Jets vs. Texans: What's the Game Plan for Houston?

Offensive Game Plan

Most weeks when it comes time to type up this weekly article, the offensive strategy that should be used by the Houston Texans is pretty obvious. But that's not the case this week.

As mentioned in the full preview article for this game, the Texans rank 28th in rushing yards, are tied for last in yards per attempt at a pitiful 3.3 per carry and have only rushed for more than 100 yards once this season.

Their opponent this week ranks second in rushing yards allowed and first in rushing touchdowns allowed. "Never say never" is usually the right attitude to have about the NFL, but the Texans have no shot to run the ball efficiently against the New York Jets.

To make matters worse, their lone consistent offensive weapon—DeAndre Hopkins—will get the dreaded matchup against Darrelle Revis this week.

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

Revis ranks second in completion percentage and third in quarterback rating on passes thrown into his coverage this season, so trusting T.J. Yates to find holes in his coverage would seem to be a long shot, to say the least.

The most yards given up by Revis in any one game this season came against Indianapolis when he allowed 75 receiving yards on five receptions. However, Revis also intercepted a pass, the opposing quarterback had a 43.5 QB rating throwing against him and the Jets won the game 20-7.

Assuming the Texans aren't able to run the ball and Revis takes away or at least limits Hopkins, then how in the world will they be able to move the ball?

If they have any gadget or trick plays ready to use that have been practiced, this would be the time to use that part of the playbook.

Trick plays are usually a bad idea and an example of overthinking the situation, but they'll need to pull off a couple trick plays this week to catch the Jets off guard and hopefully grab some momentum early.

Shane Lechler used to play quarterback and at one point was their emergency quarterback, so letting him pass the ball on a fake punt should be considered.

They could also use their own tendencies to gain an advantage by running a fake off a play the opponent has likely seen a lot of while watching tape.

One way to do that would be to throw a few quick wide receiver screens early, with the idea of letting one of the wide receivers throw the ball off a backward pass later in the game.

This isn't a perfect plan and could very well blow up in their face, but they won't move the ball against the Jets lining up with normal plays and trying to out-execute them straight up.

Defensive Game Plan

Completely opposite of the offensive game plan, the plan on defense is quite easy and straight forward: To stay in this game and give themselves a chance to win, the Texans must focus on and stop the Jets' running game.

The Jets haven't been exceptional on the ground, but running back Chris Ivory ranks inside the top 10 for rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and yards after contact. He also has two games this season with over 145 yards rushing.

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has played well this season, and the Jets have a couple dangerous weapons on the outside with Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, but the Texans should look to take away the running game, make the Jets one-dimensional and hope that Fitzpatrick makes a mistake.

Fitzpatrick has been prone to turnovers over his career and ranks 27th in the league this season in interception percentage behind famous turnover machines such as Ryan Mallett, Kirk Cousins and Sam Bradford.

Pro Football Focus also grades Fitzpatrick as just the 31st best passer out of 35 eligible quarterbacks this season.

Fitzpatrick has played well, but forcing him to pass the ball more and in bad situations by taking away the running game is definitely the Texans' best chance for success on defense against the Jets.

Key Players and Matchups

Muhammad Wilkerson vs. the Texans Offensive Line

After nine game played this season, Wilkerson ranks second in sacks with seven, second in hits on the quarterback with 16 and third in quarterback hurries—ahead of J.J. Watt—with 28 among all 3-4 defensive ends in the league.

Their offensive line had some rough moments early in the season, but overall, the Texans have done a decent job in pass protection this year and rank 17th in sacks allowed. Having some stability along the offensive line will help, but Wilkerson will still be a challenging matchup.

Ben Jones and Brandon Brooks both have positive pass-block ratings from Pro Football Focus for the year, but Wilkerson is capable of ruining their game plan if the offensive line doesn't play well.

Johnathan Joseph vs. Brandon Marshall

The five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver ranks 10th in the league coming into Week 11 in both receptions and receiving yards, so Johnathan Joseph has another difficult challenge in front of him.

New York's second receiver, Eric Decker, has had a solid season as well, but Joseph should be lined up against Brandon Marshall the majority of the snaps when both players are on the field.

Joseph has allowed only 100 combined receiving yards against him over the Texans' last three games and hasn't given up a touchdown since their Week 5 game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Prediction

There's a saying in boxing that "styles make fights," and in this case, the Jets are just a horrible matchup for the Texans.

How will the Texans move the ball on offense? The Jets aren't a great team, but what they do well just presents a huge problem for the Texans.

Houston won't be able to run the ball, so unless Hopkins does something that few other wide receivers ever do, it's hard to see how the offense will find any consistency or rhythm against the Jets.

This game should be a low-scoring contest because defense is the strength of both teams, but unless the Texans defense forces several turnovers and turns them into scores, it's hard to imagine how Houston will pull off a win.

Prediction: Jets 17, Texans 13

All stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Pro Football Focus.