NFL Preseason Week 3: Texans 17, Rams 15 — Four Winners, Four Losers

It’s been  long preseason and training camp for the Houston Texans, and anybody covering the Houston Texans. I’m not just talking about the near 100 degree heat every day at practice, but I’m talking in literal terms. The Texans started camp a week earlier than everyone else in the NFL (except the Bears), because of their participation in the Hall of Fame game.

So you can feel it palpably — everyone is ready for the regular season to get here. In less than two weeks, the Texans will kick off the 2024 season in Indianapolis against he Colts, but before that there was one final audition for fringe players and possible practice squad bodies. In the final preseason game of 2024, the Texans defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 17-15.

Here are your winners and losers from the final preseason game, as we wait for the final roster cutdown on Tuesday afternoon:

WINNERS

4. Can Akers
The Texans brought in Akers a few days into camp, and he immediately made an impression, which was somewhat surprising given that he was coming off his second Achilles tear, an injury suffered during the 2023 regular season. When healthy, Akers has been more than capable as an NFL back, and he was very impressive in game action this preseason. On Saturday, Akers had 7 carries for 53 yards, including a few highlight reel plays. The Texans held their top three backs (Joe Mixon, Dare Ogunbowale, Dameon Pierce, more on this in a minute) out of the game, so Akers appears to still be battling for a spot on this team. I don’t know if he makes it, but he should.

3. Neville Hewitt
2. Henry To’o To’o
I’ll bunch Hewitt and To’o To’o in one bullet point since they are part of the same position group. First, I think Hewitt had already secured a spot on this team before Saturday, but if we assume guys playing in that game were not 100 percent ON the team yet, then Hewitt locked down a spot. He’s already been one of the best special teams players on the Texans, but on Saturday, he was running around hitting people like a maniac on defense. Meanwhile, To’o To’o, in just his second season, managed to work his way onto the list of guys who don’t have to play in the final preseason game. Some of why To’o To’o was watching in street clothes may have been Christian Harris’ ongoing injury, and the need to keep To’o To’o healthy for Week 1, but either way, the second year linebacker has taken a big step forward in his second preseason.

1. John Metchie III
Just two weeks ago, on the heels of two very quiet preseason games and some drop-plagued practices, many of us in the media were questioning Metchie’s spot on this team, especially amidst the deepest receiver room the team has had in years. However, Metchie broke out with a great game against the Giants last week (6 catches, 68 yards), and followed that up with a great week of practice and a couple of catches against the Rams, including this five star juke move:

Metchie with the moves 🥋 pic.twitter.com/APSNbyWAOQ

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) August 25, 2024

Metchie is a lock to make this team, and given his story as a cancer survivor, it’s nice to see.

LOSERS

4. Tim Boyle
GM Nick Caserio had intimated on the team’s pregame show last week, before the win over the Giants, that Davis Mills is embedded as the backup quarterback, and there was a battle between Case Keenum and Tim Boyle for the third string. While Boyle did some nice things on Saturday, and while Keenum was not exactly sharp, Boyle needed a much bigger margin between the two, in all likelihood, to win that job. There are just certain things that Keenum brings in the way of leadership in the locker room and mentorship to C.J. Stroud that Boyle just can’t replicate.

3. The whole Pierce situation
So, as I said on the radio and in this space last week, I had no idea how the Pierce situation would play out in the game on Saturday. Pierce has looked lost in this offense for over a calendar year now, and yet, DeMeco Ryans seems to put Pierce’s lack of success on the blocking in front of Pierce. In short, he sees a much better version of Pierce right NOW than I have seen. So along comes Saturday’s game, and Pierce is not dressed for the game, a stats typically reserved for someone who’s made the team (or injured, Pierce is healthy). We will see what happens over the next couple days. Maybe Pierce is on his way to being traded, and the Texans wanted to keep him healthy. I just know that Pierce making the team over Cam Akers, if it does happen, is going to be the first real scenario that has people possibly upset with DeMeco Ryans.

2. Desmond King
It feels like the Texans’ return game situation is still very much up in the air. Steven Sims is battling for that spot, and so is Desmond King, who is in his fourth training camp with the Texans. With Jalen Pitre kind of invading King’s spot at nickel cornerback on defense, King making an impression in the return game was going to go a long way toward making the team. Well, he made an impression, but not a favorable one. King badly muffed a punt, deep in Texans territory, in the first quarter, and set the Rams up for their first three points of the game. Not good for King.

1. Troy Hairston
While King’s day was marked by one BIG mistake, Hairston’s was a series of errors that should 100 percent keep him off the 53 man roster. Hairston is trying to make the team as the starting fullback, a position of need given incumbent starter Andrew Beck’s ongoing injury issues. In Hairston’s final audition to try to win the job, he had four holding penalties — FOUR! — and a couple missed blocks in the running game. Sure, he got into the end zone for a touchdown, but there are plenty of guys on this team who can catch an easy pass out of the backfield. None of them would get flagged for holding four times.

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