Recap: Texans win a nailbiter against AFC West foe

The Texans squeak by in a 22-17 win with late interception

We have gotten used to this by now. There were numerous opportunities to break this thing open. The zebras took away a touchdown on defense for reasons. Bobby Slowik seemingly decided on multiple possessions to stall the offense and give the ball to the running backs. Russell Wilson and his big targets made some big plays on their side. All of it added up to yet another close game in Houston.

Stop me if you heard this one before. It was a one score game when the opposing team got the ball with less than five minutes left in the game. From there, the script changes from week to week. In this one, Denver had the ball at the end of the game and they had it in the red zone with under a minute left to play. They converted two fourth downs and had the ball inside the ten and couldn’t convert.

All of the game balls go to the defense on this 22-17 victory. Sure, Nico Collins had himself a day with nearly 200 yards receiving and another touchdown. C.J. Stroud had nearly 300 yards passing again, but the Texans offense is still a work in progress. They try to run the ball and continually get stuffed. It’s as if Bobby Slowik is a masochist or something.

However, enough of the duldrums. Will Anderson had himself a day. He had two sacks, several pressures, an extra quarterback hit or two, and a partial punt block. Other than that he didn’t do too much. The secondary picked off Russell Wilson three times including that pressure packed last play in the end zone. Derek Stingley had two of those picks as he has four interceptions in the last three weeks.

More than anything, it might have been the free agents that made the difference. Sheldon Rankins made a number of key plays on the defensive line, Desmond King made several key tackles and scored the defensive touchdown that we will just have to remember in our hearts, and Jimmie Ward had the interception that sealed the game.

It wasn’t always pretty and the news wasn’t always good. Star rookie wide receiver Tank Dell broke his leg and will be out for the remainder of the season. The injury is just another in a long line of injuries that have made the staff shuffle their resources on offense. It remains to be seen how this one will impact the Texans for the rest of the season, but this one was a crucial one that puts them right back in the wild card hunt. What do you think? Are the Texans playoff bound?