Tag: Texans 2024

Colts vs. Texans injury report: Latest updates, news for Friday

Here are the latest updates and news on the Houston Texans injury report ahead of Week 8’s game against the Indianapolis Colts following Friday’s practice.

Kamari Lassiter is back for the Houston Texans.

Lassiter, the Texans’ second-round pick out of Georgia, was a full participant during Friday’s drills and is expected to start this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. The rookie defensive back had been dealing with a scapula fracture, a rare football injury involving the back of the shoulder blade suffered during an offensive pass interference infraction against the Buffalo Bills.

He’s missed the last two games but returned to practice in limited fashion on Wedensday and Thursday.

The status of linebacker Henry To’oTo’o remains questionable. After returning to practice as a limited participant on Wednesday, the second-year starter missed Thursday’s practice and was limited on Friday.

To’oTo’o suffered a concussion in Week 6 and did not play in last week’s loss against the Green Bay Packers.

Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (knee) and defensive back Jimmie Ward (groin) missed practice for the sixth consecutive day and have been ruled out for Sunday’s game. This will mark the second game without Al-Shaair and the fourth game without Ward.

Rookie Calen Bullock, who recorded his third career interception against Jordan Love, is expected to start opposite Eric Murray.

Both receivers Robert Woods (foot) and Steven Sims (back) were full participants in running drills during Friday’s practice and will be cleared to play. Reserve cornerback D’Angelo Ross, who started in Lassiter’s place last weekend, returned to practice after missing Thursday because of an illness.

On the opposing side, the Colts will have both defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and running back Jonathan Taylor back for Sunday’s game. Buckner had been on the injured reserve while Taylor missed two games because of an ankle injury.

Buckner did not practice on Friday and is listed as questionable.

Here’s a look at the injury report for the Texans and Colts after Friday’s practice. With a win on Sunday, the Texans would finish with at least a .500 record in divisional play for 2024.

Kickoff is scheduled for noon CT.

Houston Texans (5-2)

DNP: Did not practice; LP: Limited participation ; FP: Full participation

Indianapolis Colts (4-3)

DNP: Did not practice; LP: Limited participation ; FP: Full participation

Kamari Lassiter injury update: Is Texans CB playing Week 8 vs. Colts?

Will Kamari Lassiter be back for the Houston Texans in Week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts?

Kamari Lassiter is back at practice and feeling like his usual self. That’s a sign in the right direction for the Houston Texans rookie cornerback as the AFC South favorites welcome the Indianapolis Colts to NRG Stadium in Week 8.

After missing the past two games, countless Texans fans have begun wondering if Lassier will return for Sunday’s divisional matchup. The former Georgia star played through a scapula injury suffered in Week 5’s win over the Buffalo Bills but then was ruled inactive in Week 6 and Week 7.

Is he set to return now with the Texans’ two-game road trip over?

Kamari Lassiter injury update

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans noted that even having Lassiter back in limited participation was a sign in the right direction after having limited movement in the shoulder blade the past two weeks.

“It’s encouraging any time you can get those guys back out on the field,” Ryans said Wednesday. “So, good to get him back and we’ll see day by day, see how they continue to progress and see if they can help us this week.”

Lassiter was listed as a limited participant when the Week 8 practice report was released on Wednesday. He was a full participant Friday, meaning there’s a good chance he’s medically cleared to return to drills.

Is Kamari Lassiter playing in Week 8?

Barring a last-second change of heart, Lassiter should be good to go for Sunday’s matchup. That’s a win for the Texans’ secondary following last week’s 24-22 loss against the Green Bays Packers at Lambeau Field.

While D’Angelo Ross played well in Week 6’s win over the New England Patriots, he gave up 95 yards in coverage on seven catches and a touchdown against Jordan Love.

This season, Lassiter has been one of the better rookie cornerbacks. He’s recorded 15 tackles, two for losses, three pass deflections and an interception. According to Pro Football Focus, opposing quarterbacks have completed 9 of 24 passes against Lassiter for 193 yards.

Texans CB depth chart

Lassiter is the clear-cut No. 2 option behind Pro Bowl defender Derek Stingley Jr. in coverage. Behind the duo, there’s little starting talent that eases fans’ hearts.

Below is a look at Houston’s cornerback rotation:

  1. Derek Stingley Jr.
  2. Kamari Lassiter
  3. D’Angelo Ross
  4. Ka’Dar Hollmon
  5. Kris Boyd.

Stingley has been one of the league’s better cover corners the last two seasons when healthy. Ross and Boyd are standouts on special teams are known for their consistent tackling skills.

Kickoff from NRG Stadium is scheduled for noon CT.

Is Tank Dell’s breakout game for the Texans coming in Week 8?

The Houston Texans need a breakout game from Tank Dell and Sunday might be his time to shine against the Indianapolis Colts.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

The Houston Texans need more from second-year receiver Tank Dell if they plan on winning more than just the AFC South division title.

DeMeco Ryans knows this.

C.J. Stroud knows this.

Dell knows it, too. All three are equally responsible for his sophomore slump entering the regular season’s halfway point.

“I believe in Tank, believe he’ll be able to make some big-time explosive plays for us,” Ryans said in preparation for Sunday’s matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. “He just has to keep going and he will do that. I have all the faith in Tank.”

After securing the most touchdowns in franchise history for a rookie, Dell has been dormant in the passing game. Initially, Nico Collins’ immense production played a factor, but the top target has been on the injured reserve for two weeks.

Stefon Diggs has taken over as the new No. 1. Dell, who last season caught 47 passes for 709 yards and seven touchdowns, hasn’t taken over his promotion at the secondary option, recording just 20 catches for 194 yards and one touchdown.

In Sunday’s loss against the Green Bay Packers, Dell didn’t record a reception. He was only targeted four times and dropped a pair of passes, including one on the opening drive that would have gone for a touchdown.

On third-and-15, Stroud tried to find Dell again, but the ball was out of bounds. Even if the former University of Houston star caught it, the Texans would have faced a fourth-and-long situation.

Stroud praised Dell for keeping a positive attitude despite his postgame frustrations. He admitted the play-calling the need to “get the rock” more early and often to Dell whenever he’s open.

“I am really proud of him how he approached today and how he approached yesterday having an off day and Monday after the game,” Stroud said Wednesday. “Just trying to get better in the weight room and just checking on him and making sure he is in high spirits and he does the same thing for me.”

Sunday could be a chance for Dell to break out. The Colts rank 27th in pass coverage, allowing 222.1 yards per game. They’ve also allowed 10 touchdowns while giving up a passer rating of 98.3.

Much like Houston being down Collins, Indianapolis will be without top cover corner JuJu Brents. Diggs, who leads the team in reception, will draw a matchup against Jaylon Jones, while Dell should mirror former 49ers defensive back Samuel Womack.

Ryans isn’t pressuring Dell to deliver, but if there was a game to step up, Sunday would be a prime moment.

“With Tank, he just has to keep going,” Ryans said.

Kickoff at Lucas Oil Stadium is scheduled for noon CT.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans explains conservative play-calling on final drive

DeMeco Ryans said the Green Bay Packers did enough to stop the Houston Texans from punching it in for a touchdown on the final drive Sunday afternoon.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

If the Houston Texans would have gone for the jugular, perhaps they’d be sitting at 6-1.

If the Texans tried to attack through the air instead of settling for their ground game behind Joe Mixon, perhaps they would have finished with more than three points in the second half on Sunday’s outing against the Green Bay Packers.

That wasn’t the case. The Texans never picked up the steam, thus leading to a comeback drive from Jordan Love and a game-winning field goal from Brandon McManus to secure a 24-22 victory at Lambeau Field.

Houston never kicked it into high gear, thus heading home with its second loss on the season.

“I just try to execute every play that I can, that I get called. I don’t know the philosophy in there,” Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud said.

While Stroud only completed 10 pass attempts for a career-low 86 yards, he seemed to come to life on the final drive. Facing a third-and-10, he found Xavier Hutchinson for a gain of 11 and a fresh set of downs.

Houston knew the Packers were going to use their timeouts to stop the clock. If they were aggressive, they could have been up by five with just under two minutes remaining.

Instead, the Texans called two running plays to Joe Mixon for a loss of five yards. Stroud then tried to connect with receiver Tank Dell, but the pass would have been well short of the first down even if the second-year target held onto the ball.

What’s worse is the incompletion stopped the clock and allowed Green Bay to hold its final timeout until the offense took the field. That later played a pivotal role in helping McManus have time to set up the game-winning kick.

“What it seemed like is we were trying to just run out the clock and then try to kick the field goal before we ended up having to throw the ball on the third down and give them the ball back with like 1:40 left,” Stroud said of the final three plays. “I think that it was a good plan, just got to execute better.”

Ryans disagreed with the sentiment that the Texans’ initial plan was to settle for a field goal from Fairbairn and mentioned that every drive comes with the intent of scoring a touchdown.

“They did a good job stopping us,” Ryans said. “Didn’t get in. Obviously, we didn’t pass the ball well all day, so wasn’t good all the way around.”

Fairbairn gave Houston a quick lead off a 35-yard chip shot. Seven plays and a timeout with three seconds remaining later, it was McManus’ turn to secure the win.

“They finished it the right way,” Ryans said. “Made the plays when they needed to make it, and they finished the game the right way.”
The Texans return to NRG Stadium for the first time since Week 5 to take on the Indianapolis Colts.

Packers 24, Texans 22: Game balls, play of the game

Here’s the Texans’ Player of the Game following Week 7’s loss on the road to the Green Bay Packers.

For the first time in 2024, the Houston Texans have been on the opposing side of a game-winning kick. 

Brandon McManus, who signed earlier this week with the Green Bay Packers, drilled a 45-yard field goal as time expired to secure a 24-22 victory at Lambeau Field. 

Houston’s offense barely had life. The defense created two turnovers and the special teams were special, especially M.J. Stewart’s fumble recovery inside Green Bay’s red zone.

Not all is terrible for the Texans as they fall to 5-2 entering Week 8’s matchup at home against the Indianapolis Colts. 

It’s time to hand out game balls and pick the play of the game:

Game balls

Offense: RB Joe Mixon — This is the only correct answer because Mixon was the only consistent player Sunday. He averaged 4.9 yards per attempt, capitalized on several third-and-short runs and pushed ahead for two touchdowns in the first half.

When Mixon is healthy, the Texans’ offense could be considered one of the league’s best. Sunday marked the third 100-yard rushing performance for the former Bengals’ star and the third game where he’s averaged over 22 carries and 4.5 yards per attempt. Last season, the Texans were one of the worst rushing attacks in the NFL.

Entering Week 8, they rank 16th in yards per attempt, 15th in rushing yards per game and 11th in rushing touchdowns.  That’s mainly because of Mixon’s ability to win at the point of attack and explosive runs in space. 

Defense: LB Neville Hewitt — Thrust into a full-time role after Azeez Al-Shaair left last week’s win over New England, Hewitt has been a tackling machine. He also showed off his hands with an early interception after Jordan Love’s pass was broken up by Jalen Pitre to set up a Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal in the first quarter. Hewitt finished with eight tackles, two pass breakups and an interception. He also helped force two thrid-down stops that led to a punt from Daniel Whelan. 

Special teams: DB M.J. Stewart — Situational awareness was essential in Sunday’s outing for Houston to put up points. Seventeen of the Texans’ 22 points came off turnovers, with perhaps the game-changer being on a muffed punt recovered by M.J. Stewart. The ball hit Corey Ballentine’s leg and became live. Perfectly, Stewart pounced on the ball to set up a 4-yard touchdown run from Mixon later in the drive. 

Play of the game

After starting off the final drive with a few conservative runs, the Texans were facing a 3rd-and-10 and just were pushed out of field goal range. Stroud barely had time to survey the field before a pair of Packers defenders were in his face. 

On the run, Stroud found an open Xavier Hutchinson near the sideline and delivered a strike. The ball was low, so Hutchinson dove to avoid contact with the defenders and secured the ball. 

A fresh of downs and three plays later, Houston led by two with just under two minutes remaining in the game. If the play-calling was a bit more aggressive, perhaps the Texans would be up by five, thus forcing Jordan Love and the Packers to go for the end zone. 


Still, it was a quality reception for Hutchinson as the de facto No. 3 target. 

Watch: Texans RB Joe Mixon dismantles Packers defense for second TD

Joe Mixon has been the definition of a stud for the Houston Texans’ offense through four games this season.

The Houston Texans are hard to stop when they have a ground game.

When Joe Mixon is in the huddle, Houston might be the most complete offense in the NFL.

Mixon capped off a promising second quarter with his second touchdown run of the game, this time from 4 yards out, to put the Texans back in front by six over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

So far, Mixon’s basically handled business and taken the Packers’ lunch money and made them beg for mercy.

Houston has trusted its defense to force turnovers and give the offense a second opportunity. Nevile Hewitt picked off Packers star Jordan Love on the opening drive to set up a Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal.

Just before Mixon’s 32-yard run to eventually set up the score, Calen Bullock recorded his third pick of the regular season. Surprisingly, takeaways were the subject of conversation, but more so for C.J. Stroud.

Green Bay entered Sunday with an NFL-leading 17 takeaways, including nine interceptions.

The Packers defense has created problems for Stroud and the passing game. While he’s 5-of-11 for 44 yards, the Texans continue to trust the ground game with Mixon.

He finished the first half with 81 yards rushing on 11 carries and two touchdowns. That’s an average over 7.6 yards per attempt.

With a win, the Texans would advance to 6-1, marking their best start since 2012.

Texans RB Dameon Pierce finally breaks out in win vs. Patriots

Dameon Pierce looked like his rookie form while high-tailing it to the end zone in Sunday’s win over the New England Patriots.

Joe Mixon’s performance against the New England Patriots wasn’t the only prominent running back making headlines for the Houston Texans Sunday afternoon.

Dameon Pierce showed off that same spark that made him a fan-favorite during his rookie season as Houston picked up the 41-21 win over the New England Patriots. After missing four games due to a hamstring injury, Pierce seemed to kick it into a new gear.

Pierce, a third-year runner from Florida, rushed for 76 yards and scored on a 54-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach. On eight carries, he averaged 9.5 yards per attempt.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway was Pierce’s explosiveness, something that had been missing since setting the tone during his rookie season. According to NFL’s Next Gen Stats,  Pierce reached 20.72 mph at top speed on his 54-yard score.

The touchdown run marked the second-longest attempt of his career, only to be a 75-yard touchdown run over the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022.

“Dameon made the most of his opportunities and there you go, he has a big explosive run for a touchdown, one of the best runs we’ve seen him have since we’ve been here,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said postgame.

Entering Week 6, Houston ranked 23rd in rushing behind performances from Cam Akers and Dare Ogunbowale. Mixon, who finished with 132 total yards and two touchdowns, was out for three games with an ankle injury.

After Sunday’s performance, the Texans rank 13th in rushing, averaging 118.8 yards per game and 4.5 yards per run. They averaged 6.9 yards per attempt in Sunday’s win and totaled five rushing first downs.

As for Pierce, the sophomore slump could be a thing of the past. While he finished with 416 rushing yards, his contact total dropped from 4.3 as a rookie to 2.9.

Through two games, Pierce is averaging 8.4 yards per attempt. Even if you were to take out the 54-yard score, he’d still be averaging just around 4.0 yards per run.

The Texans travel to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers next Sunday at noon CT.

Watch: Texans WR Nico Collins continues dominant season with TD vs. Bills

Nico Collins just continues his reign of terror for the Houston Texans en route to an early lead against the Buffalo Bills.

Give Nico Collins the Offensive Player of the Year Trophy now.

He’s walking away with some hardware in 2024.

The Houston Texans took a 14-3 lead over the Buffalo Bills thanks to a 67-yard touchdown pass from C.J. Stroud to Collins on a vertical pass on first down. Collins blew past a pair of defenders to go untouched with 1:34 remaining in the first quarter.

Stroud is in his element as the Texans debut their new H-Town Blue jerseys. After connecting with Collins for a pickup of 12 yards on third down, Cam Akers pushed his way across the pylon for a 15-yard touchdown.

Following a three-and-out, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik chose to attack. Collins won the route and secured his third touchdown of the season.

Entering the second quarter, Collins has two catches for 67 yards. With his receptions, the fourth-year receiver extends his league-leading total to 567 yards.

Stroud finished the first quarter 5-of-5 for 109 yards and a touchdown. Houston will receive the ball to begin the second half.

Texans vs. Bills: Houston without starting offensive lineman against Buffalo

The Houston Texans will start Blake Fisher at right tackle for the first time in his career against the Buffalo Bills.

Tytus Howard will be watching from the sidelines on Sunday.

The Houston Texans’ starting right tackle is out with a hamstring injury against the Buffalo Bills, meaning second-round pick Blake Fisher will make his first start.

Drafted out of Notre Dame, Fisher was brought in as a potential long-term replacement for Howard in the offseason, though he mostly saw reps during training camp at left tackle because of Laremy Tunsil’s injury.

During his time with the Irish, Fisher started 26 games on the right side and one game at left tackle. The Texans will be with the remaining starting four linemen to block for C.J. Stroud.

Other inactive players for the Texans include running back Dameon Pierce, linebacker Jake Hansen, wide receiver Steven Sims and Derek Barnett. Houston activated second-year defensive end Dylan Horton from the NFI list and elevated J.J. Taylor from the practice squad.

The Texans will receive the ball to begin the second half.

Report: Texans RB Dameon Pierce’s Week 5 status revealed

Dameon Pierce won’t suit up on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills despite returning to practice Friday afternoon.

Despite returning to practice for the first time in three weeks, Dameon Pierce will wait at least until Week 6 before taking the field.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Pierce will miss his fourth consecutive game Sunday against the Buffalo Bills due to a hamstring injury. Pierce was always going to be a game-time decision after being limited on Friday.

Pierce hasn’t played since Week 1 after totaling nine offensive snaps and carried three times for 16 yards against Indianapolis. His return would have been beneficial since Joe Mixon has been ruled out for a third straight week due to an ankle injury.

Cam Akers will likely lead Houston’s backfield for the third straight game, with Dare Ogunbowale serving as his primary backup. The Texans also elevated J.J. Taylor from the practice squad.

Houston’s inability to run the ball has hindered the offensive success over the last three games. In Sunday’s win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston averaged 3.9 yards between Akers, Taylor and Ogunbowale.

Wide receiver Stefon Diggs scored a touchdown on an 8-yard run in the first quarter.

Kickoff is scheduled for noon CT.