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The crew looks back at the biggest what-if and sliding-door moments from Texans–Patriots
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00:00This was one of the many what-ifs that felt like they were in play in this football game, John Lopez.
00:06And the reason why I thought of this is B. Scott, I tried to spread out some of my insane texts during the course of the game.
00:15So B. Scott got this one.
00:16But there was a point in the game where I asked, is this going to be one of those what-if sliding door moments
00:21where if this had gone the other way, maybe this game goes a different way?
00:25So you tell me, do you agree that these are the sliding doors possible moments that would have maybe helped you overcome
00:30what was a four-interception game for C.J. Stroud and maybe has still gotten over this game?
00:37And I kind of use this to point out just how close it felt like you still were in this game.
00:41We start with the one that you heard, a slant to DeMario Douglas over the middle where Kalen Bullock in coverage.
00:48This is zero man.
00:50So coverage zero.
00:51Nobody is additionally over top.
00:53It's just your man coverage with your guys, and they're sending as many as they can to go and get pressure on Drake May.
00:59And DeMario Douglas with a slant, or maybe it's a post, and Kalen Bullock gets his hand.
01:03He tips this football.
01:05It's just got enough zip where it's sly.
01:08Mario Douglas is able to bring it in because it's cover zero, and Kalen Bullock went for a dive to try and get the football.
01:14He's able to turn and go.
01:15Does this feel like this could have been a big moment?
01:17Because if you hold him to three there, you're not as behind the eight ball early on as it felt like you ended up being.
01:22It is kind of an answer.
01:26No, absolutely.
01:27Because I say kind of because he did get his hand on the ball.
01:31They did bring it.
01:32But I was actually very surprised, and this was one of my passing thoughts you're going to hear at noon.
01:39Matt Burke and D'Amico Ryan kind of went out of character there.
01:42They were out of character.
01:44It wasn't entirely out of character, but I get what you mean.
01:46They brought six dudes.
01:46Yeah, that was a blitz blitz.
01:48They brought six dudes on a fourth and one.
01:50Yeah.
01:51That is not something to – that's not a recipe for success against the pass.
01:55They'll blitz sometimes in those late situations.
01:59But on a fourth and one is what I'm saying.
01:59But yeah, that one –
02:00Fourth and one, that is out of character.
02:01Yeah.
02:02I think that that's – I think it's fair to say at the very least that it was a little uncomfortable seeing them do that.
02:06And unfortunately, it did not work for you.
02:08I think the idea was, hey, Drake May has not been in a lot of these circumstances, literally his second playoff game.
02:14Can you heat him up and then believe that your defenders are able to play good coverage in the very quick moments that you can maybe get the ball out quickly?
02:24And it was a pretty – like the gamble was okay, except you were a fingernail away from that being a good call.
02:30But if you want to know why a lot of defensive – and fans get frustrated with this, but this is why a lot of defensive coordinators and defenses do not blitz on fourth and one.
02:39Because once you get past that initial front, it's wide open and you're susceptible to big plays like that.
02:45What if Trump Brown's ankle was good enough?
02:49That's an interesting one for me.
02:51I think it might have been better.
02:53And ultimately, the common thread today and all week and beyond is going to be C.J. Stroud.
03:00I don't know if it would have made that big of a difference given his emotional state, frankly.
03:05Well, I think the thing that I was thinking of last week when you had a bad C.J. Stroud performance,
03:10what was able to help you kind of navigate that was being able to run the football.
03:15This game was an atrocious –
03:16Eight yards in the first half?
03:17Was an atrocious running game.
03:20You carried the ball 22 times, 48 yards, good for 2.2 yards per carry.
03:25And even if you want to take out the C.J. Stroud of it, that is, what, 20 carries for 37 yards?
03:31Like, this is just – this was not good at all when it came to running the football.
03:36And I thought that that was something that you might be able to do.
03:38And I think you lost that when you had to put in Jake Patterson at left guard
03:44and you weren't able to get nearly as much push without having the big boys.
03:48And remember, Trent Brown was throwing dudes out the club last week.
03:51I don't know if it would have been exactly that, but not having that very much felt like it hurt
03:56being able to run the football, which I didn't know that you were going to be able to do
03:59incredibly this week, but it felt like that died on the vine pretty early on in this game
04:03without having the big boys.
04:04Yeah, I think Trent Brown would have helped.
04:06It certainly would have helped in the run game.
04:08I don't know if it would have helped overcome your biggest weakness.
04:12Fair enough.
04:12All right.
04:12What if Daniil Hunter is able to not just get a strip sack on Drake May,
04:18but actually recover it there early on in the game?
04:22Because that's – this is the one specifically that I sent to B. Scott,
04:26and I was like, could this be the slide?
04:29Because there was an opportunity to maybe scoop and score,
04:31which I think Daniil was hoping for.
04:32And I don't know if you could blame Daniil for this.
04:35I think he was talking about that during the break.
04:36He really was.
04:37I don't know that you can blame Daniil for wanting to scoop and score because –
04:40I wasn't even mad at that.
04:41Because I think I heard Texas Monday Mark and Johnny saying if he would have
04:47fell on it, that could have, you know, could have been three points,
04:50which is true.
04:50That could have been a possible three points.
04:52But I was thinking like, man, they got to get a touchdown.
04:55Yeah.
04:56I was thinking the defense got to get a touchdown or probably two of them
05:00to stay in this game.
05:02It was that bad, man.
05:03I had no faith in the offense.
05:05I think this was one of those sort of tipping point moments as you're talking
05:11about, a what-if moment.
05:13And I'm with you, Figge, 100%.
05:14I thought they lost their chance to score a touchdown when he didn't grab it.
05:19I thought that was their best chance to score a touchdown.
05:21That was –
05:21And at the very least, it would have been a short field.
05:23Yeah.
05:24And now you were in field goal kicking territory.
05:28And what did they get –
05:29How many points did they get after that?
05:31Yeah.
05:32None.
05:33Yeah, because, I mean, that was a punt.
05:34And then you weren't able to drive the way that you would want to after that.
05:38All right.
05:38How about this for a what-if?
05:40What if the pairing of Tommy Togiai and Dalton Schultz don't commit an illegal
05:44shift on what was the would-be first touchdown in this game?
05:48That was huge.
05:48It would have made it 7-7.
05:50It would have kept you on pace.
05:52Maybe, although I'm not sure if this is the case, because, again,
05:55C.J. Stroud was clearly pressing.
05:56Maybe C.J. Stroud remains in a place where he does not feel as inclined to press
06:01if you were staying on schedule with that game, staying on pace with what the
06:06Patriots were doing, but third and goal, one-yard line.
06:11The play works.
06:12You're able to move –
06:13Big time.
06:13You're able to move guys and get enough opening for Woody Marks to slide into the
06:18end zone on an inside zone.
06:19Yeah.
06:20But Dalton Schultz and – who did you put that on more?
06:23I think Togiai, he kind of paused and tried to get in his stance.
06:27That was probably all Togiai.
06:29I would have to guess, and we don't know, but I would have to guess Togiai because
06:32the way he paused –
06:34He don't really get in a three-point stance like that.
06:36And that was only the second time he's done it.
06:37Yeah.
06:38So, I mean, unfortunately, I probably had to put that one on him.
06:42I did – I think that you guys are right.
06:44It did hit me, though, because that was the second of Dalton Schultz's pre-snap
06:48penalties where I'm like, hey, man, you're the veteran dude on this offense.
06:51He did have a – yeah, he did have a false start, right?
06:54Yes, he did.
06:54I think he had a false start.
06:55And I do think that that one was, hey, Braxton Berrios, who has been a healthy
06:59scratch, has been inactive a number of games.
07:01You put him – you brought him in, and then you put him in, and you were like,
07:04hey, you're in the game running a motion.
07:06And you could see on that motion, C.J. Stroud having to basically try and tell
07:09him where to be, I think that extends the start of that play.
07:12And then Dalton Schultz becomes impatient.
07:14He shouldn't.
07:14Yeah.
07:15And I think that's ultimately what I'm coming back to is I was a little surprised that
07:18Dalton Schultz, as veteran, was making those mistakes.
07:20How about this?
07:20Speaking of Dalton Schultz, what if Dalton Schultz's body doesn't break down?
07:23That was enormous.
07:24Leading receiver on the team, man.
07:25Leading receiver on the team.
07:26They still would have had more – they probably would have had more of a chance.
07:29Dalton Schultz was your second leading receiver in this game.
07:33Mm-hmm.
07:33And he only had two targets.
07:35Yeah.
07:36Yeah.
07:36He didn't make it to the second half.
07:38Mm-hmm.
07:38And –
07:39I guess it was a calf?
07:40Yeah.
07:41It might have been.
07:41He's been dealing with lower body and upper body injuries all season long.
07:46I mean, I'm pretty sure that Dalton Schultz shouldn't have been playing football, but
07:51because of the injury status of your tight end room, he was out there trying to thug
07:54it out.
07:55But ultimately, the body broke down to the point of you couldn't deal with him, and
07:58now you had to depend on Jaden Higgins, who did about as well as I think I could have
08:03expected of him.
08:03Although, there's some instances where you go, young man, can you draw a PI in this
08:07by, you know, exaggerating that or whatever.
08:09But that feels like that's asking a lot of them.
08:11Xavier Hutchinson, who made four catches out of 13 targets, and a number of those felt
08:15like, hey, I feel like you should be able to bring that in, big dog.
08:18And then Christian Kirk, who was – who was definitely back to more of what we had seen
08:23previously from Christian Kirk rather than last week.
08:25I think that that very much changes maybe even C.J. Stroud's demeanor in having to do that
08:28he feels very comfortable throwing the football.
08:30Yeah, I don't know about C.J. Stroud's demeanor.
08:32We know that he's been pressing and not buying in and all that, and we talked about that
08:35in Wilson Moore.
08:36I think if you – just a combination of the Woody Marks touchdown and keeping Dalton
08:41Schultz healthy, you would have had a chance for Kaimi Fairbairn to win it at the end, perhaps.
08:46Yeah.
08:46And that's all I would have –
08:47You could at least settle for field goals.
08:48Yeah, that's all I could ask for, you know?
08:51Yeah, and somebody said, why are y'all letting Nick Haley off the hook?
08:54I –
08:55We are not.
08:55Oh, man.
08:57We are not.
08:58Hang in there.
08:59I think that Kaley has his portions of it, but it's – I mean, it's abundantly clear
09:03that C.J. Stroud puts you in a very bad place.
09:07It's some of everything, man.
09:08The offense wasn't good this year.
09:11C.J. Stroud wasn't good this year.
09:14I think it's some of everything, man.
09:16To me, the entire – this is probably unfair.
09:21The entire season feels like a waste right now because you had just an –
09:25It's Reaction Monday.
09:26It's Reaction Monday.
09:27Let it out.
09:29Super Bowl-caliber defense.
09:31And you bleeped the bed, man.
09:33And remember, Lopez, I texted you this.
09:36I think you tweeted the question out.
09:38Yeah.
09:38What I asked you.
09:39Yeah.
09:40And I just feel like this was probably the greatest opportunity to get to a Super Bowl, man.
09:47It's not fair to the defense.
09:48It's not fair to the team.
09:49We're going to be thinking fondly of this defense for decades.
09:52Yeah.
09:53But it just – right now, it just feels like the whole season's a waste.
09:56Yeah.
09:56It was really a waste.
09:57And the window was wide open, man.
09:59Yeah.
10:00Oh, yeah.
10:00We didn't even mention Bo Nix.
10:01You had Denver.
10:02Haven't yet.
10:02You had Denver right there.
10:04You going to be facing – what is it, Jarrett Stidham?
10:07Yeah.
10:07Yeah.
10:07The likelihood is Jarrett Stidham is the starter.
10:09Jarrett Stidham did not throw a pass this year.
10:12So, for the second straight year, the Broncos have not – have had their – a backup quarterback
10:16who had not thrown a single pass.
10:18Yeah.
10:18And that is who they're going to have to go into the AFC Championship game.
10:20It was right there, man.
10:22Yeah.
10:22And not just Jarrett Stidham.
10:23Jarrett Stidham versus this defense that I do wonder is the collective we, not us here
10:29in the city of Houston, not us that follow the Texans, but the collective we, are we going
10:33to be diligent enough to continue to recognize this defense on the national level?
10:38Or the historic scale?
10:39Because we talk about the Legion of Boom, and that was a defense that won the Super Bowl.
10:43No.
10:43We talk about the 2000s Ravens.
10:45That was a defense that won the Super Bowl.
10:46And we talk about the 85 Bears.
10:47That's a defense.
10:48No.
10:48They all won.
10:49No.
10:49They all won.
10:50This defense is possible.
10:52And that's why it feels like a waste.
10:54Yep.
10:54It's possible it's lost to the, you know, the pervasive history because of wasteful play.
11:00You know who else had a good defense in 2023?
11:03The Cleveland Browns.
11:04Yeah.
11:04And nobody's talking about that defense anymore because they lost.
11:07Lost.
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