The Roller Coaster That Is Texans Fandom
It’s never fun when your team loses in the playoffs. When they win, you can gloss over all of the mistakes with the satisfaction of victory. But, when they lose, all those miscues become the center of everyone’s attention once the game – and season – is over. Every mistake will be combed over in […]
1 day ago | 1 read
If you told most people in 2023 that there would be real doubt surrounding C.J. Stroud’s future as a top-tier NFL quarterback, you would’ve been called insane. Since his historic rookie season, Stroud has been chasing that same level of play — and he hasn’t consistently looked like the same quarterback. There are still moments […]
2 days ago | 0 reads
A standard high school football offensive playbook is usually somewhere between a dozen and a hundred pages long (based on how serious the school takes the game). Throughout those pages, many have options on each such as route trees, shifts, motions, run/play action decisions and more. If each variation had its own page, they’d number […]
3 days ago | 0 reads
Tough losses necessitate tough questions. That’s exactly what I asked when I requested instant reactions and opinions on QB C.J. Stroud directly after Houston’s embarrassing loss to the Patriots in the Divisional Round. What are your instant reactions to the Pats beat down of the Texans? What’s the outlook for Stroud and what needs to […]
4 days ago | 2 reads
It started innocently enough. Landy Locker asked whether Nick Caley could grow as a play caller and whether he would get an opportunity to do that. DeMeco Ryans gave a seemingly innocuous response that is actually very telling. For much of the season, he gave full throated defenses of Caley as an offensive coordinator. In […]
4 days ago | 1 read
The Day After the Day After…when the raw, immediate emotions from the aftermath of a game diminish into the realm of clarity and the proverbial (or literal) hangover no longer haunts the mind. With that, a review of the Divisional Round Weekend: Arguably the Worst 2nd Quarter for the Offense this Season: That 2nd Quarter […]
5 days ago | 1 read
In the aftermath of C.J. Stroud’s worst game as a Texan, the team has decided to head off speculation at the pass and are picking up the fifth year option on his rookie contract. At the very worst, he will be under contract for the next two years. Furthermore, they at least openly admitted that […]
5 days ago | 1 read
I never thought I would be making a post like this! After the Houston Texans’ heartbreaking first half performance against the New England Patriots in the divisional round yesterday, many across the country and across the internet used halftime to propose one major second-half adjustment: benching QB CJ Stroud for backup Davis Mills. You know […]
5 days ago | 1 read
Most seasons end in a loss. There are only two ways for that not to happen. Either you win the Super Bowl or you miss the playoffs and win a meaningless game in week 18. Those are your two options. Every other team sees their season end in disappointment and it is the same for […]
6 days ago | 1 read
It has happened again. The Houston Texans season ended, as it has in years past, in the divisional round against a team that they have never beaten in the playoffs, the New England Patriots. The game began poorly after Calen Bullock slipped on the turf, slick with water and snow, allowing a touchdown to put […]
6 days ago | 2 reads
So…here we are again. On the road in a divisional round game against a team the Houston Texans have struggled against historically in the playoffs. We’re all too familiar with this scenario. But the Texans have something this year that they haven’t in previous years: the most dominant defense in the NFL. This is not […]
7 days ago | 1 read
Every week, the Battle Red Blog staff get together on Discord and chat during the Texans game, offering conversation and brief analysis of the team as they grind through another game. One expression that has become a mainstay on the chat is “C.H.U.M.,” which is an acronym for “Carlos Hyde Up the Middle.” This acronym […]
8 days ago | 1 read
Houston Texans fans like ourselves have been receiving an avalanche of good news related to the Texans team since, like, November. Unfortunately, today is not one of those days. The Houston Texans released their final injury report before the Divisional Round game against the New England Patriots on Sunday, and WR Nico Collins (concussion) is […]
8 days ago | 1 read
The Houston Texans have reached the summit of their own success by advancing to the divisional round for the seventh time in franchise history. Will the seventh time be the lucky charm? We spoke with Taylor Kyles from Pats Pulpit about the upcoming tilt between the Texans and Patriots. This will be the third time […]
9 days ago | 1 read
The difference between an early exit and a deep playoff run is often a player who wasn’t supposed to be part of the story. On Monday’s Wild Card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, that player was wide receiver Christian Kirk. For all intents and purposes, Kirk had an underwhelming year as the veteran presence in […]
9 days ago | 1 read
Let the game begin! Every week NFL Communications sends out a handful of emails around the coming weekends games. And, for the most part, every week, they ignore the Houston Texans. They celebrate the “stars” like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, spotlight the same sad old franchises like the Dallas Cowboys and give lip service […]
9 days ago | 0 reads
Two days away from the Texans playoff game against the New England Patriots and Houston is on the precipice of making their first AFC Championship game. Is this the team and is this the moment? I asked the writers of Battle Red Blog to provide their predictions for the Divisional Round game. Kenneth L.: Patriots […]
9 days ago | 0 reads
The Houston Texans handled business last weekend, dismantling the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round and setting up a road matchup against the New England Patriots this Sunday afternoon. C.J. Stroud came out sharp early, but the game started to slip a bit as turnovers crept in — an interception and multiple fumbles that […]
9 days ago | 3 reads
Now that we’re full-on into the playoffs, it’s time to stop looking in the rearview with our Secret Superstars series, and start looking forward to the next game with Postseason X-Factors. The principle is the same — using game tape and metrics to uncover those hidden gems for every team who are primed to bring […]
10 days ago | 1 read
The Houston Texans have done it! After one of the most demoralizing starts to the regular season in recent history, the Texans have fought their way back into the playoffs and have won their first road playoff game in franchise history against the 10-7 Pittsburgh Steelers. With that win, the Texans have sent hall-of-fame QB […]
11 days ago | 1 read
The Day After the Day After…when the raw, immediate emotions from the aftermath of a game diminish into the realm of clarity and the proverbial (or literal) hangover no longer haunts the mind. With that, a review of Wild Card Weekend: So, about that defense?: In the “Well, No [KITTEN] Department” Houston’s playoff success would ride […]
11 days ago | 1 read
We get another week of football, so we have another opportunity to make some money. Fanduel will keep you in the game for as long as we want to keep playing. Gambling is big business and there are any number of ways to play. If you feel confident in your pick on the game then […]
11 days ago | 1 read
How sweet it is. Three seasons under DeMeco Ryans and three times the Texans have won big on Wild Card weekend. This time they finally won on the road as they smothered the Pittsburgh Steelers and almost literally put Aaron Rodgers into a sleeper hold. The final score will say this one was a blowout […]
12 days ago | 2 reads
The Houston Texans are playing another week of football. It was a familiar script as the Houston Texans offense seemingly ran the ball at will, but inexplicably shot themselves in the foot on several drives. However, that would be burying the lede. It was yet another stellar effort from the Houston Texans defense. They swarmed […]
12 days ago | 3 reads
The road for the Texans to make their first Super Bowl begins on the road as this is the first time they’ve gotten to the playoffs as a wild card. Tonight, they enter the Steel City and play T.J. Watt’s AFC North winning (technically) Pittsburgh Steelers. There are a lot of streaks on the line […]
12 days ago | 0 reads