Perhaps the return of rookie wide receiver Keke Coutee could make a difference for the Houston Texans, with three close losses to start the season, including a 27-22 setback against the New York Giants on Sunday.
“There’s a lot of things,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said of what had gone wrong this season. “Like I always say to you guys when things don’t go well — and they haven’t gone well lately — it starts with me. So, I just think there’s a lot of different things that I can do to be better. I’m not going to list them all.”
Coutee, a fourth-round draft pick from Texas Tech, strained his hamstring at the start of training camp and has missed the first three games of the regular season.
All signs point to him returning soon.
“I’m very close,” Coutee said. “We’ll see how this week goes and how Sunday goes. The leg is way better. I’m very confident in it right now. Very confident in my treatment, 100 percent.”
That could be a big boost for a Texans team that has yet to win this season.
“It’s been hard on me to miss this extended time and not being able to play,” Coutee said. “It’s humbled me.”
Quarterback Deshaun Watson has been under siege this season, and has already been sacked 10 times.
Penalties have also been a factor. Right tackle Julien Davenport has been the biggest offender. He was called for three false start penalties and two holding penalties on Sunday.
“He’s struggling, and we have to work with him to keep getting better, but we’re definitely looking at that position,” O’Brien said. “He’s a good guy. He’s going to work hard to get better, but he needs to improve, no doubt.”
The Texans are hoping improving on the little things will help them turn things around, with the aim to get the first win on Sunday at Indianapolis.
“We have a bunch of good guys in there that are very much together,” O’Brien said. “We’ve only played one divisional game. We’ve got a big one this week. So, we just have to keep grinding. There’s no other way out of it. There’s no choice.”
–RB Lamar Miller finished Sunday’s game with just 10 yards on 10 carries. The Texans only had 59 yards rushing in the game. “They loaded up the box,” O’Brien said. “They did a good job. We tried a bunch of different schemes — basically abandoned it in the second half … tried to do other things. Just never could get it going.”
–WR Will Fuller had five catches for 101 yards and a touchdown. He’s had at least one touchdown in each game he’s played with Deshaun Watson as his QB.
–QB Deshaun Watson threw for 385 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. But he also threw an interception in the loss.
–RT Julien Davenport had three false start and two holding penalties on Sunday. “It’s the story of penalties, mistakes,” Davenport said. “I don’t know how many penalties I had, but way too much. Hurt this team badly. I’ve got to eliminate it all.”
–WR Bruce Ellington injured his hamstring in the first quarter and didn’t return on Sunday. His status is expected to updated later in the week.
