HOUSTON — The Houston Texans’ three-game preseason schedule came to an end during a 23-16 defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday night at NRG Stadium. The first half of the game may have been the most accurate description of what to expect from the Texans offense next season.
Houston opened up the contest struggling to find their rhythm in the passing game against the Bucs’ first-team defense. They registered 33 passing yards during the first 24 minutes, which resulted in the Texans trailing 16-2 at the half. With the loss, the Texans ended the preseason with a 2-1 record.
Presumptive starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor was under center for the Texans’ first three drives. And despite two punts and one turnover on down, Taylor believes Houston’s offense made progress against the Bucs despite their struggles.
“You have to take into consideration the practices that we get, the game-like atmospheres that we have in practice as well as the game,” Taylor said following the exhibition match. “I think that we’ve taken great strides, and it’s just about us putting everything into one and going out and executing when September 12th comes around.”
The best offensive drive for the Texans took place during their second series of the game.
With 10:12 left on the game clock during the first quarter, Houston’s offense embarked on a near 10-minute possession and logged 72 yards on 18 plays. They ran the ball 12 times during the drive, which accumulated 52 yards. David Johnson had the biggest gain of the series with a 21-yard rush to enter Tampa Bay’s territory.
The Texans drive came to a scoreless end due to a turnover on down deep in the red zone.
The most alarming element about Houston’s offensive problems was their inability to take care of the ball. The Texans committed five turnovers against Tampa Bay. Two stemmed from a fumble, while rookie quarterback Davis Mills threw all three of Houston’s interceptions.
“It’s very big to be able to stay in drives in this league,” Taylor said. “Ball, time of possession is definitely big. But more importantly, you want to come away with points. I think we were physical and we showed our physicality throughout that drive and we showed execution. We had an opportunity at the end and didn’t do so and that’s something to clean up and be better at moving forward.”
Taylor said the number of turnovers did not give the team the best opportunity to be successful against the Bucs — describing it as a shot in the foot. Despite their offensive issues, Taylor mentioned that he felt the offense improved in their blitz pickups, an area of play Houston struggled with during their previous game against the Cowboys.
After a slow start, the Texans’ passing game began to find their niche in the second half. Mills threw a pair of touchdown passes for 16 points on the night, connecting with rookie Nico Collins and journeyman Jordan Veasy.