Week 4: The Houston Texans Dismantle The Pittsburgh Steelers – The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Oh, wow. Week 4 is in the books this NFL season already (ALREADY!) and some interesting storylines are shaking out. This is a Houston Texans blog so I won’t go too far into other topics. This is the only one that matters right now.

The Houston Texans are now on a win streak after having defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 this past Sunday. It was a national holiday being J.J. Watt Day. I’ll be respectful, “defeated” is an understatement. The Texans were firing on all cylinders in what is surely their biggest test of the season so far. Ravens week 1 was a gimme. This week was a true test to see how legitimate this team is.

This team is legitimate. Let’s talk about it.

The Good

Where do I even begin? Oh yeah, I know. C.J. Stroud, boys and girls. He is continuing his historic start after absolutely dealing against the Steelers. Stroud went 16-30 with 306 passing yards and for 2 touchdowns. He was once again poised and in control while delivering big throw after big throw. Stroud is star, there isn’t much else to say.

The supporting cast did fantastic alongside Stroud. The offensive line allowing ZERO(!) sacks again this week. I don’t remember the last time a Texans o-line did that. The run game was its best yet. Though it was only 3.7 yards a carry, Dameon Pierce and Devin Singletary both made big plays. Nico Collins is looking like an absolute monster catching 7 passes for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns. And the tight ends are getting into the mix more! Moral of this story is that Bobby Slowik is progressing along with the offense in its entirety. It’s very impressive.

This brings me to the defense. This is the best Texans defense since 2016. They are fast, physical, deadly, swarming. The front 7 made life hell for Kenny Pickett (get well soon, dawg) and completely shut down the Steelers offensive game plan. I’d start naming standouts, but I’d have to straight up name every defensive player. I’m serious. All of them played extremely fucking well. I’m so impressed with how they’ve improved and how well prepared they are. That’s the DeMeco Ryans effect.

Also, I guess a ridiculous play will just happen every week for us. Last week was the Andrew Beck return. This week was Devin Singletary throwing a touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz. Wild.

I can go on and on. We played almost a perfect game of football. The Houston Texans played their best game in years on Sunday. On motherfucking J.J. Watt Ring of Honor day. Goated.

The Bad

This is hard. What am I supposed to say? The 4th down call wasn’t executed well? Fuck that, who cares? Scoreboard.

Penalties? Scoreboard.

Stroud having his worst completion percentage of the season so far? Haha, he fucking went off. Scoreboard.

There was no bad. Have a day, y’all.

The Ugly

I’d sit here and write “injuries” just like the past 3 weeks. But that’s getting better too. Laremy Tunsil, Tytus Howard, and Juice Scruggs are all expected back week 5. Jalen Pitre is fully back along with Jimmie Ward. Guys are slowly coming back, but this new coaching staff has implemented the next man up mentality.

Beyond that, I don’t know what to say. Genuinely.

Onward

Here we are, guys. 2-2. 500 ball club shit. The Houston Texans already have 66% of their win total from last season after 4 games. DeMeco Ryans very well might be your coach of the year when it’s all said and done. Along with C.J. Stroud winning offensive rookie of the year.

The Texans will travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons this Sunday. To be completely honest, I haven’t felt this good about a Texan’s team in years. I expect a win and to move to 3-2. There are more winnable games on this schedule and if the team keeps playing at this level, the AFC South is completely up for grabs.

For more Houston Texans meat riding, head over to OTG on Apollo HOU to see it all.

Let’s keep vibing.

Watch Football. Watch Texans.