The Texans win the AFC South again.
Sunday saw the Houston Texans host the Miami Dolphins in a match up with big divisional implications for the Texans.
A win combined with an Indianapolis Colts loss meant the reigning AFC South Champions would become back-to-back champions.
First task was win the game.
It has been said a million times in this sport that defense wins championships, and without it this weekend the Texans may not have won this one.
Luckily enough the Texans defense has been lights out compared to the stuttering offense.
The trend continued against a Dolphins squad who have not travelled well this year. The Texans gameplan was simple, force pressure which leads to mistakes.
The Dolphins had 10 drives throughout the course of the game, three led to scoring drives – the only one with a touchdown also had a missed extra point which are the small mistakes that cost you on the road.
Three drives led to punts but four of the drives and this is key led to turnovers by the Texans stellar defense.
There were interceptions a plenty for Tua Tagovialoa on the day, one to rookie Calen Bullock and two to Pro Bowl favourite Derek Stingley Jr. – who has played lights out this season.
Stingley also had star Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill in handcuffs all day. Hill ended the day with two catches off seven targets for 36 yards, meaning Stingley had him firmly under lock and key.
It was not just the Texans secondary that was having fun. The defensive line also had themselves a day, continually forcing the Dolphins into long 3rd and 4th down decisions.
This allowed defensive ends Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter to load up on ‘Tua’, with a strip sack happening from a determined Anderson on one particular rush play.
‘WAJ’ and Hunter now have a combined 22.5 sacks on the season, making them the most disruptive combo in the league.
In a brief note, it was great to see Christian Harris back on his season debut. Not only did he bring the juice he made eight tackles which was a great first outing.
The linebacker core seems to be in good hands down in Houston, as Henry To’oTo’o had another productive day with 11 tackles and 0.5 sacks.
This defense continues to finds ways to be effective which is the basis to winning games in this league.
