Hey guys it’s Ari Alexander with the 2-0, Division leading, coming off a win on national TV--Houston Texans!
Things are going mostly as well as you could hope this season if you’re a Texans fan, with the team winning their first two games, and the rest of the division playing terrible. The Texans are 2-0. Everyone else is 0-2.
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That’s a lot of 2′s and that’s the main topic of what’s going on in the NFL lately, so let’s dive into the matchup.
‘TWO-HIGH’ TAKES OVER THE NFL
If you’re a devoted football fan, you’ve seen the conversation surrounding a ton of the league running “two-high” safeties. Many believe that’s what’s causing offenses to be down so far this year--with way less scoring, way less passing yards and way more kicking of field goals.
Mel Kiper, Jr., the legendary Draft Guru, even went as far as saying “two-high” should be banned in the NFL. To give you the simplest explanation of what that means, both safeties guard a zone far away from the line of scrimmage with the hope of taking away the deep pass. So when a quarterback throws deep, if the receiver beats his man--a safety is there over top to stop the play. Teams running that type of defense consistently has the pass-happy NFL looking for answers.
So, what does that have to do with the Texans this week? Well, the Chicago Bears ran a ton of “two-high.” It’s 42% percent of the team’s defensive plays. You know who runs the most “two-high?” The Vikings. 75% of the time, the Vikings are in a “two-high.” That means Houston will need to get the run game going on Sunday--something that worked great against Indianapolis, but less so versus Chicago.
ABOUT THAT RUN GAME...
Joe Mixon was an absolute star in Week 1, ripping off 159 yards on 30 carries. Week 2 was a way different story, as Mixon struggled for much of the game, and then got hurt. Mixon is doubtful with an ankle injury, and is very unlikely to play. Dameon Pierce is out. Step right up Cam Akers! Akers was solid versus the Bears, but fumbled inside the 5--something he said won’t happen again. It’ll be up to Akers and Dare Ogunbowale to give the Texans a run game against a Minnesota defense that loves to blitz and play “two-high” to take away the deep ball.
WHAT’S NEXT
No more primetime, but a big game nonetheless. It’s 2-0 Houston versus 2-0 Minnesota, and it’s one of the top games on the Week 3 schedule. The Texans have a chance to continue what is projected out to be a dream season.