The Houston Texans fought hard against the Jacksonville Jaguars and were barely able to score enough points to close out their opponent in the fourth quarter. The game was deadlocked at a six-point tie for the majority of regulation, and both defenses showed great proficiency in their classic “bend-don’t-break” strategies.
In such a tightly contested matchup, the Texans managed to play competently in all four quarters for one of the first times this season. Their anemic offense still needs work, but with defensive rookies Derek Stingley Jr. and Jalen Pitre coming into their own on the other side of the ball, Houston could soon find themselves in a position to eke out a few more victories against opponents that underestimate the team’s potential.
Here are our key takeaways from the Houstons’ win in Jacksonville:
It took precision and execution for the Texans to close this game out, and the outcome could have been drastically different if their preparation for the Jaguars was less than stellar. They knew exactly how to exploit quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s weaknesses, and played stout enough defense against the run to keep Jacksonville from dominating them on the ground.
Some luck was involved on their touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, with a penalty by the Jaguars’ first-overall pick Travon Walker, but Houston was able to close out the drive with some help from rookie running back Dameon Pierce. Though many fans prefer high-scoring affairs, this outing by the Texans was as fun as they come for football connoisseurs who value defense and grit.
Running back Dameon Pierce has been one of the Texans’ most promising draft picks in 2022, and their most steady contributor on offense through five games. He has had a heavy workload and continues to churn out yards on the ground at an impressive rate, providing more than a third of their total offensive production between his rushes and receptions.
Without his consistent excellence, Houston wouldn’t have been able to keep this game interesting, let alone win. Pierce scored the team’s only touchdown in the fourth quarter and proved that he can help the Texans’ offense even without the benefit of excellent quarterback play.
The play of their rookies has been the Texans’ only saving grace so far this season, and Jalen Pitre might be the best of the bunch. The early-round pick out of Baylor had put up some…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Texans Wire…