The Houston Texans lost an offensive preseason shootout to the New Orleans Saints on Saturday night, 34-27, with the two teams combining for almost 500 yards of offense in the first half. The Texans, however, continued to have trouble holding on to the football in the exhibition season. It is this type of uneven performance that has Randy Harvey of the Houston Chronicle's Ultimate Texans blog wondering if Houston will be ready to live up to expectations this year:
The bigger question, though, is whether the Texans are ready for a season of unprecedented expectations for the franchise.
They appeared at some times as if they were. Playing in front of a crowd of 72,082 that already has its decibel level at mid-season form, against a team that has its own Super Bowl aspirations, the Texans at the very least held their own in a first half that ended 24-24.
They appeared at some times as if they weren't ready.
The Texans couldn't hold their two-touchdown lead for four minutes. Trindon Holliday, after returns for touchdowns in each of the first two preseason games, fumbled one that the Saints returned for a touchdown.
The coaching staff has addressed the fumbling issue, and the offense has proven when healthy it can put up points, but only time will tell if the Texans make a playoff run for the second straight year.
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