Where do the Texans stand halfway through the preseason?
On Friday, the Houston Texans came to my very own backyard when they arrived in Pittsburgh to play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first full week of preseason action. This was their second of four preseason games, leading up to one of the most anticipated regular seasons in Houston Texans’ history. But, before we get into my first reactions to Friday’s game in Pittsburgh, a quick preface:
This preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers was the very first time I watched the Houston Texans in real life! After four years of writing for Battle Red Blog, I have finally actually watched the Houston Texans play football in front of me in real life and not on television. It may not have been a very meaningful game to casual viewers, but for me, this was a step towards Texans fandom that I’ve wanted to make for a long, long time. And the Texans won, too, so I have to go to every single Texans game now, basically.
Besides my primary goal of the game of just containing my excitement, I also entered it with curiosity about a few particular players. Popular rookie draft selections, like tackle Blake Fisher and safety Calen Bullock, headlined my list, and both of whom have performed admirably in the preseason thus far. But, besides them, I was similarly curious about rookie defensive tackle Marcus Harris and running back Cam Akers. I knew I was going to see a little bit of all of them on Friday, but I was excited, even sort of anxious, to see how it would turn out in reality.
I also, uh…I got to see C.J. Stroud play football in real life!!!
It was my first time bringing a camera to an NFL game, too! Littered throughout this article are some pictures that I took while at the Texans vs. Steelers game. I didn’t get a great shot of every player mentioned in this post, but there’s a few good ones in here
Alright, now that all of the formalities are out of the way, here are my first reactions to the Houston Texans’ second preseason game:
1. C.J. STROUD TO TANK DELL CONNECTION IS ALIVE AND WELL
It didn’t take long for Stroud and Tank Dell to get back to their old ways! It literally just took until the seventh offensive play of the game for them to find the endzone, and it had all of the highlight-worthy agility that we’ve come to expect for Dell, as well. He’s so effective at using his acceleration to create edges on the field that shouldn’t exist that I’ve come to believe that Tank Dell will just make the first defender always miss.
Tank Dell is still awesome, in case you were wondering pic.twitter.com/ubMekVRxXd
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) August 9, 2024
A touchdown like that brings all of those rookie memories rushing back; sitting there in Acrisure Stadium, thoughts of his amazing touchdown catch against the Arizona Cardinals and his highlight-filled game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started dancing around my head. Then I remembered the sensational catch Dell made in his very first preseason game in New England last year:
Tank Dell caught it on the second try!
: #HOUvsNE on @NFLNetwork
: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/bBFpXewtKp pic.twitter.com/wgaQlU4L3V— NFL (@NFL) August 11, 2023
I mean, I don’t know if your first NFL catch can be any more impressive. Just to remind you: this was his first game as an NFL player! One year later, and the league now understands that this catch wasn’t the exception, it was the rule. Good luck to any defender that has the misfortune of trying to cover Tank Dell this year, you’re gonna need it.
2. CADE STOVER LOOKS LIKE A FUTURE TE #1
One of Houston’s players that left the strongest impression on me as I left Acrisure Stadium was rookie tight end Cade Stover. Stroud was already defaulting back to his Ohio State roots when pressure came through the pocket, targeting Stover like a bad habit. Stover was seen as a great mid-round tight end prospect coming out of college, but I believe his connection with Stroud could make him exceptionally valuable.
In two preseason games, Stover has been targeted seven times, caught five passes for 58 yards, averaging 11.6 yards per reception. An admittedly very small sample size, but enough for me to believe that he’ll end up surpassing his fourth-round expectations. He looks a whole lot like Dalton Schultz when on the field, and looking at him still reminds me of his brief reign of terror at Ohio State. Suffice to say, it was hard being a Penn State fan while Cade Stover and C.J. Stroud were in the conference.
3. CAM AKERS AND JAWHAR JORDAN LOOK LIKE DAMEON PIERCE INSURANCE
Cam Akers is picking up right where he left off last week. In both preseason games, Cam Akers has gotten touches as a traditional back as well as out of the backfield, and he’s looked like his old, angry self through it all. He made decisive cuts, used his speed to get to the second level, and ran through contact. does this sound at all like Dameon Pierce? It feels like I just described a Dameon Pierce run. In fact, Akers ran more like Dameon Pierce than Pierce did himself on Friday.
Cam Akers motioned out wide left
Takes screen pass for 8 yards
Quick. Decisive. Explosive.
I’ve noticed he sets up his cutbacks with hesitations. Almost like a cross over pic.twitter.com/Qq3eALrmJD
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) August 13, 2024
Jawhar Jordan had a few Pierce-like moments, as well. In my opinion, Jordan has a long way to go to getting a spot on the roster, but his runs against Pittsburgh showed strength, instincts, and contact balance. I’m still worried about his size and speed, but many demerited Pierce for those same issues, and he’s proven those doubters wrong. I think?
Here’s where a big question from this game crops up: what is Pierce right now? I see the training camp highlights and believe the Texans coaches when they say he’s a resurgent player, but I’m waiting to have that realization myself while watching him in a real game. I really, really don’t want to sound like a Pierce hater here, but I’ve just become a little bit bearish on this training camp storyline after last year.
4. BACKUP LINEBACKERS STILL AREN’T GREAT, BUT LOOKED BETTER THAN LAST WEEK
One thing we got to see was Houston trot out their first-team defense for their inaugural possession of the 2024 season. The starting linebackers on this team, Henry To’oTo’o, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Neville Hewitt (filling in for an inactive Christian Harris), all fit the bill for starting-caliber linebackers. But, once you take a peek behind these starters, the reality of Houston’s precarious position on defense becomes much more apparent.
Backup linebackers Jacob Phillips, Del’Shawn Phillips, and rookie Jamal Hill have absorbed many preseason snaps, and have left much to be desired. Hill and Jacob Phillips were slow and out of sync for much of the Hall Of Fame Game against the Chicago Bears, exposing a weakness in Houston’s defense. If one of the starters were to get hurt, would Houston’s defense be in immediate danger of falling off a cliff?
Well, these nerves were tempered a little bit with this second preseason game against Pittsburgh. Both Del’Shawn Phillips and Jamal Hill appeared to have learned some lessons from last week and recalibrated for Friday, looking improved in coverage and tackling ability. In person, Del’Shawn and Jacob Phillips were quick on their feet and occasionally impactful in run-defense, an especially comforting sign to me personally. I’ve been carrying this fear that Houston is one or two injuries on the defensive line or linebacking group from collapse in run defense, so it’s nice to see backup players making plays all the same.
5. MARCUS HARRIS MADE SOME PLAYS!
Rookie defensive tackle Marcus Harris was a seventh round darling pick for me and some other Texans fans, attracting attention due to his impressive production while at Auburn. Harris does have the pedigree and statistics of higher-valued defensive linemen, but his lack of NFL size and arm length was something that couldn’t be ignored by multiple teams. But why not take a chance? Why not draft a college athlete that’s performed at a high level despite their physical “disadvantages?” I kinda love these guys like this, too. I can’t help it, I want to root for them all. I loved Gears of War player Roy Lopez when he was drafted in the sixth round in 2021, I loved undrafted rookie Kurt Hinish in 2022 (who’s still on the team, competing in the preseason), and now, in 2024, I love seventh round pick Marcus Harris.
And guess what, he made some plays on Friday! Look at this picture I got of him:
I got a picture of him in the middle of making a play! He didn’t fully succeed in stopping Steelers quarterback Kyle Allen, but this play did end in an incompletion, and in no small part to Harris’s pressure on Allen. Harris would make a few more stops on third-and-short, finishing the game with a PFF score of 56.6, a full 8.6 points higher than in the Hall of Fame Game. It’s a long shot, but if Marcus Harris can turn into a consistent contributor to Houston’s defense during the regular season, this renaissance era of Texans football we’re living in might just get even better. Could you imagine a fully loaded, championship-caliber defense to park with this offense? You could argue that Houston may already have that kind of defense right now, but an bolstered interior line via an unlikely seventh round pick could be a turning point to making it something truly special.
And that’s my five big takeaways from the week 2 of the preseason! I try not to throw weight into these preseason games, but I’d be wrong not to say I was encouraged after watching some of this game. The first-string players looked great, the backups looked good as well, and even the late-round rookies are starting to show improvement. Now let’s just hope Houston can avoid any more injuries in their third preseason game against the New York Giants.
What did you think of this game? Were you impressed by any players in particular? Were you disappointed by any preseason players? What’d you think of my pictures? Let us know in the comments below!