J.J. Watt suggests Jerod Mayo-style public calling out could help Texans get over recent slump
The Houston Texans are on a two-game skid, and former Houston Texan defensive lineman J.J. Watt has an idea of how the team can turn their slump around. The Texans have lost two games in a row to the Detroit Lions and the New York Jets, meaning they have three defeats in their last four games.
Ahead of Houston's Monday night showdown against the Dallas Cowboys, Watt spoke on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Wednesday, suggesting that head coach DeMeco Ryans publicly call out his team and their weaknesses to help motivate them to improve.
This is what New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo did after their 16-32 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, which resulted in them winning two straight games.
"The Patriots could be a little case study on it because their coach called them out publicly on which generally doesn't work for the most part," Watt said. "He called them soft publicly that turned out to work well for them. They're 2-0 since their players only meeting. Maybe they have something going on there," he added.
After the Patriots lost their sixth-straight game to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mayo said his team was soft overall.
Here's what Mayo said after their 16-32 Jaguars loss:
"We started fast. What I would say is, look, we're a soft football team across the board. You talk about what makes a tough football team. That is being able to run the ball, that is being able to stop the run, being able to cover kicks. We did none of those today. They controlled the ball for most of the day."
What has led to the Houston Texans's recent slump?
There are two critical factors for the Houston Texans's recent slump of three losses in their last four games: Poor quarterback play and inability to execute late in the game.
As a rookie, quarterback C.J. Stroud is on course to become one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. In the last four games for Houston, he has struggled.
Against the Green Bay Packers, where the Texans lost 22-24, Stroud completed 10-of-21 passes for 86 yards. In their 13-21 loss to the New York Jets, Stroud completed 11-of-30 passes for 191 yards.
However, C.J. Stroud put in a much-improved performance against the Detroit Lions, completing 19-of-33 passes for 232 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Houston gained a 23-7 lead at halftime, allowed Detroit to score 19 unanswered points, but ultimately secured a 26-23 win as time expired.
This week, the Texans will face a struggling Dallas Cowboys team, who will have Cooper Rush start a second-straight game.
Do you think Houston will get out of their slump this week?