Weekly preview: Saints vs. Texans

The New Orleans Saints are coming off a dominant 34-0 win against the New England Patriots. The team will look to extend their winning ways and move to 4-2. To do this, the team must beat the Houston Texans on the road. With all of this being said, let’s take a look at this matchup.

Houston Texans preview

The Houston Texans have been in a rebuilding state for the past two years but are starting to find their groove. The team currently sits at 2-3 on the season and has several bright spots. The Texans have several talented rookies this season and they could be the winners of the 2023 NFL Draft.

This rookie class is led by signal caller C.J. Stroud, who has been terrific to start the year. The former Ohio State Buckeye is breaking the narrative that Buckeye QBs can’t succeed in the NFL. Staying on the offensive side of the ball, rookie Tank Dell is carving out a nice start to his NFL career.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Texans have third-overall pick Will Anderson. The former Crimson Tide has 17 pressures, ten hurries, and eight QB hits. The 22-year-old has all the makings to be a pass-rushing guru. Saints’ fans will also see an old friend in DT Sheldon Rankins.

New Orleans Saints preview

The Saints looked like legit contenders in their win versus the Patriots. The defense is coming off of its best performance. A special shoutout needs to be given to DE Carl Granderson. The former UDFA has been one of the DEs in all of football. He’s been making plays all over the field and is proving he was worth the extension.

The Saints offense looked better, but there is still work to be done. The offense had great field position on almost every drive due to the defense. The offense will need to show they can gain yards and score points even when they aren’t gifted great field position.

However, the offense looked a heck of a lot better. There was a ton of variety in play calling, which the Saints desperately needed. The team had a great game plan, and the offense executed it. Saints OC Pete Carmichael deserves his praise for blocking out the noise. The Saints will need to keep this up if they want to remain competitive.

Who will win the game?

This game should be a lot closer than people think. The Texans are no longer that bottom-feeder team of the NFL. However, I’m still taking the Saints in this matchup. The Saints have an overall better roster, and Houston is banged up. They’ll likely be without superstar LT Laremy Tunsil and rookie Tank Dell.

The Saints will need to exploit the lackluster offensive line in this matchup. I would love to see some blitz packages to make C.J. Stroud uncomfortable in the pocket. The more this team is able to throw Stroud off his game, the better chance the Saints have to win.

Seeing Saints CB Marshon Lattimore go up against Texans WR Nico Collins will be very interesting. The 24-year-old has been having an amazing season. He has 25 catches, 467 receiving yards, and three touchdowns.

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