What was the good, bad, and ugly from the regular season finale.
Sunday’s tilt between your Houston Texans and the hated Tennessee Titans was about as anti-climatic as you can get. One team wanted to get out unscathed so they could put their best foot forward in the playoffs. The other team wanted to secure the number one overall pick. Not surprisingly, both teams met their goals.
While the game had a preseason feel to it, there were some things you could draw from it. The things that lead to winning are the same whether it is superstars making big plays or the guys at the bottom of the roster getting their day in the sun. In this feature, we take a look at the numbers to see what we can learn.
Key Numbers
Total Yards: Texans 58/374, Titans 60/314
Rushing: Texans 29/207, Titans 32/85
Passing: Texans 29/167, Titans 28/229
Sacks: Texans 2, Titans 1
Turnovers: Texans 1, Titans 1
Penalties: Texans 6/48, Titans 7/68
Time of Possession: Texans 30:01, Titans 29:59
I suppose when DeMeco Ryans drew up how he wanted to win football games this type of performance was what he had in mind. The offense mainly dominated on the ground minus the early C.J. Stroud drive and the defense filled in the gaps with an opportunistic fumble recovery and return for a touchdown. The rest is just filler.
The Good
When the record books look back on this season it will look like a successful one for Dameon Pierce. He finished with 293 yards, two touchdowns, and a sparkling 7.3 yards per carry. Add in some very promising kick returns and it looks like Pierce could be pointed in that direction. Naturally, that is only if you look at the record books.
Reality is often fairly different and this case is no different. Half of those yards came on those two touchdown runs. You obviously can’t erase them because they are part of the record, but even with them you are looking a little more than two carries for game. I’m sure when the Texans picked up Joe Mixon they had hoped he would gain 1,000+ yards and then Pierce could add about five carries a game to provide a change of pace and style.
Considering that half of his carries on the season came in this game, the Pierce part of the equation didn’t exactly pan out. Still, I think Pierce proved he could be a productive back under the right circumstances. Add in a dominant performance by Derek Barnett and you saw that the Texans depth is one of the things they can maybe hang their hat on in the future. Maybe.
The Bad
Week 18 was a lot like preseason football. So, there is very little to take away from the effort that we should focus on. However, when you see trends you have to pay attention to them. By most accounts the Texans defense has been a very good defense throughout most of the year. They get consistent pressure on the quarterback and the secondary has been as efficient as any with the takeaways.
There has been one constant between the first and second units on the negative end. The Texans give up more big plays that just about every team in the league and certainly more than a playoff team should. It is the one difference between a very good defense and elite defense. The Texans will need an elite defense to show up if they have any prayer of advancing in the playoffs.
Sunday’s finale is a perfect example of the full body of work for the defense. For 59 plays they were an elite level defense. They surrendered only two field goals and had a defensive score of their own. If they had done that for 60 plays they would be in the conversation for best defense in the NFL. The 60th play? It was a 49 yard touchdown by Mayonnaise Boy. Keep in mind, the Titans are likely taking a quarterback number one overall to replace him.
If this were a case of a third string corner getting beat or a Pro Bowl level quarterback making a great play we could excuse it. It was a third string corner, but we have seen similar plays with the starters. It’s not fair. No offense or defense should be held to the standard of perfection, but with the struggles on offense the defense has to be held to that standard if they want to win in the playoffs.
The Ugly
There wasn’t much ugly about the game except for the entire concept of a meaningless game itself. The Texans have been on the other end of these games fairly recently. So, this is no judgment of the Titans specifically. They absolutely did the right thing given the circumstances. Who wouldn’t tank a football game when the number one pick is sitting on the horizon.
Who knows if they will take Cam Ward or Travis Hunter for that pick. Maybe they will trade out of it and acquire more draft capital. Either way, they have the ball in their court and no one would be stupid enough to blow that for a meaningless win. That is unless his name were Lovie Smith.
This is about the league and the way it does business. I get it. The dumpster fire that comes with tanking has a higher percentage chance of working than in any other major sport. So, shifting to a lottery or other system comes with its own pitfalls and drawbacks. Unfortunately, I do not have answers right now, but maybe some smarter people can put their heads together to figure out how we can get consistently competitive football throughout the season.