Texans Remain in AFC South Hunt, but Offense Is in Need of Massive Improvements

A loss to the New England Patriots isn't as concerning as the offensive effort from the Houston Texans Sunday night. If they want to remain in contention for a playoff spot, this better improve immediately.

With the Indianapolis Colts losing earlier in the day, the Texans entered prime time with a chance to move into sole possession of first place. All that stood in their way was the banged-up Patriots, losers of two in a row entering Week 14. Unfortunately, the home team came out flat in a 27-6 loss.

Head coach Bill O'Brien simplified what happened after the game, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle:

Obviously, the Patriots are much better than what they have shown in recent weeks. With tight end Rob Gronkowski back in the lineup, this is clearly one of the top teams in the NFL and one that is incredibly difficult to beat no matter the location. That makes the work done by the defense impressive, although the same cannot be said about the offense.

Quarterback Brian Hoyer and the Texans offense struggled from start to finish in this game. The unit tallied just six points thanks to only seven first downs and 189 yards from scrimmage. Not only was the team limited to just 3.6 yards per play but the group was unable to sustain any drives throughout the day, averaging just two minutes and four seconds per possession—not including a kneel down at the end of the first half. Only a single drive lasted more than three minutes of game time.

By just about any metric, the offense was pitiful in front of its home crowd. John McClain of the Houston Chronicle summed things up during the game:

This might actually be a way of sugarcoating how bad the Texans played.

The offensive line was destroyed throughout this game. Aside from a 37-yard run by Jonathan Grimes early in the game, the Texans averaged just 2.3 yards per carry. In the passing game, the line allowed six sacks and 10 quarterback hits to prevent anything from developing down the field. While some of these were due to Hoyer holding onto the ball too long, in many cases he never had a chance.

Sports Illustrated joked about the struggles containing the Patriots' pass-rushers:

"

Texans alternating the "Don't block the main pass-rusher" strategy with the "Don't block the main pass-rusher very well" strategy.

— SI NFL (@si_nfl) December 14, 2015"

When Hoyer did have time to throw, he couldn't do anything with it while completing just 11 of his 22 attempts. He receivers also added a few drops when the throws actually were on target. Even the team's top weapon, receiver DeAndre Hopkins, failed to get open aside from a 40-yard catch when the game was already out of hand.

There was very little positive to take from this game offensively, and the reality is this isn't too much worse than what we have seen all year. Even during the four-game winning streak, the offense only averaged 19.5 points per game, which would rank near the bottom of the NFL over the course of a full season.

In the final three games, the Texans need to see some dramatic improvement on this side of the football. The line has to do a better job of communicating and holding its blocks while Hoyer, if healthy, has to find a way to get the ball to his weapons down the field.

The good news is if there is even slight improvement, Houston has a good chance of taking home a division title in the struggling AFC South. Even after a blowout loss Sunday, the squad is still tied for first place at 6-7, thanks mostly to the impressive play of its defense, which continued to play well against the Patriots.

Houston gave up 27 points against New England, although the three touchdowns came on drives of 52, 41 and seven yards. The defense held Tom Brady in check for the most part while putting him under pressure all game long. If the offense provided a little more help in the field-position game, the score could have been much closer.

Sunday's game also represented a breakout of sorts for last year's No. 1 pick, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. The pass-rusher finished with seven tackles and two sacks, including this play against a double-team:

If he can keep up this production alongside teammate J.J. Watt, the Texans could have one of the most feared defenses in the NFL. 

This has certainly been an up-and-down year for Houston, but the squad controls its own destiny with three games remaining, all against divisional opponents. The most important comes in Week 15 with a matchup against the Colts, who got blown out, 51-16, by the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14. This defense has what it takes to keep that offense in check, even if Colts quarterback Andrew Luck returns to action.

The key will be the play of the offense. Hoyer needs to play just well enough to get his team on the scoreboard while keeping some of the pressure off the defense. If the Texans can improve a bit on that side of the ball, they will win their first division title since 2012.

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