Houston Texans coach David Culley believes the first two drives of the second half turned the tide against them when they faced the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Houston had the ball coming out of the locker room tied 14-14, but gave up 10 points over the next two drives to establish the deficit they could never overcome en route to a 31-21 loss.
Culley was initially asked by how he thought the run defense handled Browns running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, but quickly diverted onto the first two drives Houston had coming out of the break.
“Well, I think our defense played well,” said Culley Monday. “I think this is what happened in the second half, going back and looking at the video, is that we got the ball in the second half. The first two possessions that we had in the second half, we went three and out. The first one, they got it, they went down and they scored. Okay. Second time, we get the ball again, we throw an INT. They get the ball, they get three points. So they got 10 points off of us going three-and-out, with us having the ball. Momentum completely changed there, and that could’ve been a tough deal for our football team.”
The Texans inserted rookie quarterback Davis Mills into the lineup after Tyrod Taylor was knocked out with a hamstring injury. Mills completed 8-of-18 for 102 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
Taylor was stellar to that point completing 10 of 11 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for a 15-yard score, his lone carry of the afternoon. However, the Texans wouldn’t get the benefit of that production in the second half.
Culley is nevertheless pleased with how the Texans defense handled Cleveland’s run game, which churned 156 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries.
Said Culley: “”They hung in there. And basically, after it got to that point, we had to have a drive. Davis put the drive together there at the very end. We got down there, we missed a field goal that didn’t give us a chance to win. But I thought overall, more so of us getting a little tired, was that offensively, we couldn’t stay on the field when we first got the ball those two first two possessions.”
The Texans have to turn around quickly as they gear up for the 2-0 Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football from NRG Stadium.