The Texans had to fight for win number nine on Sunday against the offensively potent Dolphins.
In the end, though, the defense took over the fourth quarter to seal the 20-12 win over Miami. Here are a handful of the big plays that led the Texans to their ninth win of the season.
2nd Quarter - Dolphins ball
9:33 remaining
Game tied at three
3rd and five
-46 yard line
The Dolphins offense came out in a condensed 2x2 set with a pair of receivers to each side. QB Tua Tagovailoa had a running back to his right side. The Texans responded by playing nickel with a 4-man rush. Lined up on the offensive left side, Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill ran a hitch route that LB Christian Harris disrupted. Then, Texans DT Denico Autry shoved RG Liam Eichenberg back into the Dolphins QB. Harris' disruption and Autry's bull rush were enough to get Tagovailoa to pull the ball down and move to his left. As he did, Will Anderson Jr. beat RT Jackson Carman and Tua never saw him. Tagovailoa thought he had time and cocked his arm and just as he did…WHAM! Anderson Jr. hammered Tua, knocked the ball out and DT Tim Settle fell on the rock for the key turnover that the Texans needed. A few plays later, the Texans took a ten to three lead. How did THAT one happen? Let's take a look.
2nd Quarter - Texans ball
6:56 remaining
Game tied at three
3rd and four
+7-yard line
On this play, the Texans came out in an empty set (QB all on his own in the backfield), but QB C.J. Stroud moved WR Nico Collins out to the perimeter and then moved RB Dare Ogunbowale to Stroud's left hand side in the backfield. The Dolphins showed five linemen, but dropped NT Benito Jones out into coverage to take away any short crossing routes. On the outside, DE Emmanuel Ogbah rushed upfield on the defensive right side and LT Laremy Tunsil rode him even further up the field. That allowed QB C.J. Stroud to move up and out to his left to avoid the pressure. Collins ran up the field and broke his route across the field at the top of the word HOUSTON in the end zone. Stroud's scramble forced Collins to slow down, but also allowed Nico to find an open spot in the end zone. Stroud saw Collins and as C.J. floated to his left, he dropped his arm angle down and FLICKED one sidearm to Nico for the touchdown with three white shirts in the vicinity. What a throw, my goodness!
3rd Quarter - Texans ball
12:17 remaining
Texans ahead 13-6
4th and two
+45-yard line
On the play prior, Stroud had just missed connecting with WR John Metchie for a sure touchdown. That was as pretty a throw as Stroud made all day, but they couldn't connect. So, the Texans trotted out the punt team and the first thing I checked was how Miami lined up to defend the punt. Zach Sieler and Calais Campbell were in the game, so I was fairly certain that the Texans wouldn't run a fake. I gave "maybe a fake punt??" a split second thought, but with Miami in a punt SAFE look, I was fairly certain P Tommy Townsend would pooch kick the Dolphins down inside the ten-yard line. But, DeMeco Ryans and Frank Ross had other ideas. LS Jon Weeks angled his snap to the personal protector ST ace M.J. Stewart who immediately ran hard to his left. The Texans blocked the play like a power run to the right with DE Dylan Horton as the pulling guard. Stewart then handed the ball to RB Dare Ogunbowale who followed Horton to the right side. The most impressive aspects of this play were the blocks of Neville Hewitt on Calais Campbell, DelShawn Phiilips on DE Quinton Bell, Horton on LB Duke Riley and finally Jake Hansen pinned LB Elijah Campbell inside. Dare then turned the corner and sped up the field with nary a white jersey in front of him. 35 yards later, Dare had a key first down and the Texans scored a touchdown a few plays later to take a two-score lead. BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT fake punt call and execution.
4th Quarter - Dolphins ball
10:37 remaining
Texans ahead 20-12
3rd and five
+20-yard line
As soon as the Dolphins came to the line of scrimmage for this key third down, they put Hill in the slot. Immediately, Texans CB Derek Stingley Jr moved inside to play press man on the Dolphins star wide out. When Stingley moved inside to cover Hill, it was clear that they were in man coverage; they couldn't hide that one at all. The Texans played cover one - man-to-man across the board with S Calen Bullock in the middle, free to help out where needed. But, the Alpha v. Alpha matchup of Hill v. Stingley Jr. was exactly where my eyes went and if my eyes went there, I was pretty sure QB Tua Tagovailoa's eyes went there as well. Hill is as dangerous from the slot as there in the league. He had a ton of field to work with behind Stingley Jr, so it's as tough a cover as there is for Stingley. Hill took Sting vertical and then broke his route to the outside. Tagovailoa anticipated Hill's cut and threw well before he made the cut. But, Stingley matched the great Dolphins pass catcher step for step. When he saw the out cut, Stingley undercut the route and was in perfect position to make a play. He turned his head right on time to snag the pass out of the air for his fourth interception of the season. I mean, that was teaching tape coverage; I mentioned during our broadcast that every single DB coach in America would/should show that to his DBs as the PERFECT way to cover that out route.
Stingley ended the game with another pick on a deep ball down the field to Hill, his second interception and fifth on the season. He has ten interceptions in his last 22 games - five in 2023, five in 2024. Quite frankly, he's the best CB in the league. Period.
