AFC Wild-Card – Page 5 – Syndication Server

RB Duke Johnson has brought smarts and versatility to Texans’ backfield

Running back Duke Johnson was effective for the Houston Texans offense by bringing smarts and versatility to the passing attack and ground game.

When the Houston Texans waived running back D’Onta Foreman in preseason, they had to find a complementary back to starter Lamar Miller.

On Aug. 8, the Texans traded a conditional 2020 third-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for Duke Johnson. After 16 games, coach Bill O’Brien knows what the club got with the 26-year-old.

“Duke’s a smart guy,” O’Brien told reporters Tuesday. Duke’s a good route runner out of the backfield, but a good runner too, a good runner from the backfield.”

O’Brien and first-year offensive coordinator Tim Kelly didn’t simply throw Johnson passes, of which he caught 44 for 410 yards and three touchdowns. The former Miami Hurricane was also emphasized as a runner, and he set a new career high with 410 rushing yards on 82 carries and scored two touchdowns along the way.

“He’s done a lot of good things for us — really smart,” said O’Brien. “Was able to come in here and pick up the offense and help us this year, no doubt about it.”

Johnson never veered from his role. When the Texans had trouble at the top of the depth chart at running back with Miller tearing his ACL in the third preseason game, Johnson stayed in his lane as a back that could help in the passing game. On Aug. 31, Houston traded with Kansas City for Carlos Hyde, and Johnson was able to focus on his role and showcase his versatility.

Said O’Brien: “It helps because you can put him in the backfield, you can put him in different spots in the formation where you can try to get him matched up in space.”

The Texans will need Johnson to be as effective as possible with his versatility as Houston hosts the Buffalo Bills in the AFC wild-card Saturday at 3:35 p.m. CT. The Bills will be bringing their No. 2 ranked scoring defense, which gave up 16.2 points per game, into NRG Stadium to stop the Texans’ offense.

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Blame Deshaun Watson for why the Texans offense hasn’t scored more points lately

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson admits he’s the problem for why the offense hasn’t scored more points in the final four games.

The Houston Texans posted 28 points on the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL in their convincing win over the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football in Week 13.

Then, the Texans couldn’t get past the 24-point barrier for the final four weeks of the regular season.

Looking for someone to blame? Blame quarterback Deshaun Watson. At least the two-time Pro Bowler knows why the Texans offense hasn’t scored more points in the final quarter of the season.

“My turnovers — that’s pretty much it,” Watson told reporters Tuesday. “You take those two turnovers from Tennessee, and then just miscommunication in Tampa Bay, and that’s pretty much it.

“In the Denver game, we didn’t get too many opportunities in the red zone, but yeah, if I don’t turn two balls over in Tennessee that’s 14 extra points and who knows how the game goes.”

In the Texans’ 24-21 win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 15 at Nissan Stadium, Watson threw two red zone interceptions. Even if Watson didn’t throw one of them, Houston probably beats the Titans by at least six points if not 10.

Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Watson threw an interception and didn’t toss one passing touchdown at all. In the season finale against the Titans, Watson didn’t play as all the snaps were given to backup A.J. McCarron as an effort to rest starters for the wild-card bout with the Buffalo Bills.

As the Texans prepare for the Bills, Watson knows he has to get that issue resolved before taking on the league’s No. 2 scoring defense, which has given up a paltry 16.2 points per game.

“It’s something that we corrected, but I can’t worry about that and just play football,” Watson said. “Whatever happens, happens and we’ll move on from it.”

The Texans are 6-1 in games when they score 25-plus points compared to 4-5 when they score 24 or fewer.

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Has Texans QB Deshaun Watson learned anything from the 2018 AFC wild-card loss to the Colts?

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson says he has learned from the team’s 21-7 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in the 2018 AFC wild-card playoffs.

The Indianapolis Colts kicked the Houston Texans in the face with a 21-7 win the 2018 AFC wild-card at NRG Stadium on Jan. 5, 2019.

Deshaun Watson had not lost a game as a starting quarterback by more than a touchdown going back to high school. In his first postseason action as a professional, that fun fact didn’t hold up.

As the consummate pro who learns from his negative experiences, the two-time Pro Bowl field general is drawing on that loss to aid him in his preparation to overcome the Buffalo Bills on Saturday in the 2019 AFC wild-card at NRG Stadium.

“It helps a lot, just knowing that for everyone going into every game, every play matters, but you don’t really know it until you actually experienced that, and that’s what we experienced last year,” Watson told reporters Tuesday. “It’s going to happen fast, it’s going to come by fast, the game is going to go by faster, the plays, the players play a little bit faster than the regular season. Everything just speeds up.”

Watson was 29-of-49 for 235 yards, a touchdown, an interception, and took three sacks. On the ground, Watson tried to make plays with his legs, rushing eight times for 76 yards. The Colts defense locked down the Texans offense that was already down to receiver DeAndre Hopkins as its lone credible threat, and he was struggling with a shoulder injury sustained in the game.

“Just being able to be prepared and see how the energy and everything changes in a playoff game, it really helps out to kind of get that firsthand look last year,” said Watson. “I know it didn’t go our way but we’ve got another opportunity this year.”

What makes Saturday’s game with the Bills meaningful to Watson is that the game unto itself is its own new season compacted into a 60-minute span.

Said Watson: “All you’ve got to do is be the best team that day for those 60 minutes. So, if you can do that, regardless of what your ranking is or what your record is, it doesn’t matter and everyone is fighting for that one goal.”

The Texans have not won a playoff game since Jan. 7, 2017, when they beat the Oakland Raiders. Watson was a mere two days away from leading the Clemson Tigers to a 35-31 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff championship game.

Like it was for Watson at that time, leading the Texans in the postseason is also a great privilege.

“It’s a blessing, it’s a great honor, it’s a great opportunity for us and this franchise and everyone in that locker room,” said Watson. “We’re definitely going to fight all 60 minutes and see what happens.”

Texans have to prepare for ‘dangerous player’ in Bills QB Josh Allen

The Houston Texans know they are taking on a dangerous and talented player in Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

In a division that features a living legend in Tom Brady and the product of the biggest media market in the world in Sam Darnold, the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen has to be the most overlooked AFC East quarterback.

Even with the Bills’ posting a 10-6 record and earning their second playoff berth in three seasons, a rate of postseason return not seen since 1998-2000 when Wade Phillips was the coach, the story lines have surrounded the defense and not necessarily Allen.

However, Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien is not overlooking the accomplishments and talent of the 2018 first-round pick from Wyoming.

“I mean, this guy’s thrown for 3,000 yards and he’s got 500 yards rushing,” O’Brien told reporters Tuesday. “This guy is a dangerous player. He does a lot of things well. He’s a great competitor, never thinks the play’s over.”

Allen has produced 3,089 passing yards and 20 touchdowns in the air along with 510 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. In a league that did not feature the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson as an MVP candidate, Allen would be considered one of the top young dual threat quarterbacks.

Part of what makes the Bills formidable is Allen’s tenacity — whether in orchestrating four fourth quarter comebacks and five game-winning drives, or never quitting on a play.

“There’s the play that’s called in the huddle and then the play that may be run once the ball’s snapped because of his ability,” O’Brien explained. “He can escape, he can run, they have designed runs for him, and then obviously he scrambles, so he has the ability to scramble. It’s a big challenge for us.”

The challenge kicks off Saturday at 3:35 p.m. CT at NRG Stadium. If the Texans can get past Allen and the Bills, Houston will have collected their second playoff win in the O’Brien era and punched their ticket to either Kansas City or Baltimore — destination commensurate with whether or not the Tennessee Titans can knock off the New England Patriots.

Bills coach Sean McDermott says Texans QB Deshaun Watson ‘one of the better weapons’ in the NFL

Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott says that Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is one of the NFL’s better weapons.

Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott has seen his fair share of playmakers since taking over as coach for the AFC East club in 2017 — from Tom Brady to his own Josh Allen.

Even before landing in Buffalo, McDermott was the defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers from 2011-16 and saw quarterback Cam Newton in practice daily. McDermott’s frame of reference is extensive, which gives him unique insight into Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.

“I think he’s playing at a very high level,” McDermott told the Houston media on a conference call Tuesday. “He’s accurate, he gets them in and out of plays at the line of scrimmage, he does a lot just in terms of generating plays.”

Watson finished 2019 with 26 passing touchdowns, rushed for seven more, and even caught one from receiver DeAndre Hopkins in the Texans’ 28-22 win over the New England Patriots in Week 13 on Sunday Night Football.

It isn’t just Watson’s playmaking on the football field that has impressed McDermott. Leading up to the 2017 NFL draft, when the Bills were doing their diligence to determine whether to go all-in with Tyrod Taylor or provide him competition, McDermott had a chance to spend time with Watson and came away impressed with the former Clemson Tiger “as a person.”

Said McDermott: “I don’t know him that well, honestly, but just wanted to say that because he seems like a class act through and through.

“Off the field and on the field he’s one of the better weapons in the game.”

McDermott and the Bills will have a chance to see how well Watson is as one of the game’s better weapons when Buffalo faces Houston in the AFC wild-card Saturday at 3:35 p.m. CT at NRG Stadium. A win for either team could send them to either Baltimore or Kansas City depending on the outcome of the second wild-card game between Tennessee and New England on Sunday.

Texans-Bills Tuesday injury report: WR Will Fuller practices

Houston Texans receiver Will Fuller was a limited participant in practice on Tuesday ahead of the club’s AFC wild-card game versus the Buffalo Bills.

The Houston Texans released their Tuesday injury report ahead of their AFC wild-card bout with the Buffalo Bills Saturday at 3:35 p.m. at NRG Stadium.

According to the team’s official injury report, receiver Will Fuller, who missed Week 17 with a groin injury and was presumed to be out for three weeks, was a limited participant in practice.

Limited participation

WR	Will Fuller	Groin
S	Jahleel Addae	Achilles
CB	Johnathan Joseph	Hamstring
OLB	Jacob Martin	Knee
CB	Bradley Roby	Hamstring
WR	Kenny Stills	Knee
OT	Laremy Tunsil	Ankle

For the Buffalo Bills, LB Lorenzo Alexander was held out of practice for rest, and CB Levi Wallace did not practice due to an ankle injury.

DE Shaq Lawson (hamstring), OT Ty Nsekhe (ankle), and WR Andre Roberts (foot) were limited participants in practice. For more information on the Bills’ injury situation, check out Bills Wire.

Can the Texans beat the Bills in the AFC wild-card playoffs?

The Houston Texans will have a tough task on their hands facing the Buffalo Bills in the 2019 AFC wild-card playoffs at NRG Stadium.

The Houston Texans have the most pressure to win Saturday’s AFC wild-card game against the Buffalo Bills at NRG Stadium.

Coach Bill O’Brien made a lot of moves in the preseason which demonstrated the club is in a “win now” mode rather than “win the future” mode that was evident under fired general manager Brian Gaine. In trading for left tackle Laremy Tunsil, they have little assets for the future.

The Bills are not the same Bills of old either. Their defense is their strong suit, but quarterback Josh Allen is also a huge reason why the Bills are in the playoffs as he was responsible for four fourth quarterback comebacks and five game-winning drives. Allen also threw 20 touchdowns against nine interceptions in his second season, and he has shown the propensity to make defensive coordinators go crazy.

Houston will have to get their offense going quickly and establish a fast start if they want to win Saturday. Against the Tennessee Titans in Week 17, that was the second time all year the Texans scored on their first possession of the game.

Buffalo’s defense is one of the very best in the NFL and is very stingy with just 16.2 points allowed per game, the second-fewest in the NFL. If the Texans start out as they typically have under O’Brien, they could find themselves in a 7-0 hole early. Like with the New England Patriots game, where Houston prevailed 28-22 against the league’s No. 1 scoring defense, the Texans are going to have to get creative with their play-calls.

Of course, what Texans fans want to see is a berth in the AFC championship game, but it will take the baby steps of winning the wild-card game first. If the Texans take care of business against the Bills, it will give fans hope that O’Brien’s “win now” gambles are finally paying off.

Texans versus Bills wild-card playoff TV and time announced

The time and TV network for the Houston Texans versus Buffalo Bills AFC wild-card game has been announced.

There is no more suspense. The Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills know when they will face one another in the AFC wild-card playoffs.

As usual, the Texans will play the Bills at 3:35 p.m. CT on Saturday, Jan. 4, on ESPN/ABC at NRG Stadium.

When the Bills made the playoffs in 2017 as a wild-card, they were one of the Sunday teams to play that weekend. The last time the Bills played on Saturday afternoon in the wild-card round was in 1999 during the Music City Miracle.

The Texans earned their playoff spot with a 10-6 record to win the AFC South for the second consecutive year, fourth time in five seasons, and sixth time in the history of the division, second only to the Indianapolis Colts’ seven.

Buffalo punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 10-6 record and out-classed the rest of the conference’s runner-ups. In fact, the Bills were in play for the AFC East as late as Week 16, but fell to the New England Patriots 24-17 at Gillette Stadium.

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