After a close 17-15 victory against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, the Houston Texans wrapped up their preseason with an impressive 3-1 record.
Early in the game, the Texans’ defense played well, forcing a 3-and-0 and making the Rams punt on their opening drive. Unfortunately, the special teams made an early blunder when Eli Neal recovered Desmond King’s muffed catch to put the Rams in the Texans’ red zone. The Texans’ defense again did a great job of stopping the touchdown, but the Rams were able to score first on a 21-yard field goal by Joshua Karty.
Veteran quarterback Case Keenum started for the Texans in their final preseason game. His first drive resulted in no points, but in his second drive, the Texans received good field position as they began their drive on the Rams’ 46-yard line. After a 1-yard run by Cam Akers on first down, Keenum launched a pass deep in the middle to Xavier Hutchinson for 18 yards and brought the Texans to the Rams’ 35. Akers made up for the 1-yard run by gaining 14 yards on his next handoff and got his team to the 21-yard line, but despite the field position, the Texans couldn’t come away with a touchdown, so they settled for a 48-yard field goal from kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, which tied the game up 3-3 midway through the first quarter.
On the Rams’ next drive, the Texans’ defense stood up again, forcing another 3-and-out, and after a short punt, Houston received the ball on Houston’s 42. After two series and finishing 4-of-8 for 32 yards, Keenum’s day concluded, and Tim Boyle got some action. Out of the gate, Boyle made contributions to the Texans’ offense. He completed his first pass for nine yards to John Metchie III. Two plays later, he completed another short pass to British Brooks for six yards. Then Akers exploited with a 23-yard run before getting pushed out of bounds. The drive continued with Boyle completing another short pass to Hutchinson for four yards. Then, on 4th-and-1 on the Rams’ 5-yard line, you guessed it, Boyle completed another short pass to Troy Hairston for a touchdown for the Texans. Houston took a 10-3 lead on the scoreboard at the start of the second quarter.
The Rams answered back on the very next drive. Using only 11 pays, they drove the ball downfield for 70 yards and a touchdown. Rams quarterback Dresser Winn began dissecting the Texans’ defense by picking them apart with short pass after short pass until the ball was on Houston’s 4-yard line. Winn found Xavier Smith for 12 yards, Drake Stoops for six yards, scrambled for 14 yards and found Smith again for 10 yards. Zach Evans, a Houston native who went to North Shore Senior High School, ended the Rams’ drive by rushing in a 4-yard touchdown. However, since Karthy missed the extra point, the Rams faced a 10-9 deficit going into halftime.
Both teams were held scoreless in the third quarter, but the Texans got things going early in the fourth with the drive that started midway through the third. They went 12 plays for 91 yards that ended with a touchdown. Boyle continued with the short pass attack. He began the drive by finding Quintez Cephus for eight yards. Later in the drive, he attempted a deep pass for 30 yards to Johnny Johnson III, but a defensive pass interference derailed the catch. Then, a few plays later, the two connected on an 18-yard pass. Boyle then found Ben Skowronek and J.J. Taylor, and on 4th-and- 3, he completed a 4-yard pass to Akers to continue the drive. On the next play, an offensive holding penalty forced them back 10 yards, and on 1st and 20, Boyle found Taylor on a short pass for eight yards, then Akers for six yards and Johnson for a 10-yard touchdown. Boyle finished 19/28 for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
The Rams refused to go away quietly. Every time the Texans scored, the Rams would eventually answer back. Midway through the fourth, the Rams completed a 12-play 71-yard drive that ended with a Zach Evans three-yard rushing touchdown. The Rams scored to make it 17-15 and needed a 2-point conversion to tie the game. However, the Texans’ defense stood up again, made the stop, and sealed the victory.
The Texans, coming off an impressive season last year, are poised for a remarkable 2024-25 season. Based on their preseason performance, it’s highly likely that they will meet, if not exceed, the lofty expectations set for them.
Beating the Rams improved their record to 3-1, with their only setback coming against the Chicago Bears in a game cut short due to inclement weather in the third quarter. As the regular season looms, the coaching staff faces the tough task of trimming the roster to 53 players before opening night as the team prepares to take on the Indianapolis Colts on September 8.
“We have a lot of decisions to make,” said head coach DeMeco Ryans during a press conference. “We will answer those roster questions as the week goes on. As of today, no decisions have been made on anyone, so we will see how the roster shakes out.”
Even though making the roster cuts will be hard for the Texans’ coaching staff to make, they don’t consider this a bad thing.
I love that it’s tough to make these decisions because that means you have a good football team,” Ryans said. “When it’s not just set, you still have decisions to make, that’s how it should be.”
Coach Ryans doesn’t want the Texans organization to be the end of the road for players if they get cut. He believes that the talent on the preseason roster is good enough to play elsewhere if not in Houston.
“You want to tell guys just to keep working,” Ryans said. “Continue your dreams. Hopefully, they have an opportunity to make another 53-man roster. Or make a practice squad. There is an opportunity around the entire NFL to be able to make it. That’s my message to those guys.”
