The Day After the Day After: Post-mortem on the Houston Texans’ loss to the New Jersey Jets

Houston Texans v New York Jets — Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images

That was an ugly game, even by Thursday Night standards and no one should be forced to watch that ever again…let’s review.

The Day After the Day After…when the raw, immediate emotions from the aftermath of a game diminish into the realm of clarity and the proverbial (or literal) hangover no longer haunts the mind. With that, a review of Week 9:

That pass protection…or lack thereof: At this point, this feels like a repeat of previous observations. The offensive line could not protect CJ Stroud. The interior of the line, especially left guard, can’t even act as a temporary road block. If the interior doesn’t hold, then it all falls apart. For the New Jersey Jets, they finally got the type of pass rush they expected to have all season in this game. Reddick’s presence did a lot to spur the D-line to make life hell for Houston. When Kenyon Green went down (later a shoulder injury that placed him on IR yet again), many felt that maybe, finally, there could be some semblance of pass protection. Yet, Stroud still suffered another brutal night at the office. The pass protection hasn’t been this poor since the early Watson/David Carr era.

Stroud’s mobility: Given the aforementioned pass protection issues, it is remarkable that Stroud hasn’t been sacked even more than he has. Much of that goes down to his deceptive mobility. Somehow, he finagled 59 yards rushing on 8 carries, many scrambles. He was never a runner per se, but at least he can make some things happen with his legs. However, his scrambling should be a compliment to his game, not a primary function.

MetLife Stadium in New Jersey Will Host The 2026 FIFA World Cup Final

Road Warriors…Maybe Not: A couple of weeks ago, CBS Sports posted an article that talked about the home-road splits for the Houston Texans, and CJ Stroud in particular. TL/DR version, Stroud plays way better at home vs. on the road. That can apply for most any QB, but the last few weeks really seem to bear that out. Overall, the team is 2-3 on the road, 4-0 at home. While the Texans actually score more points on the road (22.4 vs. 22.25 at home), they surrender more points on the road (25.4 vs. 18.25). Take out the New England game, and the stats for Houston look much worse. With dates at Dallas and Kansas City still looming, hard to say that the road slate will be any easier to navigate.

As Will Anderson Jr. goes, so goes the defense: Credit needs to be given to the Jets coaching staff for making the adjustment necessary for Rodgers to go from 7 of 14 for 32 yards in the 1st half to 22 of 33, 3 TD and 223 yards at the end of the game. However, that also coincided with Will Anderson Jr. not being on the field for the 2nd half. After an injury that sidelined him for parts of the 1st half, the staff decided that he couldn’t go after halftime. Without Anderson, the Jets O-line gave Rodgers enough time to find Wilson and Adams to carve up the Texans’ backfield. Autry made his presence felt in the 1st half with his two sacks, but that came as much from Anderson’s drive as Autry’s own talent. Anderson won Defensive Player of the Month for the AFC for a reason, and the 2nd half of the Jets’ game showed just how important Anderson is to this team.

History really does rhyme where Houston is concerned: Houston only had one win all-time at MetLife before Thursday night. Coming into this game, Aaron Rodgers never lost to Houston. Both of those things held true after the game ended. Even with a new coach, a potential MVP candidate at QB, and all of the other bells and whistles associated with Houston, they couldn’t escape their past trends. On the plus side, Houston tends to play well against Detroit, so maybe that is a good thing.

The NFL really, really needs to rethink how they set up these Thursday Night Games: This game was as ugly a Thursday night affair as I’ve ever seen, and that is me taking off my Texans-colored glasses. Aside from the Wilson catch in the 2nd half, which the New York based media is already calling the second coming of the Beckham grab, there was nothing redeeming about this game for either side. The 1st half could be tried at The Hague as a war crime and all who watched could be due financial compensation for hardship and health considerations. When Kirk Herbstreit tried to reassure Al Michaels at the start of the 2nd half that it would be better than the 1st, he likely spoke to all of us. Still, the short turnarounds do fans or players any favors. If the NFL plans to add an 18th game, then the players, backed by Bezos himself, need to tell the NFL to incorporate some sort of bye week before these matchups and that must be a player’s red line. Sure, the money is nice now, but if the quality continues to suck, it will have strong consequences in the future, financial and otherwise.

FUN WITH NUMBERS:

30: Number of sacks on CJ Stroud this year to date. That works out to over 3 sacks a game. At that rate, Stroud is on course to get dropped 57 times this season. That does not factor in all the QB hits nor the pressures. For reference, Stroud was sacked 38 times in 15 total regular season games all of last season, and that factors in the 11 sacks he took in his 1st two games.

6-10: Houston’s all-time record on Thursday Games. That includes their 2-0 record against Detroit on Thanksgiving. Their last non-Thanksgiving Thursday win dates back to November 21, 2019, when Houston beat Indianapolis 20-17. They are 0-3 on Thursday Night games this decade.

GAME BALLS:

WR Tank Dell: Maybe Dell is finally recapturing his form from last season. 6 receptions for 126 yards helps solidify that assessment. In particular, he made some significant plays on the 3rd and longs the team faced to allow for conversions. With the return of Nico Collins imminent, if they can return to some of their dynamic duo moments from last year, the passing attack might have half a chance.

SHOULD BE FORCED TO LISTEN TO AARON RODGERS ON REPEAT EXPLAIN HOW HE MANAGED ALL OF HIS BODILY FUNCTIONS DURING A DARKNESS RETREAT:

Texans Pass Protection: No further elaboration needed

PK Ka’imi Fairbairn: As great as he’s been this season, he had a horrific game this round. The missed 56 yarder was not all on him, as Stroud and the O-line allowed a needless sack, but given the quality of Fairbairn’s kicking this year, that rates as a disappointment. Then you had the 4th quarter 27-yard doink off the upright. That all but closed the door on Houston’s chances to win that game.

WR Malachi Corley: For the Jets, this is now a footnote, but under no circumstances can a player EVER get careless with the football before crossing the plane. His fumble right before crossing the goal line that would’ve given New Jersey the lead in the 2nd quarter is a type of play that would get you benched in Pee-Wee flag football.

The Turf at MetLife Field: For a field that hosts two of the NFL teams from the biggest media market and all of that money, why is the field so [DURGA] awful. While injuries are a part of the game, that field at that stadium seems to inflict far more pain and suffering than is necessary. If the World Cup Final in 2026 can somehow show that a grass field can work in that location, then the NFL needs to force the Giants/Jets ownership to go full-time grass, or improve the quality of that field.

At least that disaster of a game is in the past. Houston goes into an extended break 6-3, assured of at least a full-game lead in the AFC South. They return to prime time next Sunday Night, when they host the Detroit Lions. See everyone there.