The New York Jets try to stop their losing streak on Thursday Night Football
The New York Jets have lost five in a row and are about to face a Houston Texans team that has won four out of their last five. When was the last time anyone won in that situation? Funnily enough, it was last season when the Jets entered their December clash with Houston in exactly the same situation and blew them out by 24 points. Can history repeat itself on Thursday night?
Let’s break down the Texans’ roster going position by position:
Quarterbacks
The Texans are led by last year’s offensive rookie of the year, CJ Stroud, who passed for over 4,000 yards with 23 touchdowns and only five interceptions in 2023.
However, the Jets game was a low point for him as they held him under 100 passing yards in a game that was scoreless at halftime. He’s having another good season in 2024, with two 300-yard games, but the Packers similarly held him under 100 yards two weeks ago.
With Case Keenum on injured reserve, Davis Mills is currently backing up Stroud.
Offensive Line
In 2023, the Texans’ offensive line was constantly in flux due to injuries, and it was a credit to Stroud that the offense still performed well in the face of these issues.
This year, their starters have largely remained healthy, with only two missed starts between them. However, left guard Kenyon Green has struggled with seven penalties and four sacks allowed and he was benched last week, only for his replacement, Jarrett Patterson, to suffer a concussion.
Houston’s best lineman is Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who is one of the league’s best tackles but has an incredible 13 penalties already this season.
At center, youngster Juice Scruggs is the starter, with two veterans to his right: guard Shaq Mason and tackle Tytus Howard.
Rookie Blake Fisher, who was drafted in the second round, has started one game this year and Patterson has also started one.
Guards Nick Broeker and Kendrick Green are also on the roster.
Running Backs
The Texans let Devin Singletary go during the offseason and replaced him with Joe Mixon, who leads them with over 500 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Backup running back Dameon Pierce struggled last year as he averaged under three yards per carry, but he has a much healthier average this year after breaking a 54-yard touchdown run a few weeks ago. He has not practiced so far this week, though, as he’s dealing with an injury.
After Houston traded Cam Akers to Minnesota a few weeks ago, Dare Ogunbowale is the only other back on the roster and he’s only averaging 2.5 yards per carry.
Pass catchers
The Texans entered the season with a solid group of receivers, but Nico Collins is already on injured reserve having averaged over 100 yards per game in the first five weeks, and Stefon Diggs’ season is reportedly over after he suffered a non-contact knee injury during the weekend.
Ironically, Tank Dell was injured right before the Jets game last year but now he’ll enter Thursday night as Houston’s number one receiver following the injuries to Collins and Diggs. Dell had 700 yards and seven touchdowns last year despite missing six games.
None of the other four receivers on the roster – Xavier Hutchinson, John Metchie, Steven Sims and Robert Woods – has more than five catches on the year, so someone will need to step up. The veteran Woods, who had 40 catches last year, is probably the best bet.
At least the Texans still have Dalton Schultz at tight end. Schultz caught 59 passes, including five touchdowns, in 2023 and already has 23 receptions this season.
Teagan Quitoriano and fourth round rookie Cade Stover back up Schultz with Brevin Jordan on injured reserve.
Defensive Line
Will Anderson was a Pro Bowler in his rookie year after registering seven sacks, but he’s already eclipsed that number with 7.5 as he’s clearly taken his game to another level.
The Texans lost three players in Jonathan Greenard, Maliek Collins and Sheldon Rankins that had combined for 23.5 sacks last season but hoped that offseason signing Danielle Hunter would pick up the slack coming off a 16.5 sack season with the Vikings. After a slow start, Hunter has had four sacks in the past three games to give him 5.5 on the year and also leads the Texans in quarterback hits.
On the inside, ex-Jet Folorunso Fatukasi is their primary run stuffer while the other starter, Tim Settle, has added four sacks.
Depth comes from Dylan Horton, Derek Barnett and Denico Autry at defensive end and Khalil Davis and Kurt Hinish inside, although of those five only Davis and Barnett have played over 100 snaps.
Mario Edwards was also a key contributor, but he was suspended a few weeks ago. Another veteran, Jerry Hughes, is on injured reserve.
Linebackers
The Texans lost their leading tackler, Blake Cashman, in free agency, but Christian Harris was expected to step up and lead the defense after racking up over 100 tackles and seven pass breakups in 2023. However, he hasn’t played yet due to a calf injury and remains on injured reserve.
In Harris’ absence, Azeez Al-Shaair and Henry To’o To’o have stepped up as the main starters. Al-Shaair has a knee injury, but he returned to practice on a limited basis on Tuesday. To’o To’o is the team’s leading tackler.
Reserves Jake Hansen and Neville Hewitt have done a solid job of filling in. The ex-Jet Hewitt has started the past two games, his first starts since 2021, and played well.
Veteran Devin White, sixth round rookie Jamal Hill and ex-Jet Del’Shawn Phillips are also on the roster but haven’t contributed much on defense yet.
Defensive Backs
The Texans have some talent in their secondary, but they have been susceptible to big plays as they’ve given up seven touchdowns of 30 yards or more this season.
Derek Stingley has developed into a top cornerback who racked up 13 pass breakups and five interceptions last season. With veteran Jeff Okudah on injured reserve, second round pick Kamari Lassiter is listed as the other starter. D’Angelo Ross is the main reserve.
At safety, Jimmie Ward and Jalen Pitre are the starters, although the veteran Ward has missed some time due to injuries. Pitre is also the primary slot cornerback in nickel packages, so reserves Eric Murray and Caden Bullock have also seen plenty of playing time. Murray leads the team with eight passes defensed and the third round pick Bullock has three interceptions. Bullock and Ward both practiced on Tuesday, albeit on a limited basis (although actually Houston just did a walkthrough so their status was estimated).
Kris Boyd, Myles Bryant and Ka’dar Hollman add depth at corner, while MJ Stewart is also available at the safety position. Those four have played less than 50 snaps between them.
Special Teams
The Texans acquired punter Tommy Townsend from the Chiefs during the offseason and his numbers are solid but below his career marks. He has had one punt blocked this year.
The kicker is Kaʻimi Fairbairn, who has missed two kicks, but both were in blowouts so they were non-consequential.
In the return game, Sims, Wood and Dell have all returned punts while Pierce is listed as the kickoff returner with Sims as his backup. Pierce had a touchdown return last season but could be unavailable on Thursday night anyway.
In kick coverage, the likes of Hansen, Ogunbowale, Hewitt and Phillips are productive. Boyd and Ross are the Texans’ primary punt gunners.