 48 yards, and Duke Johnson had three carries for 38 yards. Quarterback Deshaun Watson supplemented the run game with his 14 carries for 55 yards and a touchdown, including a 20-yard gallop that put Houston’s first points on the board 16-8 with a little over a minute to go in the third quarter.

Though O’Brien is a believer in the Texans’ run game, he knows that their offense has to also take advantage of what the defense is giving them, or adjust to what they are taking away.

“If you think you can run the ball based on what they’re going to do, based on what you have in the game, then you’re going to do it, but other than that it’s just basically let’s do what’s best for the team,” said O’Brien. “In the end, I think running the ball, for us right now, is a big part of what we do.”

On the flip side, the Texans defense has to be able to stop the run. Against the Bills, they allowed 172 yards on 30 carries with quarterback Josh Allen gaining 92 of them on his nine rushes.

Said O’Brien: “I think it always comes down to what you believe the defense is going to do and what is the best plan of attack. But I do think that in order to win during this time of the year, you have to be able to stop the run, which we did it at times the other day, but at other times we didn’t do.”

The Kansas City Chiefs produced 4.3 yards per carry, the 13th-lowest in the NFL, and churned 98.1 rushing yards per game, the 10th-fewest in the league. It may be easier for the Texans to stop the Chiefs’ run game, but it will be a hard game if they cannot.

Texans coach Bill O’Brien says S Tyrann Mathieu has been ‘a big part’ of the Chiefs’ defense

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien says that safety Tyrann Mathieu has been a big part of the Kansas City Chiefs’ success on defense.

The Houston Texans will be taking on a familiar face when they play the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional playoffs Sunday at 2:05 p.m. CT at Arrowhead Stadium.

A really familiar face.

All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu used to be a part of the Texans’ secondary in 2018. After signing a three-year, $42 million contract with the Chiefs, Mathieu produced 75 tackles, 2.0 sacks, four interceptions, and 12 pass breakups in 16 starts for Kansas City.

“He’s a big part of it,” O’Brien told reporters Monday. “He’s playing really well. Line him up in different spots, plays nickel, plays safety. They do a good job. They mix it up on you, they spin the dial from one snap to the next, you really don’t know what you’re going to get. So, you’re going to have to be very, very alert, you’re going to have to have a great week of communication.”

In the wild-card round against the Buffalo Bills, part of what helped the Texans prevail 22-19 in overtime was quarterback Deshaun Watson being careful with the football. The two-time Pro Bowl signal caller went 20-of-25 for 247 yards and a touchdown, though he did take seven sacks on the afternoon.

“You’re going to have to have a great week of preparation, because [defensive coordinator] (Steve) Spagnuolo does a great job,” O’Brien said.

Mathieu is a known quantity for the Texans as he spent the 2018 season with the Texans after playing the first five seasons of his career with the Arizona Cardinals. While he didn’t get to stay in Houston, Mathieu used the “prove-it” aspect of his one-year contract with the AFC South club to audition for suitors who would be willing to pay retail for Mathieu’s services.

In the Week 6 encounter between Houston and Kansas City, Mathieu had 10 tackles and a pass deflection in 89 snaps. If the “Honey Badger” can add more production, it could help the Chiefs defend their home-field advantage in the rematch.

Can the Texans count on WR Will Fuller to return against the Chiefs in the divisional round?

The Houston Texans expect WR Will Fuller to be available against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional playoffs. Will his groin cooperate?

The Houston Texans may be getting help in the receiving corps when they take on the Kansas City Chiefs Jan. 12 in the AFC divisional playoffs.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Texans are expecting to have receiver Will Fuller available at Arrowhead Stadium when they vie for their first conference championship game appearance in club history.

The former 2016 first-round pick from Notre Dame was unavailable against the Buffalo Bills in the Texans’ 22-19 overtime win in the wild-card round at NRG Stadium. After the Texans’ 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16, when Fuller injured his groin, the word was that he would be out for three weeks.

The Chiefs game would be the third week. By the estimation given after the Buccaneers game, Fuller would be on target to return for the AFC Championship Game.

The 6-0, 184-pound receiver caught 49 passes for 670 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games, all of which he started. Quarterback Deshaun Watson has had eight games, including playoffs, over a 100.0 passer rating, and Fuller has been on the field for five of them. The Texans are 7-1 in 2019 when Watson has a passer rating of 100.0-plus.

Fuller was on the field in Week 6 when the Texans bested the Chiefs 31-24 on Oct. 13. They are hopeful they will have him again as they attempt to get another win in Kansas City.