The Houston Texans had their preseason opener on Thursday night in a contest against the Los Angeles Chargers. And while the result, which was a 27-7 loss, was not what Houston would have liked, it is the preseason, and the overall team outcome does not matter nearly as much as the individual performances and the micro takeaways from each game.
Because ultimately, neither team in a preseason game is playing its full roster, nor are these teams revealing all of their offensive or defensive sets. It’s more about uncovering depth pieces, giving players an opportunity to shine, getting guys into game shape and hopefully building momentum for the regular season when the floodgates open.
In this one, Houston actually started the game well, scoring a touchdown on its first possession and taking an early 7-0 lead. Davis Mills led a 75-yard drive, with Jared Wayne catching the 5-yard touchdown pass to cap it off.
With C.J. Stroud sitting out this one, Mills looked solid on the opening drive. Unfortunately, those were the only points of the night for the Texans.
On that opening possession, rookie tight end Marlin Klein also had a 31-yard catch, showing some of the upside and promise that he could provide this year. But the offense really sputtered from there.
The Texans defense was able to hold the Chargers to just 10 points in the first half, so Houston entered the break trailing only 10-7 and very much within striking distance. But Los Angeles took complete control after halftime. Houston remained scoreless, while the Chargers poured on 17 more points over the final two quarters.
On the downside, one of the biggest storylines of the night was the injury to Graham Mertz. He went down while scrambling in the second quarter and appeared to suffer a knee injury, which forced Mills back into the game.
Mills is the backup quarterback and played a huge role for the Texans last year when C.J. Stroud went down with injury. And while he doesn’t necessarily need a ton of preseason reps, he was forced back into action, which completely altered Houston’s quarterback plan for the rest of the night.
Mills finished 8-of-12 passing for 76 yards and that opening touchdown, but also had a fumble late in the game that Los Angeles turned into points.
The Texans also struggled in some short-yardage situations and couldn’t extend drives. There were a lot of small situational things that piled up for Houston and ultimately led to the game getting away from them.
The defense did show some promise, especially in the first half when more of its core pieces were on the field. Kamari Ramsey came away with an interception and returned it 42 yards, providing one of Houston’s biggest defensive plays of the night.
Again, while a 27-7 score is not what Texans fans want to see, the score itself shouldn’t really be a concern. It’s more about the individual performances and what Houston can take back to practice and work on.
The flashes were there, there are some injuries to monitor and there is plenty to clean up. But it’s preseason game one, and the Texans are still a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations once the games actually start to count.