Commentary

Texans must look ahead after bitter loss to ‘Hawks

We sit here on Tuesday morning with a bitter taste in our mouth. Through the first half, the Texans appeared to be in a perfect position to turn the season around with a huge win over a team many experts are putting in the Super Bowl. The Texans held a 20-3 halftime lead, Matt Schaub had thrown two touchdown passes and the game plan was working. They kept most of their passes to the backs and tight ends and ran the ball well.

The Texans led 20-13 late in the fourth quarter, but then the unthinkable happened. Schaub threw a pick-six, his third in as many games, to Richard Sherman and tied the score.

The play call was bad, but the decision to throw the ball was worse. If Schaub took a sack in that situation, the ball would have been punted back to Russell Wilson and the rest of the Seahawks’ offense, an offense that J.J. Watt and the rest of the Texans defense had mostly held in check during the game.

After his interception, Schaub and the rest of the Texans’ offense had plenty of opportunities to win the game. They had a drive after the interception that could not get going as well as two possessions in overtime. Schaub seemed to have lost all of his rhythm and mojo, and even though his receivers dropped several balls, he could’ve played better.

This game was lost on offense. The Texans intercepted Russell Wilson at midfield halfway through the fourth quarter. That should have been the ball game.

Arian Foster was finally able to get on track this week, having his first 100-yard rushing game of the season. He was also involved in the passing game, reeling in six catches for 69 yards and a touchdown.

For the second straight week, the Texans dominated the game on the stat sheet, but were unable to get the win. The Texans nearly doubled the offense output of Seattle; they finally forced turnovers, and yet at the end of the game, the scoreboard had the visiting team on top. For Texans fans, it is beyond frustrating. This is supposed to be a team with Super Bowl aspirations, yet they have not put together one full game of great execution.

The penalties killed the team again this week. But it wasn’t about the amount of penalties — it was about when they occurred. The worst was the last. It was a call that shouldn’t have been made, but still a bad decision nonetheless by Kareem Jackson when he wrestled a Seahawk receiver to the ground on their game-winning drive.

The Texans need to find some poise and discipline quickly, because they will be going up against the 49ers on Sunday night. One of these teams will fall below .500.

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