Understandable. Had family over to watch the game for the first time in years so there was quite a bit of back and forth about this situation. Demeco & CJ remained calm throughout that sequence so I felt they had a plan in place. It worked! Two weeks in a row. My trust in the two is sky high. Check my profile pic. That's exactly how I was sitting.
He did well on the TD scramble, obviously - but at least one of those 3rd and short (it was earlier in the second half, IIRC), he had room to scramble, too. Kid is always looking downfield, which is great - but when you need 3 yards, a 3-yard gain is perfectly OK. I thought they handled the clock perfectly. They left one TO for the kick, which, given the kicker circumstances, was really, really smart. They also managed the clock well at the end of the first half. It's weird to have such a competent coaching staff. Like, seems simple enough - but I loved that Slowik saw the run work and just kept going to it. He gets better every week. I thought - other than some nits - his game plan and playcalling were terrific. Boy, he finds a defense's weakness and HITS HIT. I love that.
Bouncing back from that INT tells everyone what they need to know about CJ. It didnt rattle him and throw off his confidence. Clutch and accurate when it counts hard to fathom its coming from his rookie season. This MVP stuff is gaining traction and its the most sensationally absurd and unrealistic thing to happen but Im here for it! All those years of "No QB" and then THIS? We need to keep winning games!
Noah Brown's extra yardage on that final reception can't be appreciated enough, doubtful Ammendola makes that kick without those extra yards. I don't know about y'all but man I thought that was headed wide right. Happy for Ammendola to have that moment.
I'll be 100% honest: a loss would not have dampened my enthusiasm for yesterday. I've been so starved for competent-level football that this season has wildly surpassed even my craziest expectations. No, I don't love moral victories - but to go to Cincinnati and punch that team in the mouth but ultimately lose... I would've been disappointed but satisfied.
I'll echo each of these sentiments. What was encouraging to me was after that 1st half moment you referenced above, there was the 2nd CJ TD, which was him running straight up the middle when he realized no one was there spying him. It seemed to me like a coach likely got in his ear at halftime reminding him that when those yards are there for the 1st down, it's always okay to take them and get a new set of downs where you can sling it all over the field. I'll also totally agree about time management. I'm trying to remember a coaching staff on this team that I felt like handled timeouts and time management well...and I'm struggling. It's so very refreshing to have confidence in the coaches.
Granted, they got lucky on Boyd's dropped TD, beyond the obvious, because it saved a TO. But the end of the first hall was masterful clock management: I LOVED the 2nd down play where they let the clock run to 2:01 before snapping. They were making sure Cincinnati didn't have any clock left, which is really smart. (And didn't the Bengals have two TOs? I know they lost one on a challenge. Not calling TO on 3rd and 13 was really dumb.)
Nick Casserio needs some credit..... The guys he brought in last offseason (Schultz, Singletary, Brown, Rankins, Woods, Perryman, Ward, Grifin...etc)....the draft.... It's all been a homerun so far this season. This has been a hell of a fun team to watch on both sides of the ball. Man, it's been a long time coming.....Like the Bulls on Parade days (Cushing, Cody, Barwin, Watt, Smith, Reed) and then Watson's early years.....
Those extra yards were so freakin crucial, I agree, I don't think he makes the kick from where he first went down..............glad he made it but I don't have a ton of confidence in him, strong ass leg but not so accurate.....but hey, he made it so I will take it
I'll pile on and say that I thought the clock was managed perfectly on the last drive. With only one timeout, and a brand new kicker who was in street clothes 3 days ago, I think it was vital to allow the kicking unit to take their time getting out there and settling in. And enough can't be said for the impact the former Cowboys have had on this team. It's very, very telling that the two of them literally helped us win the game yesterday by having the two biggest catches on that last drive. It's unbelievable how every single player on this team has bought into the vision, and works towards one goal. This is honestly the most fun I've had watching a Texans team since J.J.'s rookie year. Now I hope they learned their lesson from the Carolina game, and they don't get caught up looking at team records for this next one. Arizona is still a dangerous team that can sneak up on you if you aren't paying attention.
Pass to open the run.. it’s amazing what scheming to your players strengths rather than your desired identity can do.
I know they have cameras on goal line but they can do that for the entire endzone. Don't cheap out NFL...
Normally, we get that angle. This past Texans game has to be the first time I've seen where the tv crew did not have the angle on the Robert Woods catch.
