Orion wrote:Houston might have the 5th ranked defense, but they have the least total rushing attempts by the opposing team in the NFL, so take that as you will.
This is pretty interesting.
Houston's defense is very similar to St. Louis'. They give up 4.1 yards per carry (4.2 for St. Louis) and are stingy in yards per attempt passing at 5.8 (the Rams are 5.9).
Where we could run into trouble is when Houston is on offense. They're a very solid 6th in total yards, averaging 387 yards per game. They're 8th in yards per attempt passing and 15th in rushing YPA. They definitely place importance on the running game -- first in the league in total attempts at 33.7 per game. Houston may have the most balanced attack in the league. They've thrown 485 passes and run the ball 472 times (50.6% pass, 49.4% run) with 22 TD passing and 18 rushing. Overall, they have 3,427 yards passing with 1,988 rushing. Extremely solid on this side of the ball.
Another advantage for the Texans is in the turnover ratio. They're +15 (28 TOs on defense, only 13 on offense). They don't typically beat themselves. The Vikings are at +3.