The Houston Texans were undefeated in the preseason, but most importantly, they appeared to have made it through without suffering any major injuries during a game. Texans head coach Bill O'Brien rested most of his starters in Thursday's 28-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys to get a good look at the players fighting for the final roster spots on the 53-man roster.
QB depth chart: Quarterback Tom Savage, who will be the Texans' backup behind Brock Osweiler, looked like a capable No. 2, finishing 12-for-18 for 119 yards and a touchdown. Savage looked to have a good handle on the offense and led them down the field twice, including the first Texans' offensive drive to start each half. In the first quarter, Savage had a 10-play drive, which ended when running back Kenny Hilliard fumbled on the Dallas 18-yard line. The Texans alternated between Savage and Brandon Weeden during the game. Aside from a 64-yard touchdown pass to receiver Keith Mumphery, Weeden looked shaky. In the third quarter, his fourth-down pass was intercepted for a touchdown. Osweiler did not play, as expected.
Who got hurt? Linebacker Akeem Dent had to be helped off the field in the second quarter and is in the concussion protocol.
A surprise player who impressed: Mumphery made his case for a roster spot, catching three passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. Most of those yards came on that 64-yard touchdown catch on a pass from Weeden, when he created separation and then cut to the middle of the field after making the catch. Mumphery also had a 31-yard catch against the Cardinals in the third preseason game.
One reason to be concerned: Despite the rushing touchdown, the Texans' running game never really got going for the second week in a row. The Texans' offensive line is missing three starters, though tackles Derek Newton (hamstring) and Duane Brown (quadriceps) could return by the regular-season opener against the Bears.
Running back competition: Hilliard and Akeem Hunt handled all the carries for the Texans on Thursday. Hunt scored the lone rushing touchdown for the Texans. O'Brien gave Hilliard a good look, but he had just 86 yards on 29 carries. Hunt had 12 attempts for 44 yards and a touchdown and one catch for 3 yards and a touchdown. Both are still long shots to make the 53-man roster.
Fourth-down conversions: O'Brien had the Texans go for it on fourth down four times, going 2-4, and punting only three times. Both of Hunt's touchdowns came on fourth down. In a conversion attempt in the third quarter, Cowboys cornerback Anthony Brown intercepted a pass from Weeden.
Takeaways continue: The Texans defense continued to force turnovers, adding an interception and a forced fumble Thursday. The Texans have 12 takeaways this preseason. O'Brien said last week that the the Texans spend a lot of time talking about forcing turnovers and are “big believers in the turnover/takeaway battle.”