Dissecting Best Individual Matchups to Watch in Houston Texans' Week 1 Action

The Houston Texans open the 2013 season by traveling to San Diego to face the Chargers in a Monday night matchup. Kickoff is slated for 10:15 p.m. ET, the latest start for any game in the 11-year history of the franchise. 

The defending AFC South titleholders are facing a team with a new coaching staff led by head coach Mike McCoy, former offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos. The Chargers also turned over much of their roster, with 22 players from last year’s squad no longer with the organization. 

This game, like any other, involves a series of confrontations all over the field. There are a few matchups that bear closer inspection.

Corey Liuget vs. Wade Smith/Ben Jones/Cody White 

The question of just who will start at left guard for Houston in Week 1 drags on. Deepi Sidhu of HoustonTexans.com relayed the news on Sept. 3 that the status of Wade Smith remains uncertain. He is recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his knee performed almost a month ago.

If Smith cannot answer the call, Ben Jones will the thrown into the breech. Rookie David Quessenberry might have been a possibility, but John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reported he has broken his foot and is gone for the rest of the season. 

Cody White was not expected to make the 53-man active roster and was likely to be released once Antonio Smith came off the final game of his three-game suspension. Now, he could be the backup if Smith does not play. 

Corey Liuget is a 3-4 defensive end that is built more like a nose tackle. At 6’2” and 300 pounds, he is a load for even an experienced lineman. Jones is a converted center, and White has never played an NFL down. 

Here is a look at what Liuget can do to a veteran guard like Ben Grubbs of the New Orleans Saints. 

Liuget lines up in a 3-technique and prepares to go after Grubb’s inside shoulder. The guard does not set his feet properly and is caught leaning when the end comes charging across the line. 

Drew Brees sees the pressure coming and is flushed to his right, but cannot escape in time. The video shows what this sack looked like to the referee. 

Wade Smith may have named to the Pro Bowl last season, but there were far too many games when he was manhandled by tough guys who know how to get their hands on him. Jones showed the same vulnerability at left guard in the preseason. 

The Texans may be forced to max-protect with fullback Greg Jones to keep Matt Schaub upright Monday night.

Andre Johnson vs. the San Diego cornerbacks 

Andre Johnson will be working his magic against Shareece Wright and Derek Cox. According to the Chargers depth chart, Wright has been promoted to the starting lineup after playing infrequently in nickel packages last season. 

Cox (No. 21) will not be pleased to be facing his Texans nemesis once again. The last time they met, Cox was a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was victimized by Johnson in Week 11 for eight receptions for 110 yards as part of the wide receiver’s career-best 14 catches for 273 yards. 

Cox did manage to intercept one of the passes sent Johnson’s way, one of those “soft balls” that Matt Schaub sometimes throws on the deep routes. And the touchdown Johnson scored that won the overtime game was the fault of CB Aaron Ross, who gave up too much cushion on the play. 

Schaub will go to Johnson early and often so these two old foes can revisit their rivalry one more time.

Phillip Rivers vs. Shiloh Keo 

Ed Reed was also considered “uncertain” for the San Diego game in Deepi Sidhu's report. Shiloh Keo started in place of Reed in all four preseason games, so he is likely to fill the same role for the opening game of the season. 

Given the relative youth and inexperience of the fill-in free safety, most quarterbacks would go after him with a vengeance. Rivers happens to make his living in the specific area of the field that is his coverage responsibility. 

Pro Football Focus (subscription required for Premium Stats) documents some interesting statistics, including passes by distance. In the range of 10-19 yards, Rivers had 67 completions out of 110 attempts for 1,026 yards, 17 touchdowns and three picks. Those stats yield a passer rating of 121, a very high figure for the Air Coryell offense favored by former head coach Norv Turner. 

There are a pair of injury situations working in the Texans’ favor. Wide receiver Danario Alexander tore his ACL and was lost for the season along with the seven touchdowns he scored in nine games in 2012. Eddie Royal, who is listed as the No. 2 receiver, bruised his lung and suffered a concussion in practice, according to Ricky Henne of Chargers.com. 

Houston puts their defense in a dime package about half the time. This places six defensive backs on the field, one of which is a third safety. That would be second-round draft pick D.J. Swearinger, who will be trying to cover the aging but effective Antonio Gates much of the time.

This alignment will allow Danieal Manning to roll in Keo’s direction when Swearinger does not need any help. But if the pass rush does not get Rivers' attention, it won’t matter how many DBs are on the field.

  

J.J. Watt vs. King Dunlap and Chad Rinehart

If size matters as much in football as it does in other aspects of life, J.J. Watt faces a big challenge in the Monday night game. 

When lined up against the left side of the Chargers offensive line, he will be facing man-mountain King Dunlap (6’9”, 330 pounds) at tackle and mountain man Chad Rinehart (6’5”, 321 pounds) at guard. Sporting a beard may be Rinehart’s only connection to a real mountain man like Jim Bridger, but together he and Dunlap constitute the most massive flank in the league. 

The average fan would think of the 6’5”, 290-pound Watt as a large man, but even he looks like a youngster next to Yao Ming. If Dunlap and Rinehart (decide to double-team him, he might have to take a bus to get around that roadblock of football flesh. 

The reigning Defensive POY is listed as the right defensive end, but moves up and down the line to wherever he is most effective. If Watt slides to his left, that puts others in the unenviable position of having to take his place. It will be the task of Wade Phillips to throw some different looks at the San Diego offense to keep it off balance. 

The Chargers scored a mere four rushing touchdowns and averaged 3.6 yards per carry last year, both stats ranking as the worst in the NFL. Free agents Dunlap and Rinehart were signed to turn that around by leading the way for Ryan Mathews, Ronnie Brown and Danny Woodhead. The Houston defense will not have to wait long to see that strategy put into action.