The 2022 season has not been kind to the Houston Texans. They have dealt with injuries and poor play from a roster that has not been built to win football games from day one. And that has led them to sport an ugly 1-11-1 record through Week 14 of the 2022 campaign. And while their Week 14 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys was actually weirdly competitive, a loss is still a loss.
Dallas, fresh off scoring 54 points against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 13, were massive favorites to win this game. And yet, the Texans were in control for much of the afternoon. The Cowboys won 27-23, but it took an 11-play, 96 yard drive late in the fourth quarter to give Dallas the game-winning touchdown they desperately needed.
For Houston, there was really nothing on the line, and they continue to strengthen their grip of the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft at this point. But with every loss comes players who struggled, so let's take a look at three Texans players that are most to blame for their most recent loss of the season in Week 14.
3. Dameon Pierce
It's been a rather strange season for Texans rookie running back Dameon Pierce. Pierce emerged as Houston's lead running back early on, and has shown the potential to be one of the top running backs in the NFL. The problem is he has no help around him, and that has allowed opposing defenses to key in on him and limit his production.
This game could actually be considered a bounce back performance from Pierce (22 CAR, 78 YDS, 1 TD) considering how ugly his stats had looked in the previous two outings. But he struggled with his efficiency on a per carry basis (just 3.5 yards per carry) and lost a fumble on Houston's first drive of the second half.
Pierce was lucky that his fumble ultimately didn't lead to points, but had Houston gone down and gotten a touchdown on the drive he lost the ball on, they might have been able to pull out a win here. Pierce is doing the best he can, but he has a lot working against him, and while he doesn't deserve to shoulder a big chunk of the blame, his fumble and poor overall efficiency earns him a spot on this list.
2. Jerry Hughes
The Texans defense hasn't had a lot of standout performers this season, but if there has been one, it's been Jerry Hughes. The veteran pass rusher has proven he can get sacks even when he is getting no help from the rest of his teammates, and he's in the middle of putting together maybe the most impressive season of his career.
Despite that, Hughes had a day to forget on Sunday against Dallas. The Texans defense did a fairly good job keeping the Cowboys offense quiet for most of the day, but they struggled to get any sort of consistent production from their pass rush unit. They sacked Prescott just once on the day, and only had five quarterback hits when all was said and done.
That doesn't all fall on Hughes, but considering how he's leading Houston with eight sacks on the season, it's reasonable to expect more from him. Hughes failed to record a single tackle this game, and his lone stat was one of the quarterback hits on Prescott. Hughes has been great this season for the Texans, but this wasn't his best outing.
1. Davis Mills
Davis Mills has gotten the short end of the stick all season long with the Texans, and that didn't really change in this game. Mills was back under center after Kyle Allen proved that Mills was not the problem with Houston's offense in his two starts, and while he looked more competent than Allen, he continues to be unable to make plays to win the Texans games.
Mills didn't have a bad day against one of the top defenses in the game (16/21, 175 YDS, 1 INT) but again, this isn't going to win his team games. Mills also was part of a strange quarterback rotation with Jeff Driskel, and watched Driskel have a lot of success when he found himself on the field (4/6, 38 YDS, 1 TD, 7 CAR, 36 YDS) which makes Mills' outing even more strange.
By now, it's clear Mills' is being dealt a losing hand every time he takes the field for the Texans. But he has opportunities to lead his team to wins that he simply isn't taking advantage of. This was a winnable game, and while it's not solely his fault, Mills didn't take advantage of a surprisingly vulnerable Cowboys team. And since he plays the most important position on the field in quarterback, that will earn him a spot on this list.
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