Texans 100: Facts and figures for Rams

The Houston Texans take on the Los Angeles Rams in a Week 8 matchup Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at NRG Stadium.

The Rams are new-look with Matthew Stafford commanding coach Sean McVay’s offense, not Jared Goff. However, Texans linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill says the offense still rolls the same.

“I don’t actually think it’s too much different,” said Grugier-Hill. “I think that it’s just a different talent. Matt Stafford is really, really, not that Goff isn’t good, but Matt Stafford is an elite player for sure. I think that’s the biggest difference. He can make some crazy throws.”

Here are some stats to get ready for the fifth encounter in series history.

Series facts

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1. The Texans are 1-6 for the third time in team history. The other two times were 2005 and 2020. Houston finished 2-14 and 4-12.

2. Since 1990, the last time playoff formats were changed, 1/117 (0.85%) teams that started 2-6 made the playoffs and none finished with winning records.

3. Since 1990, 0/60 teams that started 1-7 made the playoffs.

4. The Rams are 6-1 for the ninth time in team history. 7/8 of those previous teams made the playoffs with two of them (1945, 1999) having won the league championship.

5. Since 1990, teams that started 7-1 made the playoffs 49/51 (96.1%) times. 45/49 of those teams won the division.

6. Since 1990, teams that started 6-2 made the playoffs 116/141 (82.3%) times. 76/116 of those teams won the division.

7. The Texans are 1-3 against the Rams with an 0-2 record at home.

8. The Texans are 5-12 against the NFC West with a 4-4 record at home. Here is the breakdown by team:

Arizona Cardinals: 2-0

San Francisco 49ers: 1-1

Seattle Seahawks: 1-1

Los Angeles Rams: 0-2

9. The Cardinals are 2-2 against the Texans. Here is how they compare to other AFC South teams:

Tennessee Titans: 8-4

Jacksonville Jaguars: 4-2

Houston Texans: 2-2

Indianapolis Colts: 8-8

10. The Texans are 35-42 in October with a 15-17 record at home.

Davis Mills facts

(AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

11. Mills is tied with Taylor Heinicke and Kyler Murray for the sixth-most interceptions with seven.

12. Mills’ 6.1 yards per pass attempt is the lowest in the NFL among quarterbacks with at least five starts.

13. Mills’ 74.4 passer rating is the third-lowest among quarterbacks with at least five starts.

14. Mills’ 8.1 sack percentage is the seventh-highest in the NFL.

15. Among quarterbacks with at least five starts, Mills’ 1,047 passing yards are the second-lowest in the league.

16. Mills is tied with Matt Ryan for the fourth-lowest yards after the catch benefit at 4.2.

17. Mills is tied for the fifth-most passes batted at the line of scrimmage with five.

18. Among quarterbacks with at least five starts, Mills is tied with Ben Roethlisberger for the third-shortest pocket time in the NFL at 2.1.

19. Mills has thrown the most interceptions on first down with four.

20. Among quarterbacks with at least 20 passes, Mills’ 52.2 passer rating on first down is the lowest in the league.

21. Mills is now on a five-game losing streak as a starter, which matches Deshaun Watson’s five-game losing streak to end the 2020 season.

Matthew Stafford facts

(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

22. Stafford has the eighth-best completion percentage in the NFL at 69.3%.

23. Stafford has the fourth-highest passing yards with 2,172.

24. Stafford has the second-most touchdown passes with 19.

25. Stafford is tied for the 10th-lowest interception percentage at 1.7%.

26. Stafford has the lowest sack percentage in the league at 2.8%.

27. Stafford has the third-highest yards per pass attempt at 9.0.

28. Stafford has the fourth-highest yards per completion at 13.0.

29. Among quarterbacks who have started every game, Stafford’s 116.7 passer rating is the highest in the NFL.

30. Stafford’s 2,227 intended air yards are the fourth-highest in the league.

31. Stafford’s 1,226 completed air yards are the fourth-highest in the NFL.

32. Stafford’s 946 yards after the catch are the eighth-highest in the NFL.

33. Stafford is tied with Jared Goff and Jimmy Garoppolo for the eighth-most passes dropped with 11.

34. Among quarterbacks who have started every game, Stafford has been pressured 11.9% times, the fewest in the NFL.

35. Among quarterbacks with at least 90 passes on first down, Stafford’s 7.9 yards per pass attempt is the sixth-highest in the NFL.

36. Stafford is 1/7 quarterbacks with at least two fourth quarter comebacks and two game-winning drives.

David Culley facts

(AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

37. Culley now owns the longest losing streak among 2021 rookie coaches at six games.

38. Culley and Dom Capers are the only full-time coaches in Texans history to post 1-6 records.

39. Culley is 1-2 at home. The other coaches in Texans history who started 1-2 at home in their first seasons with the team were Capers and Gary Kubiak.

40. The last time Culley was on the sidelines for a Halloween game was in 2004 when he was receivers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, who beat the Baltimore Ravens 15-10 to start the season 7-0.

41. Culley was in his second season as quarterbacks coach at Southwestern Louisiana when Sean McVay was born in 1986.

Sean McVay facts

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42. McVay is 6-1 for the first time in his career. Here are other Rams coaches who starts 6-1:

1945 – Adam Walsh

1949 – Clark Shaughnessy

1968 – George Allen

1973 – Chuck Knox

1975 – Chuck Knox

1999 – Dick Vermeil

2000 – Mike Martz

2001 – Mike Martz

2021 – Sean McVay

43. McVay is 3-4 in the Central Time Zone with a 1-3 mark in late afternoon games.

44. McVay joins George Allen, Chuck Knox, and John Robinson as the only Rams coaches to post a winning season in each of their first four seasons with the team.

45. McVay is 1-0 against the Texans. Here is how he compares to other Rams coaches:

2005 – Joe Vitt*: 1-0

2009 – Steve Spagnuolo: 0-1

2013 – Jeff Fisher: 1-0

2017 – Sean McVay: 1-0

46. McVay is 12-5 against the AFC with a 6-3 record on the road.

47. McVay is 5-0 against the AFC South. Here is a breakdown by team:

Colts: 2-0

Jaguars: 1-0

Titans: 1-0

Texans: 1-0

48. McVay is 9/25 on challenges for his career and has yet to challenge anything in 2021.

Clay Martin facts

(AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

49. This week’s referee is Clay Martin. The Texans are 2-1 with Martin:

2018 – @DEN, 19-17 – W

2019 – @SDG, 27-20 – W

2020 – GB, 20-35 – L

50. The Texans have had fewer penalties 2/3 times with Martin:

2018 – DEN: 8/50; HTX: 7/60

2019 – SDG: 7/69; HTX: 6/65

2020 – GB: 5/40; HTX: 6/55

51. The Rams are having Martin referee one of their games since he was promoted in 2018.

52. Martin is tied for the third-lowest home team winning percentage:

Land Clark: .833

Bill Vinovich: .833

Adrian Hill: .667

Brad Allen: .667

Carl Cheffers: .625

Clete Blakeman: .600

Brad Rogers: .571

Ron Torbert: .571

John Hussey: .500

Shawn Smith: .500

Jerome Boger: .333

Tony Corrente: .333

Alex Kemp: .333

Scott Novak: .333

Clay Martin: .333

Craig Wrolstad: .167

Shawn Hochuli: .167

53. Martin is tied for the fourth-highest percentage of home teams having fewer penalties:

Ron Torbert: .857

Alex Kemp: .833

Tony Corrente: .667

Clay Martin: .500

Scott Novak: .500

Brad Allen: .500

Jerome Boger: .500

Land Clark: .500

Adrian Hill: .500

Bill Vinovich: .500

Craig Wrolstad: .500

Shawn Hochuli: .429

Clete Blakeman: .400

Shawn Smith: .333

Brad Rogers: .286

Carl Cheffers: .125

John Hussey: .000

54. Martin’s games are tied for the third-fewest sacks per game:

Torbert: 6.4

Smith: 5.6

Boger: 5.2

Clark: 5.2

Hill: 5.2

Wrolstad: 5.2

Kemp: 5.0

Cheffers: 4.9

Vinovich: 4.8

Hussey: 4.3

Novak: 4.3

Hochuli: 4.1

Corrente: 4.0

Rogers: 3.7

Martin: 3.7

Allen: 3.0

Blakeman: 2.6

55. Martin’s crew calls the fourth-most offensive holding calls per game:

Rogers: 4.0

Blakeman: 3.6

Hochuli: 3.6

Wrolstad: 3.5

Torbert: 2.9

Novak: 2.8

Allen: 2.7

Clark: 2.5

Hill: 2.5

Hussey: 2.5

Cheffers: 2.5

Kemp: 2.2

Vinovich: 2.2

Martin: 2.2

Corrente: 2.0

Smith: 1.8

Boger: 1.5

56. The Texans have never challenged Martin, while opponents are 0/2. Replay Assistant has yet to challenge Martin in a Texans game.

57. Martin has the highest coaches challenge overturn rate:

Martin: 1.000 (2/2)

Clark: 1.000 (1/1)

Hill: .667 (2/3)

Allen: .667 (2/3)

Vinovich: .500 (2/4)

Rogers: .400 (2/5)

Novak: .333 (1/3)

Hussey: .333 (1/3)

Wrolstad: .333 (1/3)

Hochuli: .250 (1/4)

Smith: .250 (1/4)

Kemp: .000 (0/1)

Boger: .000 (0/3)

Corrente: .000 (0/3)

Torbert: .000 (0/5)

58. Martin has the eighth-highest booth review overturn rate:

Allen: 1.000 (7/7)

Boger: 1.000 (4/4)

Hussey: 1.000 (4/4)

Torbert: .857 (6/7)

Cheffers: .750 (3/4)

Clark: .667 (4/6)

Smith: .667 (2/3)

Martin: .600 (3/5)

Vinovich: .500 (2/4)

Novak: .400 (2/5)

Kemp: .333 (1/3)

Rogers: .333 (1/3)

Wrolstad: .333 (1/3)

Blakeman: .000 (0/2)

Hill: .000 (0/2)

Broadcast facts

(Photo by Edward A. Ornelas/AAF/Getty Images)

59. This is the third game in the series on FOX. Here is the breakdown by network:

FOX: 2

CBS: 2

60. The Texans are 22-17 on FOX.

61. The Rams are 166-210-1 all-time on FOX, including postseason.

62. Chris Myers and Daryl Johnston are the fifth different play-by-play team in the series.

63. The Texans are 4-5 when Myers does play-by-play for their games.

64. The Texans are 3-3 when Johnston does commentary for their games.

65. Week 8 will be the fourth early game in the series. The lone late afternoon start was 2017 when the Texans played their first ever game in Los Angeles.

Miscellaneous facts

(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

66. Rams receiver Cooper Kupp has the most catches in the NFL with 56.

67. Kupp also leads the NFL with 809 receiving yards.

68. Kupp has the most receiving touchdowns in the league with nine.

69. Rams running back Darrell Henderson is tied for the eighth-most red zone rushing touchdowns with four.

70. Henderson is tied for the eight-most first down carries with 60.

71. Henderson has the seventh-most first down rushing yards with 278.

72. Henderson is tied for the ninth-most first downs by rush on first down with eight.

73. Houston safety Lonnie Johnson is tied for the third-most interceptions with three.

74. Texans cornerback Terrance Mitchell is tied for the second-most forced fumbles with three.

75. Houston defensive end Jonathan Greenard is tied for the seventh-most sacks with 6.0.

76. Greenard is also tied for the ninth-most tackles for loss with seven.

77. The Texans are tied with the 10th-most takeaways with nine.

78. The Rams have the seventh-most takeaways with 12.

79. Houston has the lowest yards per carry at 3.3.

80. The Rams are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the fifth-lowest yards per carry in the NFL at 3.7.

81. Los Angeles is tied with the New England Patriots for the ninth-lowest rushing yards per game at 95.4.

82. The Texans are tied with the New York Jets for the lowest red zone trips with 13.

83. Houston is tied with the Steelers for the second-fewest red zone touchdowns with eight.

84. The Rams have the 10th-highest red zone conversion rate at 64.5%.

85. The Rams score on 50.7% of their drives, the third-highest in the NFL.

86. The Texans are tied with the Patriots for the sixth-most drives ending in turnovers at 14.7%.

87. The Rams have given up the third-most yards after the catch at 1,030.

88. The Texans have called 31 blitzes, the fewest in the NFL.

89. The Rams have called 84 blitzes, the seventh-most in the league.

90. Los Angeles has generated 74 pressures, tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the eighth-most in the NFL.

91. The Texans have had 57 missed tackles, the second-most in the NFL.

92. The Rams have had 48 missed tackles, tied for the Carolina Panthers for the seventh-most in the NFL.

93. Opposing quarterbacks have an 80.4 passer rating, the third-lowest in the NFL.

94. The Rams are tied for the third-most sacks in the NFL with 20.

95. Houston’s defense gives up 4.7 yards per carry, tied with the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs for fourth-most in the NFL at 4.7.

96. Los Angeles’ defense gives up 4.4 yards per carry, tied for the ninth-most in the NFL.

97. The Texans defense gives up 145.7 rushing yards per game, the second-most in the league.

98. The Texans gain 4.1 yards on first down, the second-lowest in the NFL.

99. The Texans have played just one game on Oct. 31. In 2004, they beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-6 at then-Reliant Stadium.

100. The Rams are 2-7 on Oct. 31. Here are the results:

1937 — @CRD, 7-13 — L

1948 — CRD, 22-27 — L

1954 — DET, 24-27 — L

1965 — DET, 7-31 — L

1971 — MIA, 14-20 — L

1976 — SEA, 45-6 — W

1993 — @SF, 17-40 — L

1999 — @OTI, 21-24 — L

2010 — CAR, 20-10 — W

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