The Houston Texans needed another big play.
Their only big play of the afternoon came on the ground when running back Dameon Pierce took a pitch 75 yards for a touchdown. Fat chance the Los Angeles Chargers were going to be out of position for that again, leading 27-14 with 11:00 to go in the fourth quarter and Houston at their own 24-yard line.
Seemingly out of nowhere quarterback Davis Mills hit receiver Nico Collins for a 58-yard reception. It wasn’t so much that the play was absent on the afternoon as it was absent throughout the first four weeks of the season.
“It was a simple little post route, man coverage,” Collins told reporters Oct. 4. “Davis trusted me and I trusted him. It was the perfect coverage for the opportunity to throw the post route and Davis let it rip.”
Collins finished the afternoon with three catches for 82 yards despite the Texans falling 34-24 to Los Angeles and dropping to 0-3-1 on the season.
According to Collins, what helped facilitate the big play was also the communication the two 2021 third-round picks had with each other on the sidelines.
“It’s different in game-time,” said Collins. “You’ve got to adjust to the defense. When the defense shows the coverage for the opportunity to throw the post route, you got to take it. That’s what Davis did. We were talking about it on the sideline, what defensive scheme we thought was going to happen and it was the perfect opportunity. It showed the right coverage and he took a shot downfield.”
With the Texans now producing an experience wherein the passing game generated a big play, it will be interesting to see if Houston can replicate that success throughout the rest of the season. Houston will be tested in Week 5 at the 2-2 Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at TIAA Bank Field.
