You couldn’t make out what was being discussed amongst the four players in the corner of the Texans’ locker room.
Still, it seemed to be the telltale sign of concern as defensive players Will Anderson, Daneille Hunter, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Sheldon Rankins huddled in the postgame locker room for some lengthy sort of debriefing after the loss to Denver.
This seemed to be less of a defensive meeting of the minds and more of trying to figure out why the Texans can’t get right.
As out of sync as the offense has been this season, it has been the little things – a play here or there could have been the difference. Just take Sunday’s 18-15 loss at NRG Stadium, in which the Texans failed to get into the end zone against a quality opponent. If they had scored once against the Broncos in their three trips into the red zone or their six opportunities from within the 2-yard line, there might be a completely different outlook for the remainder of the season.
“It’s very tough. The reason that it’s tough is because it’s so close, so that means it’s just one or two plays,” said cornerback Kamari Lassiter, whose defense played well enough to win, but maybe a play or two against Bo Nix and the Broncos offense would have been the difference. “So you have to turn to yourself and wonder what am I doing that’s holding us back from making those one or two plays to help us win games? That’s what it boils down to.
“It’s frustrating, but in the NFL it comes down to every single detail.”
And as a result, right now we are wondering if the Texans are ever going to fix those little details that have caused them to falter in close losses to good teams like the Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks, and, most recently, the Broncos. The Texans have yet to lose a game by more than eight points. They also have yet to beat a quality opponent, catching Baltimore and San Francisco at vulnerable points, and the Titans are simply a mess.
It seems like it’s not about to get any better with Jacksonville on the way into NRG Stadium, and the availability of quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Texans’ best offensive lineman, Tytus Howard, both in question with concussion issues.
The offense, more so than the defense, is the problem, even with those two in the lineup. Simplified, the Texans just can’t find the end zone for nothing. That fact was amplified against Denver in the game, where they had to rely on five Ka’imi Fairbairn field goals and had Denver in a hole until they didn’t. You don’t beat good teams by kicking field goals, and the Broncos’ six-game winning streak qualifies them as a good team.
I asked DeMeco Ryans what he can do to fix his offensive problems. He said it’s as simple as scoring touchdowns.
“For us offensively, it all goes back to the red zone. We’ve got to do a better job of finding a way to get into the end zone,” Ryans said. “If we can’t find a way to get into the end zone and score points, it’s going to be hard.”
Yeah, that makes sense. But the unanswered question is, why is the offense an issue after it was supposedly fixed by parting ways with Bill Slowik in the offseason?
The Texans, who seem far different on offense than the unit that helped them win the last two AFC South titles and advance to the second round of the AFC playoffs, just don’t seem like they are going to be very good this season. Stroud and the receiving corps that features Nico Collins and Christian Kirk, along with tight end Dalton Schultz, all seem capable.
But you just don’t know what you are going to get from the offensive line and the rushing attack from week to week. The Texans averaged just 2.8 yards per carry against Denver.
Don’t think I’m letting first-year offensive coordinator Nick Caley off the hook. His situational playcalling is troubling and disjointed. It’s his fault that the offense was 3-for-17 on third downs versus the Broncos’ stout defense.
Ryans, meanwhile, is left to make it make sense and try to talk about the offense’s struggles without naming names. But we see the flaws and know that they won’t get better during the season.
The problem is we are not sure when running back Joe Mixon is going to be walking through the door, if at all this season. Stroud also needs to return to the lineup when it’s safe, but as soon as possible because Davis Mills continues not to be the answer.
The defensive players are naturally frustrated because they are playing championship-caliber football right now for a team that is sputtering at 3-5.
“The frustrating part is that you want to be perfect,” Al-Shaair said. I ain’t never met nobody that wanted to get an 89 on a test instead of an A-plus. I want to be perfect, and everybody around us wants to be perfect.
“In this league, if you have a mindset where `I’m okay with a C or I’m okay with a B-plus or I’m good with a B-minus. You just never know what it’s going to take that week, so you just have to shoot for the sky every single time because you never know. You always shoot for perfection, understanding you won’t be perfect, but just hoping the moments when you are not perfect are not in a crucial moment.”
