The Texans travel to Washington following their bye week to take on the NFC East leading Redskins. It may be their most difficult game since the win streak has begun. With over a week to gameplan and study film, it seems entirely possible that the Texans have what it takes to win their seventh straight game.
For this week, Full Press Coverage Texans and Full Press Coverage Redskins teamed up for a Q&A for the cross conference game. Here is what he had to say about the matchup from a Washington perspective.
1. The Redskins have been decimated by injuries the past few weeks. If necessary, do the replacements have what it takes to snap the Texans’ win streak?
Honestly it will be hard for the O-Line to stop Clowney and Watt. I look for one of them to have a field day. If you’re a Redskins fan, expect to drink and cuss a lot. The O-Line can’t stop them but they need to slow them down in order for Smith to go through his reads.
2. There’s yet to be a lead change in a Redskins game this season. If the Texans score first, will the offense have the firepower to come back?
They will if they can run the ball. In all three losses for the Redskins, they’ve had to play from behind. That means Alex Smith has had to throw the ball beyond his comfort zone. The last 3 of 4 games, he has 178 yards passing. That’s been his average so far. Throw short, win big. Throw down the field, lose big. It’s something to keep an eye on.
3. Unlike the Texans, Washington’s receivers are much more even talent wise. How will that benefit the Redskins?
It only benefits them if they get open, which has been a lackluster thing from this season. When a RB or TE is your teams leading receiver that is an issue.
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4. The Redskins run defense has looked great this year. How will the secondary hold up against the Texans’ receivers?
The secondary needs to do what they did against Tampa Bay. Shut down their receivers at the line. Every now and then you’ll see the defenders play soft coverage, that is to prevent the deep ball. That’s good, but if the Texans want to exploit that, they should run screens or slants. If they do that, it may be hard for Washington’s defenders to make adjustments. Replay the Atlanta game for reference. Atlanta did slants, screens and pick plays, and Washington couldn’t stop it.
5. The Redskins are a bit of a surprise this year. What does their playoff outlook look like?
It all depends really. They still have two games left against Philly, they still have Dallas and New York left, they beat both of them earlier this season but usually the second game is the toughest. If the Skins can win their NFC East games, they will have a good playoff seeding. They need to take care of their business first though. As of now, Five Thirty Eight says the Skins have a 67% chance to make playoffs and 57% chance to win division.
6. Score Prediction
Redskins 24 — Texans 20
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– Max Freedman is the Managing Editor of Full Press Coverage Texans. He covers the Houston Texans. Like and follow on Follow @MaxEFreedman Follow @FPC_Texans and Facebook.