Coach: Bill O’Brien (fifth year with Texans — 36-36 regular season, 1-2 postseason).
Record: 5-3 (first in AFC South).
Last week: Beat Miami 42-23.
OFFENSE
Play caller: Coach Bill O’Brien.
Analysis: The Texans are tied for 14th in scoring (24.6 points per game), 15th in yards (379.0), 11th in rushing (123.0), 18th in passing (256.0) and 17th on third down (39.6 percent). … Houston scored a season-high 42 points in last week’s win over Miami. The Texans have won five consecutive games after a 0-3 start. … QB Deshaun Watson is 11th in passing yards (2,176) and 12th in passer rating (98.4). He has also rushed 44 times for 230 yards. … RB Lamar Miller is eighth in the league in carries (113) and ninth in yards (504). The Texans’ 241 rushes are second-most in the NFL. … WR DeAndre Hopkins is a terrific player and ranks third in receiving yards (789), tied for eighth in catches (53) and tied for fourth in touchdowns (four). … WR Will Fuller sustained a torn ACL last week, which led to the trade with the Broncos for on Tuesday. … The Texans allowed 17 sacks in the first four games, but nine in the last four. … Watson has been sacked 26 times, second-most in the league. … The starting OL against Miami was RT Kendall Lamm, RG Greg Mancz (for the injured Zach Fulton), C Nick Martin, LG Senio Kelemete and LT Julien Davenport. … Davenport, a fourth-round pick in 2017, has seven penalties (five false starts).
DEFENSE
Play caller: Coordinator Romeo Crennel.
Analysis: Crennel is back calling the defensive plays after taking a step back last year for Mike Vrabel, who parlayed his position into the head coaching job in Tennessee. … The Texans are ninth in yards (334.9), third against the run (95.1), 12th against the pass (239.8) and ninth in scoring (20.9). … Houston has allowed 16, 13, seven and 23 points in its last four games (all wins). … DE is the pulse of the defense. He is tied for second in the league with eight sacks and tied for first with four forced fumbles. … The Texans are beat up, though. ILB Zach Cunningham, whose 62 tackles lead the team, is out with a knee injury and the top candidate to replace him is OLB Brendan Scarlett. … Up front, NT D.J. Reader and Brandon Dunn split time. Watt has played 90 percent of the snaps. … OLB Jadeveon Clowney (4 1/2 sacks) and Whitney Mercilus play 77.9 and 81.0 percent of the snaps, respectively. … The secondary is regrouping because of injuries. CB Johnathan Joseph was injured against Miami, CB Aaron Colvin has been sidelined for a month (ankle) and CB Shareece Wright (groin/shoulder/thumb) and S Andre Hal (shoulder) missed the Miami game. … Kareem Jackson can play both CB and S and has two interceptions. S Tyrann Mathieu, in his first year with Houston, also has two INTs.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Coordinator: Brad Seely.
Analysis: Tyler Ervin, a 2016 fourth-round pick, handles both punt and kick returns. He has an 8.4-yard average on 19 punt returns and a 25.3-yard average on 10 kick returns. … The Texans are second in kick coverage (17.3-yard average). … K Ka’imi Fairburn is 17 of 20 on field goals and 20 of 20 on extra points. … P Trevor Daniel is 24th in net average (38.4 yards).
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