HBO 'Hard Knocks' 2015: Best Texans Storylines, Moments, Reaction for Episode 4

Even with cuts looming and the regular season right around the corner, Tuesday's episode of Hard Knocks assumed a lighthearted tone. Viewers caught a glimpse of star players' senses of humor and the off-field life and camaraderie that make the grueling nature of preseason camp bearable.

The episode opened with Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien pleading for his team to maintain focus during the fourth week of training camp. He asked the players if they wanted to remain the "almost team," which was an appropriate description since the Texans finished 9-7 last year and just missed a playoff spot. Houston is also presumably chasing the AFC South favorite Indianapolis Colts in 2015.

Trying to corral the Colts is a daunting task, but O'Brien loosened the atmosphere when he put rookie defensive tackle Christian Covington on the spot.

If Covington caught a punt, the Texans would get to leave their hotel, go home and make a metaphorical switch to regular-season mode. The team's official Twitter account noted the pressure:

Much to the joy of the players' families, Covington made a clutch catch.

Cutaways of families put football in perspective in the early going of Tuesday's episode, but not nearly as much as a cameo by offensive lineman David Quessenberry. Quessenberry was diagnosed with cancer in 2014 but said it's in remission. Deepi Sidhu of HoustonTexans.com commented on the welcome news:

O'Brien told Quessenberry he would be on the non-football injury list this year but could return in 2016.

It was an inspiring moment among a number of upbeat sequences in the show, which included J.J. Watt dispensing sleep advice, O'Brien debating with players about how to spell the word "opportunity," Watt bragging about his own spelling abilities and wide receiver Uzoma "EZ" Nwachukwu fishing.

Sidhu was particularly surprised with one revelation:

The overall lightheartedness of the episode went beyond the Texans when cornerback Charles James II played New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in a game of Madden. Beckham had the advantage of throwing deep balls to the virtual version of himself, and naturally, he won.

The team shared video of the showdown:

Perhaps the most amusing moment occurred when defensive lineman Vince Wilfork strolled into the locker room with nothing but overalls on, much to the delight of his teammates. The former New England Patriots standout has proved to be one of the most engaging characters on the team throughout Hard Knocks, and the Texans passed along his revealing outfit:

It was clear Houston has a loose locker room during a 27-13 preseason victory over the New Orleans Saints. The Texans notched their best overall performance of August, and rookie wide receiver Jaelen Strong turned heads with a touchdown catch.

Considering Houston did not bring back Andre Johnson, who is arguably the best player in franchise history, there is an opportunity for Strong to earn significant playing time this year alongside DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins tallied 1,210 receiving yards and six touchdown catches in 2014 and will likely draw plenty of double-teams, and Strong and the other receivers must take advantage of single coverage.

O'Brien commented on Strong's progress, per Sidhu:

"

He's a very talented guy. He's big, he's strong, he's a very instinctive player, he makes contested catches and I think that he's improved every week. The key for Jaelen, the key for every rookie, is to keep improving. All of these rookies at some point are going to hit a wall, and they've got to be able to climb over that wall. All these guys, Jaelen—they all have to just continue to improve. If they can continue to improve, they'll be in good shape.

"

The outing by Strong and Co. provided enough of a cushion to give James a shot at running back in the closing minutes of the game. All he did was bust out a 73-yard touchdown run, but it was called back for holding.

Still, it was an impressive statement by the speedy (and apparently versatile) playmaker who is fighting for his spot on the roster.

While James did enough to survive the first significant wave of cuts, the same could not be said for the 11 players Houston did release to get its roster down to 75.

The initial cuts may have been tough to make, but next week's episode (the season finale) will put O'Brien and his fellow coaches on the spot as they finalize their most difficult decisions yet in an effort to trim the roster to 53 players.

HBO will re-air the episode Wednesday at 5:30 and 11 p.m. ET.