Texans Remix Some Houston History
On January 3, 1993, the Houston Oilers lost to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card game known as The Comeback, in which Buffalo overcame a 35-3 deficit to win the game in overtime. Fast forward to January 4, 2020 and the Houston Texans overcame a 16-0 deficit to beat the Buffalo Bills in their Wild Card matchup, 22-19 in overtime.
This game definitely saw 2 contrasting halves with 2 different teams. The Bills started off the game as the aggressive, energetic team on their first drive. QB Josh Allen broke out in a 42 yard run through the Texans defense. That same drive he caught a TD on a trick play thrown by wide receiver John Brown. The defense was nothing short of ferocious. They racked up 4 sacks in the first half, which was shared at 2 apiece by defensive ends Trent Murphy and Jerry Hughes. The secondary was locking the Texans receivers down as well, holding Houston WR DeAndre Hopkins to 0 catches and having QB Deshaun Watson throw for only 49 yards. All of this led to Buffalo taking a commanding 13-0 lead at halftime. But things would turn in the Texans favor in the 3rd quarter.
The Texans came out in the 2nd half a completely different team. The defense started the 3rd quarter with a 3 and out. After 2 failed offensive drives, Houston’s defense was able to hold Buffalo to a field goal after defensive end J.J. Watt gets a sack on 3rd down, which made the score 16-0 Buffalo. When the Texans offense got back on the field they soon respond with a 20 yard TD by Watson and the 2 point conversion, making the score 16-8 Buffalo. The defense opens up the 4th quarter with a forced fumble by linebacker Whitney Mercilus and recovered by linebacker Jacob Martin, which sets up a FG and makes the score 16-11 Buffalo. The next defensive possession forced a 3 and out, then got the offense the ball back. Watson ends up hitting Hopkins for a couple of first down conversions then tosses to running back Carlos Hyde for the lead; fittingly he converts it with Hopkins for 2 points to make it a 19-16 Texans lead.
After a failed 4th and 1 conversion by the Texans, the Bills kick a FG to go into OT but the defense was still fighting. Texans LB Zach Cunningham laid Allen out on a 1 yard run that was similar to the 1st quarter run he took for at least 40. This was in Texans territory, but a few plays later, the Bills committed a personal foul that took them out of FG range. Texans defense makes a stop and put the ball back in Watson’s hand who made this play to set up the game winning FG.
The Texans were staring down the barrel of another disastrous playoff performance but regrouped as a team to avoid that. The defense making their adjustments is what saved this game. They found ways to get pressure on Allen and stop the Bills from driving down the field. The Texans offense also cracked the code of the Bills’ zone coverage and were able to make huge plays. Hopkins’ 6 catches for 90 yards was a huge difference in getting the Houston offense on track to explode for 19 unanswered points. Credit to the Bills for getting an early jump but they did not finish the job and simply got beat. Now the city of Houston has a playoff game against Buffalo they can actually be proud of.
Titans Send Brady Home…for Good?
A huge storyline coming into this game was the possibility of this being Tom Brady’s final home game as quarterback of the New England Patriots. Saturday night, that served as half true. The Tennesee Titans went into Foxboro and beat the Patriots but not with the arm of QB Ryan Tannehill; rather it was behind the legs of running back Derrick Henry.
On Henry’s 26th birthday, he ran through the Patriots defense like cake frosting. On the Titans’ first TD drive they fed him on some short yardage downs that he converted into first downs. Near the end of the half, he got busy with a 29 yard run before the 2 minute warning. He also followed that up with a 22 yard reception on a screen pass to set up a 1 yard touchdown run. This score actually put the Titans up 14-13, a lead that they held well into the final moments of the 4th quarter. And while the offense did not score another point, it was Henry’s running in the 4th quarter which was able to shave time off the clock and back the Patriots up into a corner.
For what it’s worth, both defenses played pretty solid football. The Patriots defense was able to stall the run in the 3rd quarter as their offense was going through its struggles. The Titans were able to disrupt New England trying to move the ball with its quick throws on 3rd down. Titans cornerback Logan Ryan even locked the game down with a pick 6.
A lot of people will be talking about how New England lost this game and the future of Brady; but the Titans should receive their credit before anything else said. Henry had 34 rushes for 182 yards, a week after going for 211 against the Texans. What’s even better is they did this on the road against the Patriots, which is a tall task on its own. But this is a much different New England team than we are use to seeing this past decade. The fear of being an offensive threat just wasn’t there from this team and it showed. Who knows if Brady will be back to restore that feeling?
Cousins Wins First Playoff Game
If somebody would have told me the playoff game featuring the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints would have one QB making the game winning TD throw and the other making 2 crucial turnovers, I would have replied with “That’s why I’m picking the Saints.” However, things went vice versa Sunday afternoon as the Vikings QB nabbed his first career playoff win with a 26-20 overtime victory.
It was a slow start for Cousins, who had the help of his defense and running game to sustain him. The Vikings ran the ball early in the game with running backs Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison. Their ability to attack the outside was instrumental in keeping the game close in the first half, until Cook eventually ran for a 5 yard touchdown, which put Minnesota ahead 13-10 at halftime. In the 2nd half, Cousins really started getting into his groove. In the 3rd quarter he got wide receiver Adam Thielen for a 34 yard catch and a few plays later, connected with receiver Stefon Diggs to convert a 3rd and 1 on a touchdown drive that put Minnesota up 20-10. The offense stalled out until the Saints tie the game and take it to overtime. Cousins connects with Thielen for a 43 yard catch and puts the Vikings on the Saints’ 2 yard line. A few plays later, Cousins throws the game winning TD to tight end Zach Rudolph.
The Vikings had some lows on defense but really came up big on the highs against the Saints offense. Saints QB Drew Brees was sacked 3 times, including a forced fumble by Danielle Hunter, which stopped New Orleans potential drive to go tie the game with a field at 4:26 left in the game. Hunter had 1.5 sacks, a number shared with defensive end Everson Griffin. Still, they allowed the Saints to climb back in the game after taking the 20-10 lead in the 3rd. Two plays that involved New Orleans’ Taysom Hill – a 50-yard pass Saints receiver Deonte Harris and a 20 yard touchdown reception by Hill – appeared to be the result of some blown coverage. However, the secondary was able to get the game’s only pick out of Brees. Also, the Vikings held the Saints to 97 yards rushing, including keeping running back Alvin Kamara to 21 yards.
The difference between these two teams is the Vikings offense was able to find ways to move the ball when the Saints offense could not. New Orleans got a couple of key plays out of Taysom Hill, but the problem is that he is neither Michael Thomas, Kamara or Brees, who had 2 costly turnovers in this game. When the Vikings could not get the running game going, they found ways to ignite the passing game and vice versa. Minnesota went on the road facing the aura of Drew Brees, and pulled out a solid playoff win.
Seahawks Fly over the Broken-Winged Eagles
This weekend, only one Super Bowl winning quarterback won, and that was Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson. Wilson led the 5th seed Seahawks into Philadelphia to beat depleted the Eagles 17-9. It was a game that featured the QB’s arm as opposed to the ground game that had to be reconstructed in the last few weeks due to injuries.
Wilson put on a performance to remind people why he was put in the MVP race through out the year. The Eagles defense tried their best to pressure Wilson, including efforts by Eagles defensive tackle Flethcer Cox, who was highlighted throughout the game on his terrorizing of the Seahawks offensive line. Still, Philly was mostly unsuccessful in getting to Wilson, who would break the pocket to launch the ball downfield. The main beneficiary of these passes was rookie wide receiver D.K. Metcalf, who finished the game with 7 catches for 160 yards. In addition to Metcalf, Seattle wide receiver Tyler Lockett had a solid 4 grabs for 62 yards. The success of the receiving duo could be to blame as to why the Seahawks did not run the ball as much with running backs Marshawn Lynch and Trevor Homer, but really it could be the fact that a few of Wilson’s scrambles went for 47 yards. Even though the Seattle running backs did not prove to be a huge threat, Wilson was able to draw in the defense on play action and get some big throws going.
The Philadelphia Eagles were doomed when QB Carson Wentz’s injury was added to the long list of ailments this team already facing. Wentz suffered a concussion while being tackled by Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. Philly was already dealing with players being hurt during the season, but to have your starting QB hurt and taken out of a playoff game is just unbearable. Luke McCown is a veteran backup QB, who was just coaching high school football not that long ago, it was not going to work. He gave a valiant effort for his first playoff game but there was just too much to overcome. In the end, the Seahawks won a solid game despite the injuries on Philly’s side. Many people will wonder what could have happened if Wentz was healthy and others (such as myself) feel it was a foregone conclusion that the Eagles were going to lose regardless.