Value of Things: By the numbers

How sweet it is. Three seasons under DeMeco Ryans and three times the Texans have won big on Wild Card weekend. This time they finally won on the road as they smothered the Pittsburgh Steelers and almost literally put Aaron Rodgers into a sleeper hold. The final score will say this one was a blowout and the numbers will probably tell the same tale, but it did not feel like a blowout through the first three and a half quarters. It took a series of great defensive plays to take the issue out of doubt.

We will go over the numbers as we usually do. There were some major differences in this game that allowed for it to deviate at least in part from the normal Texans victory throughout their ten game winning streak. As per usual, we will look at the great, the good, and the bad as well. However, we always start with the numbers and that is where we are focused.

The Numbers

• Total Yards: Texans 66/408, Steelers 56/175
• Rushing Yards: Texans 31/164, Steelers 18/63
• Passing Yards: Texans 35/244. Steelers 38/112
• Third Downs: Texans 10/15, Steelers 2/14
• Fourth Downs: Texans 0/0, Steelers 2/3
• Sacks: Texans 4, Steelers 3
• Turnovers: Texans 3, Steelers 2
• Penalties: Texans 6/44, Steelers 3/24
• Time of Possession: Texans 32:22, Steelers 27:38

Obviously, the only category that was radically different was the turnovers. It changed the whole complexion of the game in positive and negative ways. Unlike almost every other game this season, the Texans converted both fourth quarter turnovers into immediate points on returns for touchdowns. On the flip side, the Steelers turned one Stroud fumble into three points when their drive stalled out. The other two turnovers probably removed six points from the board. Otherwise, the numbers above look like they do almost every week.

The Great

Everybody on the field is paid to play football. This isn’t the SEC battling against the Big Sky conference. The talent differential is just not that great. So, the Steelers offense was going to make some plays. D.K. Metcalf is an accomplished wide receiver. We could debate about whether he is a true number one receiver, but that would be getting into the weeds. Aaron Rodgers can still do some things on a football field. Their running backs are still capable of making guys miss on occasion.

Still, that was as thorough a beatdown as I have ever seen. They really only had one drive of note and it resulted in a field goal. The second field goal was handed to them by Stroud in one of the more inexplicable plays of the season. However, the biggest takeaway is that we aren’t surprised. This did not come out of nowhere. They have been doing this all season. The defense outscored the Steelers 14-6. That’s all you really need to know about this football game.

The Good

This was Nick Caley’s best day as an NFL offensive coordinator. Sure, the Texans had more sparkling performances along the line during the season, but this was the most complete performance by ten out of eleven players on offense. The only hiccup was a stretch late in the third quarter and early in the fourth when he abandoned the running game. The Steelers did have three sacks, but none of them were of the traditional variety. We will have to get to that in the next category.

The most heartwarming part of that whole thing was the discovery of Christian Kirk. There were many points this year where I just assumed he was washed. I even looked up Spoctrac on occasion to reassure myself that we did not owe him money after this season. He earned a few bucks on this night. I don’t know if it will be in Houston, but he gives this team a fighting chance without Nico Collins. Obviously, the run game will also be huge. Essentially, all of the veteran players you hoped would show up did show up on this night.

The Bad

Given the stakes of the game, that was C.J. Stroud’s worst game as a Texan. The statistics will say he was 21 of 32 for 250 yards a touchdown and a pick. Going strictly on those numbers would be burying the lede. He fumbled five different times losing two of those fumbles. Many of his throws were off target and required some good efforts from receivers to haul them in. There were a few throws that were fairly easy throws for NFL quarterbacks that he simply did not make.

A very good or perfect performance from Stroud would have probably turned this one into a 40-3 or 43-3 drubbing. So, I suppose if one is wanting to save that for a day when you absolutely need it then it is okay that he didn’t have his fastball on this day. Unfortunately, life does not work that way. The hope is that the moment is not too big for him. Road playoff games are the hardest thing to navigate in sports. Football fans have more of an impact on the game than fans in any other sport. Weather conditions have more of an impact on the game than in any other sport. So, not every quarterback can do it. That is why only a handful make it to the end. He is still young enough to learn from this one and hopefully a different Stroud shows up next week.