It's time to get on the Texans' bandwagon!
The Houston Texans defeated the Buffalo Bills 23-20 in Week 5 as C.J. Stroud led his team to victory by throwing for more than 300 yards. Meanwhile, the Texans’ defense put the clamps on Josh Allen and held him to an uncharacteristically low sub-150 passing-yard game.
Is Stroud on his way to having his name mentioned alongside Patrick Mahomes, Allen, and Aaron Rodgers? Did the Texans' defense prove its worth as one of the league’s elite while hastening the downfall of the Bills QB? What about Cam Akers? Can he still be a valuable contributor after being all but written off by the league? Let’s find out.
CJ Stroud can be the best quarterback in the league
CJ Stroud is no longer just a feel-good story about a rookie who put together a string of decent performances or somebody who did the bare minimum to break the curse associated with Ohio State quarterbacks.
Stroud has emerged as a legitimate starting quarterback worthy of leading a Super Bowl contender. He has precise accuracy with his passes and always seems to make the right decision. He knows when to take shots down the field and when to play it safe and take what the defense gives him.
Stroud threw an interception this week, which was surprising in and of itself, because of how good he has been at protecting the football. This shows how good he is when it comes to protecting the ball and why he can be a franchise quarterback. It is clear that the Texans trust Stroud to throw all over the field without costing them the game.
He’s an incredibly intellectual player who does an excellent job of reading defenses and processing the game. Stroud knows where defensive traps are going to be and he can avoid them while finding openings and hitting his receivers. Stroud is able to fit passes into tight windows, and he has a good grasp on when to gamble versus when to play it safe.
That is the ultimate balancing act and one of the most difficult skills for a quarterback to learn. The fact that Stroud has proven himself a dependable and capable leader this early in his career is incredibly positive for the Texans’ future.
The Texans’ defense is legit
Yes, at a glance the Texans defense gave up decent numbers to the running backs. In total, though, the team's rush defense held the Bills' rushing attack to less than 150 yards. That wasn’t anywhere near the most impressive thing about their performance in Week 5, though.
What the Texans did this week in the pass-defense phase of the game was nothing short of remarkable.
Allen is widely considered to be one of the best quarterbacks in the league and is frequently mentioned alongside elite players such as Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson. Allen is a dynamic dual-threat quarterback with an absolute howitzer attached to his right shoulder. He can sling the ball 70 yards down the field with seemingly just a flick of the wrist, and he can throw laser beams when necessary to thread the ball between multiple layers of defenders.
The Bills QB might not be the best when it comes to reading defenses, but he has improved greatly in that phase of the game, and he more than makes up for it with his talent. The Texans' defense was able to make Allen look like an undrafted rookie getting his first taste of the speed of the NFL. If they can maintain that level of play, Houston could win the Super Bowl as early as this season.
The Texans’ wide receiver room is incredibly balanced
Coming into the season, newcomer Stefon Diggs was heralded as the team's go-to wide receiver. Diggs has certainly lived up to that billing, but it hasn’t taken away from what the rest of the receiving corps is able to do.
For example, in Week 5 three pass-catchers — Diggs, Nico Collins, and Dare Ogunbowale — had more than 50 receiving yards, and two of them, Diggs and Collins, had north of 75 yards. Three other Texans — Tank Dell, Dalton Schultz, and Xavier Hutchinson — had more than 30 yards through the air.
Ultimately, Diggs led the team in yardage, but Collins found the end zone.
Stroud is reminiscent of Tom Brady in his ability to spread the wealth and get everybody involved, and his receivers are capable of stepping up to the moment and producing when Stroud calls their number.
Cam Akers still has something left in the tank
Cam Akers didn’t have the best statistical performance, but the underlying metrics tell a different story. He found the promised land once and averaged just north of four and a half yards per carry. There’s nothing to be ashamed of with that level of production, and Akers showed that he’s still a guy who can get the job done.
He was once one of the most highly touted high school running backs in the country and was praised as the next great Florida State runner at one time. Akers' career did not take off the way that many expected it would, in part due to the toll that injuries took on his body. When he has a defined and limited role, though, he can still be a positive contributor to an NFL offense. This is a very good thing for the Texans and the team's fans.
