The Texans let go of Gary Kubiak after their last loss, Dec 5. They named Wade Phillips interim coach. They replaced Special Teams Coordinator Joe Marciano with Bob Ligasheshky. They brought officials into practice. They changed up their practice routine. They announced that Case Keenum would be their starter going forward. They still lost.
This time it was a 25-3 loss to the Colts that amounted to the 'worst' defeat of Keenum's tenure. The offense put up a field goal and two turnovers while the Colts capitalized on Texans' errors to send Houston home from Indy unhappy for the 12th time in the 12 years of Texans history.
Penalties remained a big part of the equation with a second consecutive record tying 14 flag performance. Keenum threw two picks as the team couldn't cash in on a solid ground performance by Ben Tate. Andre Ware commented on the radio broadcast that Keenum appears to be regressing.
Special teams was a mixed bag with Dennis Johnson looking good on kick returns. Shane Lechler punted very well and Randy Bullock hit his 9th consecutive field goal. The Texans also snuffed out a Colts fake punt. But Griff Whalen's big punt return led to a field goal. And some penalties put a stain on that phase of the game.
The defense wasn't exactly reminiscent of the '85 Bears but they did make some plays and had the offense been able to remotely hold serve, they would have looked a lot better.
Rookies D.J. Swearinger and Ryan Griffin (6 catches) had some nice moments and DeAndre Hopkins made a relatively clutch grab in the fourth quarter. These are the kinds of things we look at in a season gone horribly wrong. The Texans are about to flip into a new era and putting the finishing touches on this one is all about evaluating who is going to part of the next chapter.
