Enemy Confidential: Seahawks Not Overlooking Dysfunctional Texans
Scuffling to a 4-8 record with two separate three-game losing streaks, the Seahawks have endured their worst season in over a decade. Still somehow in the playoff race, coach Pete Carroll's team can't afford to overlook anyone with five games left to play.
This includes Seattle's upcoming Week 14 opponent, the 2-10 Houston Texans, who have gone through a turbulent year of their own with a new coach in David Culley, a new general manager in Nick Caserio, and a talent-deprived roster barely resembling last year's squad.
Before even stepping foot on the practice field for OTAs, Culley and Caserio inherited an absolute mess. The Texans didn't have a draft pick until the third round in April, a major impedance to their initial rebuild efforts. Starting quarterback Deshaun Watson demanded a trade and then found himself engulfed in legal problems, leaving the team without a signal caller. Defensive end J.J. Watt became the latest superstar to change uniforms when he was released as a cap casualty.
Once viewed as a potential Super Bowl dark horse a few years earlier, Houston's spontaneous combustion over the past couple of years has left the organization now competing for the No. 1 overall pick. Dreadful in all facets, they rank 32nd in the NFL in scoring offense and 28th in scoring defense. They have also lost five contests by 16 or more points, getting blown out in nearly half of their games this year.
But despite their record and obvious season-long struggles on both sides of the football, the Texans did beat the AFC South-leading Titans just three weeks ago. They also gave the AFC East-leading Patriots a close fight earlier in the season, losing by three points in Week 5. With the Seahawks being in last place themselves, linebacker Bobby Wagner isn't about to let his teammates sleep walk into this one against a young team with nothing to lose.
"We’ve got to understand that we’ve got a lot of games ahead of us, so my job is just to make sure everybody doesn’t get ahead of themselves and start overlooking people because we’re not in a position to do that," Wagner said on Wednesday. "It was nice to get a win [vs. the 49ers], but we’re not satisfied with where we’re at, even though we got one win. We’re looking to try to build off of where we finished last week.”
Looking for their first winning streak of the season to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, here’s a closer look at the Seahawks Week 14 opponent, including series history, additions/departures, key numbers, and Carroll's evaluation of the Texans.
Series History
5th regular season meeting. The Seahawks lead the series 3-1, including winning the most recent matchup at then-named CenturyLink Field in 2017. Seattle has won both home games in the series, while Houston's only victory came in a 34-7 drubbing at home back in 2009.
What's New
Departures: In the midst of a full-scale rebuild under the direction of new general manager Nick Caserio, the Texans chose to move on from several high-profile players before and during the 2021 season. Future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt was released in March, quickly latching on with the Cardinals. Receiver Will Fuller left in free agency to sign with the Dolphins, while former starting center Nick Martin departed for the Raiders. Prior to the trade deadline, veteran running back Mark Ingram was dealt back to the Saints and veteran linebacker Whitney Mercilus was waived before being signed by the Packers. Most recently, the team cut ties with linebacker Zach Cunningham, who had become a locker room problem.
Additions: While several quality players bolted in free agency, Houston didn't make any game-changing additions to compensate. With Watson not expected to play, the team signed journeyman quarterback Tyrod Taylor to compete against Mills, who was picked in the third round of April's draft. Ingram stood out as the biggest name signed by the organization and he ran for just 294 yards and a touchdown in seven games before being traded. Defensively, Caserio added proven veteran depth at linebacker by taking fliers on Christian Kirksey and Jordan Jenkins in free agency. Even without a first or second-round pick, the Texans did find a pair of immediate mid-round contributors in tight end Brevin Jordan and receiver Nico Collins
Injury Report
Houston will once again be without star left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who remains on injured reserve after thumb surgery. His replacement, Tytus Howard, has been limited this week in practice with an ankle injury, while ex-Seahawks starting center Justin Britt was limited on Thursday with a knee issue. Defensively, the Texans could potentially be without their leading sack producer Jonathan Greenard, who sat out Thursday's session with a foot injury.
Inside The Scheme
Under the direction of offensive coordinator Tim Kelly, the Texans have used multiple tight ends frequently, deploying 12 and 13 personnel groupings on 32 percent of their offensive snaps according to TruMedia. They have been in the middle of the pack running 11 personnel with three receivers, a tight end, and a running back, using the personnel grouping 58 percent of the time, which ranks 18th in the NFL.
While much of the league has trended towards zone-heavy schemes, Houston has been one of the few teams to prioritize gap schemes. Per PFF, 50.2 percent of their run plays this year have been of the gap variety. Regardless of who has been under center, the Texans rank 25th in play action drop backs per game and haven't been very effective with those opportunities, throwing three touchdowns and five interceptions and posting a dismal 57.5 percent completion rate.
Defensive coordinator Lovie Smith cut his teeth in the NFL running the "Tampa 2" scheme, so it shouldn't come as a surprise the Texans rank third in the NFL running Cover 2 at a 23 percent clip. They have also played quite a bit of Cover 1 with man coverage underneath, ranking sixth in the NFL at 30.6 percent.
Few teams in the NFL have blitzed less than the Texans, who have brought five or more rushers on just 20.3 percent of their defensive snaps according to Pro Football Reference. Rushing four or less hasn't been overly efficient for Smith's unit, as they rank 28th in total pressures (126) and 19th in sacks (26.0). Where they have excelled, however, is creating turnovers, as they have forced 14 fumbles and picked off 14 passes as a team.
Inside The Numbers
254: Total yards per game on offense, dead last among 32 NFL teams
78.8: Rushing yards per game, last in the league
3.5: Interceptions thrown per 100 attempts by Houston quarterbacks, 28th in the NFL
6: Numbers of games where the Texans have been held to nine or less points
65: Receptions by Brandin Cooks, tied for 14th among NFL receivers
144.2: Rushing yards allowed per game, dead last in the league
3.6: Interception rate per 100 attempts, fourth-best in the NFL
6.7: Sack percentage per 100 drop backs, 15th out of 32 teams
9: Receptions of 40-plus yards allowed, tied for fourth most allowed
8: Sacks by Jon Greenard, tied for 13th-most in the NFL
Carroll's Thoughts
-On initial impressions of rookie quarterback Davis Mills: “He’s really smooth, he throws the ball really nicely, he has a good enough arm to throw everything, he throws the entire offense, he’s moved well enough when he’s taken off. He’s still a young guy trying to figure it out while Tyrod [Taylor] has been around and played a lot of football, so there’s a difference in the background and history. Davis has done a nice job. You can see that he can play the position, he’s not struggling at all. He gets the ball out of his hands well when you pressure him and things like that so he’s not getting hit. The young guys can get banged around, so he’s done okay.”
-On the Texans' turnover-creating defense: "[Defensive coordinator] Lovie [Smith] has them really flying around. They have a real attack mode mentality and that always has a chance to be disruptive. The defense starts up front with them and the way they come off of the football and attack the line of scrimmage. Lovie goes all the way back to his Tampa Bay days as I see it. The scheme is similar to where it’s always built around the guys up front attacking. They are very aggressive, so they make things happen.”
-On ex-Seahawk Jacob Martin and his development with Texans: “Yeah, unfortunately. As you know he’s been a real big effort guy and really consistent. We’ve always talked about the motor that he had, and he continues to play really hard, really fast, and they move him around to put him in places to make the most of his pass rush, but he chases the football as well as you can. We miss him, he was a really nice player.”
