Texans WR Chris Conley attributes lack of attention to detail for road struggles
HOUSTON — The last time the Houston Texans scored a touchdown on the road, it came at the 2:38 mark of the second quarter amid a Week 2 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Tyrod Taylor rushed for 15-yards to find the end zone, as his touchdown put the Texans ahead 14-7 over the Browns.
Taylor’s touchdown at FirstEnergy Stadium was a bitter-sweet moment for the Texans. The scoring drive gave proof to what could have been a competitive season, but Taylor sustained a Grade 2 hamstring strain in the process that sidelined him for six consecutive games.
Since Taylor led the Texans to the end zone against the Browns, Houston has yet to score another touchdown on the road in four straight games.
Texans’ wide receiver Chris Conley says dwelling on the atrocious stat line is not going to fix the problem. But as a team, Houston must focus on the little things that are killing drives.
“If you can’t sustain drives, you can’t score points,” Conley said on Monday. “We have too many penalties. We have too many critical M.E.’s [mental errors] that happen at critical points of the game. It doesn’t really matter what offense you’re in, there’s not a lot of plays for third-and-15, third-and-20. We have to stay out of those situations.”
Following the loss to the Browns, the Texans’ next four road opponents have outscored Houston 119-17. The closest the Texans have reached the end zone over their last four road game came on a Kyler Murray sack-safety by Jacob Martin in a 31-5 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Scoring touchdowns outside of NRG Stadium will be a step in the right direction for a team eager to end their eight-game losing streak.
So far this season, the Texans have scored a touchdown in each of the four home games played in 2021 — where they average 21.0 points per game. In comparison to the five road games, the Texans have averaged 7.6 points.
“It’s not a lack of hard work…it might be a lack of attention to detail,” Conley said. “It might be a little bit too much anticipation, guys eager to go out and make a play and anticipating things to the point where they do something out of character.”
“Ultimately, it comes down to us looking at each other and saying, ‘Hey, I’m going to play the best game soundly that I can play. That’s all I can promise.’ And then I have to rely on my teammates to do the same.”
Following their Week 10 bye, the 1-8 Texans will return to action on Sunday for an AFC South match against the 8-2 Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Kickoff is slated for noon.
