All of Houston was abuzz as people packed NRG Stadium to watch the Texans take on the Chiefs in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs. That energy and excitement lasted about 11 seconds, as the Chiefs went on to rout the Texans, 30-0. So what exactly led to the Texans’ season ending on such a sour note?
Pick 1: Not So Special Teams Start
Playoff games carry with them a lot of energy, and all of the energy promptly left the building after just 11 seconds on Saturday. The thundering roar of the Houston crowd devolved into silent shock as the Chiefs’ Knile Davis took the opening kickoff 106 yards to the house, giving the Chiefs a 7-0 lead after just 11 seconds of game time.
That absolute mental lapse on special teams to start the game set the tone for the rest of the contest. There seemed to be no coverage plan. It was just, “hey guys, let’s all run in one line down to the dude with the ball with no levels whatsoever, and let’s just hope he doesn’t get past our one thin line of defense.” There wasn’t even a kicker in sight as a safety valve. It was just one big, thin line. Special teams have been a major problem for the Texans all season, as they ranked dead last in the league in special teams play, but that was a new low for that unit, and it subsequently helped doom the Texans.
Pick 2: Brian Hoyer.
Brian Hoyer. Period.
I was an acceptor of Brian Hoyer this year (not a full-blown supporter, just one who accepted he was probably the best option), but there is no excuse for his performance on Saturday. Having some nerves in your first playoff start is to be expected, but those wear off. This was just a downright abysmal effort.
Hoyer personally accounted for all five of Houston’s turnovers against Kansas City, with four interceptions and a fumble. While a large portion of Hoyer’s few picks during the season can be attributed to all kinds of outside factors, that wasn’t the case on Saturday. These were all on Hoyer.
The man was the Oprah of turnovers in that game. “You get a turnover! And YOU get a turnover!…” But it wasn’t just the turnovers. He was missing reads; he was releasing passes late; he was missing throws; he was consistently off-target. With Houston’s defense, all you have to do as a quarterback is not throw the game away. That is your one job, and Brian Hoyer just wasn’t up to the task of being an NFL quarterback against the Chiefs.
Pick 3: It Can’t Just Be Hopkins
DeAndre Hopkins proved beyond a shred of doubt that he is a top number one target at the wide out position in 
the NFL. He even had at least one one-hundred-yard game with four different quarterbacks this season. The guy is stupid good, but he can’t do it all on his own.
It never helps a wide receiver when his quarterback has a dreadfully awful game, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the skill players can just slack off as well. Hopkins had 69 receiving yards on Saturday. The rest of the Texans team had 67 receiving yards combined. Strong needs to be developed into a great number two receiver to help out Hopkins next season, because if the rest of the team is going to continue to drop passes, Hopkins will need someone to shoulder the load with him.
Pick 4: Defense Gave Them A Chance
Nine times out of ten, when a team gives up a special teams touchdown and turns the ball over on offense four times in one half, the game will be a blowout that’s out of 
reach by halftime. Houston had no business being in that game based on the way their offense and special teams were playing, but that defense kept them in it as long as possible.
In a first half that could have easily ended with at least a 28-point defecit, the Texans defense gave up just six points, making it a very open 13-0 game at halftime. The fact that the Houston defense was able to keep it a two-possession game in that first half is nothing short of Herculean. They did all they could to keep their team in the game, but just didn’t get the support they deserved. A championship-caliber defense is great, but in order for a whole team to be successful, you need to have some semblance of an offense and special teams. The Texans had neither on Saturday.
Pick 5: “I’m Sorry.”
JJ Watt took to social media after the game to apologize to the Texans fan base for failing them, saying they deserve better, 
and that the team did not deliver. JJ Watt is one player that has nothing to apologize for. The man went out there and gave it his all until his body wouldn’t let him run anymore.
The good news about this post is that the Texans have something on their team that is in short supply in the NFL: a leader. Watt is someone you can build a team around, both in terms of skill and leadership, and that’s a rare thing in today’s league. This team absolutely needs to apologize to their fans and supporters after their showing in front of a home crowd on Saturday, but having that apology come from one of the few players who had nothing to apologize for in that game shows team leadership. Even in embarrassing defeat, JJ Watt is still providing positives as a credit to the Houston Texans organization, and the NFL as a whole.
Pick 6: No Longer A Texan?
There are a couple of players at key positions that may have played their last game in a Texans uniform. Brian Hoyer and Arian Foster are names that are most likely at the 
top of that list. That list, in addition to those positions that clearly have shortcomings, starts to paint a picture of the team’s needs this offseason and in the draft.
The defense has definitely been built up to a point where they can be a difference-maker in big games. But they clearly need some support on the offensive side of the ball. Could we see some skill players, and possibly a quarterback taken in early rounds of the draft this offseason? I wouldn’t be shocked if that became the case. We shall see, but the Texans are clearly a team that is good enough to make it to the playoffs, but there are a number of steps that need to be taken to make this team a full-blown playoff threat to be reckoned with in the AFC.
