Five keys to 6-3 Texans’ ugly 21-13 road loss to New York Jets

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – An incredible catch that rivaled Odell Beckham’s acrobatic one-handed grab a decade ago, and a shin that officials ruled touched the end zone before a knee skidded out of bounds.. A Wildcat trick play that involved running back Joe Mixon looking to pass to, of all people, Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud. Unprecedentedly substandard pass protection for the most heat endured by Stroud in his young NFL career. And Aaron Rodgers, an older quarterback and former NFL MVP, recaptured his form with a red-hot second half to toss three touchdown passes.

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Between all of that, poor energy in the second half and injuries to Pro Bowl defensive end Will Anderson Jr. and a discombobulated offensive line that hasn’t lived up to expectations, the Texans absorbed an ugly 21-13 road loss to the New York Jets that dropped their overall record to 6-3 while the 3-6 Jets managed to snap a five-game losing streak.

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Here are five keys to what happened at MetLife Stadium in a Thursday night primetime setback for the defending AFC South champion Texans:

1. Offensive line can’t keep Stroud protected

Stroud was running for his life against an aggressive Jets defense headlined by defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and Will McDonald IV.

He was sacked a career-high eight times and hit 11 times overall.

Stroud, under such heavy duress, didn’t have time to set up properly in the pocket as blitzers and down linemen disrupted timing and he missed some opportunities downfield because he was anticipating more hits that kept on coming.

The pass protection issue is a major crisis for a football team that has invested heavily in its blockers. Only Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil didn’t allow a portion of a sack against the Jets.

“Anytime you get sacked that many times, it’s not good enough,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We don’t want our quarterback getting hit as many hits as we took, it’s not good enough.”

Stroud went 11 for 30 for 191 yards. Yes, that’s a 36.6 percent completion rate for one of the most accurate passers in the NFL regardless of age. This was the lowest completion percentage of Stroud’s two-year career

It was a poor showing by the entire team, not just the offensive line.

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“It’s embarrassing,” Stroud said. “To come out here in a primetime game and get embarrassed like that is never fun. We have to be better in a lot of areas, and it starts with me. There’s plays I got to make, throws I got to make. I point the finger at me and realize I got to be better as a football player. If we want to win, this is not the recipe for it. We got to learn how to dominate. This is definitely a great wake-up call for us to tighten up the ship.”

2. The ill-fated Wildcat play call.

Down four points in the fourth quarter, the Texans were well-positioned to retake the lead after reaching the Jets’ red zone.

On second down with seven yards to go for a first down, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik called a trick play.

Running back Joe Mixon, a Pro Bowl selection who had his fourth consecutive 100-yard, one-touchdown game, lined up in the Wildcat formation and caught a shotgun snap from center Juice Scruggs.

He was supposed to throw it to Stroud, and the pass fell incomplete.

As Ryans emphasized, trick plays are great when they work. Of course, they look bad when they don’t work out.

“We didn’t get the look that we wanted and we didn’t execute it the right way,” Ryans said. “You take a chance on those play. You can take that play, guys and make it however you want to. It’s one play in the game. If we score on that play, then you guys are saying it’s a great call. The play didn’t work.

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“We tried a play, it didn’t work. That isn’t indicative of the game. There are a lot of plays to be made, right? We get the ball up in the red zone. We missed two field goals. We don’t tackle well. We didn’t do enough good things to win the football game. So, it’s not just that one play. It’s many plays that happened that weren’t good enough in the second half.”

And Wilson made an incredible, one-handed leaping grab in the back of the end zone against tight coverage from rookie cornerback Kamari Lassiter.

It was an amazing catch by Wilson. At first, the play was ruled an incompletion. That call was overturned by referee Shawn Hochuli following a review of instant replay with angles determining Wilson’s shin hit the end zone before his knee landed out of bounds.

Stroud may have been interfered with, but the play simply didn’t work. After the drive stalled out, normally reliable kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn blew a 27-yard field goal attempt by bouncing his kick off the left upright.

“I thought I got held,” Stroud said. “I’m not a receiver, so I don’t know.”

Mixon had a similar perspective and a belief the play could have worked.

“It was a play call that was dialed up and came up short,” Mixon said. “We’ve been working on it pretty much throughout the week, and I believe Slow probably had faith in what we had and I always have faith in my brothers and what I am and what kind of player I am on that field. It just came up a little short C.J. said the guy was grabbing him a little bit, but I didn’t see the end part. Just came up short. That was the game. Came up short.”

Texans at crossroads with pass protection crisis: ‘Can’t let one game define you, utmost respect and trust in my line’

3. Rodgers’ renaissance.

Off to a rough start to the season, Rodgers picked the right time to catch fire.

The 40-year-old capitalized on the presence of two talented wide receivers in Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams.

It wasn’t looking good for the former Green Bay Packers legend in the first half. He passed for only 32 yards by halftime.

In the second half, though, Rodgers found a throwing groove.

He completed 15 of 18 passes for 179 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in the second half.

Nickel back Jalen Pitre allowed one touchdown pass to WIlson as he dove at the football only to miss completely.

Pitre also got caught in single coverage against Adams as he iced the game on a 37-yard touchdown catch by simply running away from the Stafford graduate.

“The energy could definitely be better,” Pitre said. “He just outside released, speed release, and he just ran away from me. It’s that simple. That wasn’t my best rep, for sure.”

And Wilson made an incredible, one-handed leaping grab in the back of the end zone against tight coverage from rookie cornerback Kamari Lassiter.

It was an amazing catch by Wilson. At first, the play was ruled an incompletion. That call was overturned by referee Shawn Hochuli following a review of instant replay with angles determining Wilson’s shin hit the end zone before his knee landed out of bounds.

“I was talking to the ref while they were reviewing it and said, ‘Just for the sake of posterity, you have to say that is in just so it goes down in history,” Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said after winning his first game since replacing Robert Saleh as head coach. “It would rival the Odell catch. It was amazing.”

4. Running game hits the wall.

Mixon got off to a stellar start, running for a touchdown in the first half and gaining 91 yards on 16 carries.

In the second half, Mixon said the Jets made adjustments to his game.

He finished with 104 yards on 24 carries, gaining just 13 yards on eight carries in the second half.

“It is what it is,” Mixon said. “We went out there in the second half and we didn’t play to our standards. I felt like we came out flat in the third and it kind of carried over to the fourth, you know what I’m saying. They made plays and we didn’t. That’s ultimately what it came down to. We can’t do nothing but look at ourselves in the mirror. and go off what happened.”

5. Not enough passing options.

While the Texans got a strong performance from wide receiver Tank Dell as he caught six passes for a season-high 126 yards as he was targeted nine times, the Texans clearly missed Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs’ presence.

Diggs is out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

And star wide receiver Nico Collins missed his final game on an injured hamstring. Collins, the NFL receiving yardage leader and the Texans’ $75 million man, is expected back for a Nov. 10 home game against the Detroit Lions, according to league sources. Collins is already running 20 miles per hour in training sessions with no setbacks, per a source.

Playing without Diggs and Collins, the receivers other than Dell didn’t contribute enough.

Only three players caught passes as tight end Dalton Schultz had three catches for 21 yards on six targets and wide receiver Robert Woods had two catches for 44 yards, including a 32-yard reception, on three targets. Xavier Hutchinson had zero catches on three targets John Metchie III had no catches on two targets.

Even though Collins is on the verge of being designated for return to practice, the passing game has gone awry.

“Nico is definitely a big chunk of that,” Stroud said. “Of course, Stef as well. But, at the same time, it’s things even if they were out there, it wouldn’t have even helped. It’s a ton of things we can work on.”

Indeed.

Read more on the Texans:

• ‘I believe in Tank, I have all the faith in Tank,’ Texans want to get Tank Dell more involved after zero-catch game
• How ‘everything is on the table’ for Texans after pass protection meltdown, Laremy Tunsil emphasizes bigger picture
• ‘It’s not good enough,’ Texans’ banged-up defense played well, but can’t get one final stop in loss to Packers
• ‘I’m never the bigger person,’ tempers flare between Texans’ Stefon Diggs and Packers, Jaire Alexander
• Best in class: Texans’ C.J. Stroud, Packers’ Jordan Love meet for first time in battle of talented quarterbacks, friends
• ‘I’m ready for the ball,’ Texans corner D’Angelo Ross reflects on first NFL start, ‘challenge’ of Packers’ Jordan Love

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.