Texans top Saints for fourth consecutive win

Houston started with an up-tempo offense, mixing in some no-huddle plays.

Those weren’t the only examples of Hoyer throwing behind his target, but they stood out as poor throws causing the offense to leave potential points on the field.

-PK Kai Forbath booted a 57-yard field goal with 1:12 remaining in the first half, the longest of his career and third-longest in franchise history.

It was the second straight subpar offensive showing for the Saints, who entered the game averaging 424 yards per game, third-most in the league. Sean Payton teams are always well-prepared, and the extra week is usually something they take advantage of.

No, I’m not into the old joke, don’t particularly think it’s very amusing and actually disagree with the premise.

It was a day for bad statistics. It marks his 12th consecutive 3,000-yard season and 13th overall, joining Brett Farve, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino and Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks in league history with 13 3,000-yard seasons. His passer rating of 61.6 was the 11th lowest in his Saints career, and outside of last year’s season finale against the Buccaneers, his lowest since 2012.

After dropping a pair of prime-time games, the Bengals (9-2) were back in sync against a team that struggles to score.

Could Watt be the best defensive player ever when he’s finished? Brees never had time to get comfortable in the pocket and was constantly on the move.

“Credit them – I think that’s a good football team and I said that earlier in the week with regards to how they’re playing their front. Anytime you miss the amount of time that he’s missed, he’s got to get his legs back under him, and so, hopefully, he can get that done during the course of this week and be ready to go on Sunday”.

One of the keys, Brees said, is that the Texans have forced opponents into uncomfortable down-and-distance scenarios on third down. Stick with Fitzpatrick while he tries to get his defense firing on all cylinders, or give the big-armed Smith the nod at some point if the big deficits become a regular occurrence and he wants to determine once and for all if Smith has what it takes to become a quality NFL QB? The Texans scored on their opening possession Sunday for the first time all season.

The Saints have been an odd conundrum this season. On the ground, Alfred Blue rushed for 77 yards and one touchdown in 16 attempts.

How the Texans shut down Brees and the Saints’ second-ranked offense was through a stout formula of Watt providing a pass rush and the defensive backs applying tight coverage. Let us know in the comment box below!

“We just started really simplifying things and playing hard and just had a bad taste in our mouth in a couple of those games and internally promised each other that it wouldn’t happen again”. With a win in Houston today, the Saints would improve to 5-6 which would put them right in the thick of things in the crowded and underwhelming NFC playoff hunt.

“If you don’t get in any sort of rhythm, if you run nine plays in the first 20 minutes, it’s going to look pretty lethargic”, Strief said. Top-15 would be a significant improvement over the multiple bottom-5 finishes fans have had to endure over much of the last decade.

“The story of the game was their defense…we didn’t play well enough”, he said.