Houston Texans @ Seattle Seahawks
Final Score: Seahawks 27, Texans 19
Writer: Geoff Ulrich (@thefantasygrind on X/Twitter)
For a lopsided game, this one was weirdly interesting at the end. Seattle dominated defensvely all game and was putting CJ Stroud on his backside with numerous hits and sacks. Still, Seattle just couldn’t find that extra gear on offense to blow open the game and nearly blew things at the end again with turnovers and allowing too many easy yards late, much like they did vs the Cardinals.
Luckily for the Seahawks, the Texans O-Line is horrific and blew what should have been a layup TD from the one-yard line with over 6 minutes to play, otherwise this could have a miracle win by Houston. Overall, this was matchup of two legit defenses that dominated play, with Seattle just having the far more polished and efficient offense.
I’ll go over the big fantasy takeaways below.
Three Up
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba — His usual amazing self.
- Dalton Schultz — 10 targets and 9 catches.
- Jaylin Noel — Was getting open regularly in the 4th, maybe the Tank Dell replacement?
Three Down
- CJ Stroud — Sacked to oblivion.
- AJ Barner — Took a backseat to Arroyo after it looked liked he’d taken the lead.
- Nick Chubb — Tough matchup, barely played second half.
Houston Texans
Quarterback
CJ Stroud: 23/49, 229 yards, TD, INT | 2 carry, 25 yards
This game was a semi-scar on the whole Texans organization. They couldn’t protect Stroud, who was running for his life from the get-go and their O-Line couldn’t even gain a half-yard with the game in the balance in the 4th Q, after their defense made yet another big play (they also scored a TD earlier).
It’s really hard to be too critical of Stroud who did make some big time throws late in the game after he lost his top receiver in Collins (and was already without Kirk). He found Jaylin Noel on a big play deep to set up the Texans initial failed TD attempt and then found Schultz and Noel for a couple big plays to set up a 20-yard fadeaway (on a play that started at the 4-yard-line) TD to Marks.
Stroud was far from perfect and he did miss a couple of plays on errant throws, or was just too aggressive in spots where checkdowns might have allowed them to move the ball and keep Seattle off the field. Still, you get the feeling that if you gave him a legit O-Line and a couple good secondary receivers with experience and he may be balling out similar to the 2023 version of Stroud we all remember. For now, this Texans passing game is a near death sentence for fantasy purposes and Stroud is just too risky because of the O-Line issues and now the WR injuries to trust.
Running Back
Nick Chubb: 12 carries, 27 yards | 5 targets, 4 receptions, 28 yards
Chubb was a complete non-factor in this game. He had a decent five yard run to start both halfs and then got stuffed on his other attempts. Seattle is potentially the leagues best Defensive Front and Houston is one of the poorest rush offenses in the league so this was never a great spot to begin with, but Chubb just proved again how one-dimensional he is as a player right now. As soon as the Texans got behind he was replaced for Marks and Ogunbowale in the passing game.
Quite possible the Texans will be in the market for a new RB soon. Something has to change with this run game.
Woody Marks: 10 carries, 15 yards | 5 targets, 3 receptions, 20 yards
Marks got stuffed just as much as Chubb, but his receiving abilty kept him in the game most of the second-half. He only caught three balls, but one was a four-yard pass (that travelled 20 yards in the air) on 3rd down to get Houston within a TD. Marks did a good job of scooping that one low and keeping it from falling incomplete, so he should maintain this role going forward.
He also had a three-yard run that came up just short of being a TD, so a two TD game wasn’t that far off. Overall, it was a gutsy effort from Marks who has earned the lead on long down distance snaps and hurry-up situations, but hasn’t managed to be able to overcome the poor offebsive line in Houston to become a more everydown threat.
**Also take note that he may have bene banged up on that last play, so could pop up on the injury report this week.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Nico Collins: 10 Targets, 8 Receptions, 90 Yards, TD
**Left game in 3rd Q with apparent concussion
Collins was having trouble connecting with Stroud on any big plays downfield before he left the game in the 3rd. 10 targets is great usage (especially in only 2/3 of a game) but only coming away with 4 receptions and 27 yards isn’t cutting it for fantasy.
Houston needs either Christian Kirk to get healthy or just to start using Jaylin Noel more to take some pressure off Collins, because teams like Seattle, who was missing some key starters in the secondary, were able to swarm him on short throws. Houston’s O-Line is also affecting Collins as Stroud doesn’t have time to throw accurate deep passes most weeks (and certainly didn’t here).
Jaylin Noel: 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 77 Yards
Noel started getting consistent targeting in this game after Collins left, and he was the only receiver outside of Schultz who was able to make any real plays. He caught a deep sideline ball that was just a couple yards away from a TD and looked like a legit NFL receiver given how much seperation he was getting in the 4th Q.
Just a sidenote, but Noel was a player who certainly fit the profile of a legit NFL receiver (and tracks similar to Tank Dell in profile) so it was great to see that skill translate well into a legit NFL game, as many times, great prospects don’t look nearly as fast or as skilled as they do once they hit the pros.
On a night where there were not a ton of positives on offense, Noel emerging was a big one. If Collins and/or Kirk misses next week, Noel should be inline for more usage.
Jayden Higgins: 3 Targets
Higgins took a big step backwards this week. He was open on one play down the sidelines that Stroud overthrew him on, but otherwise his night was non-descript. Noel and Schultz were working so the Texans just kept going to them.
It’s plausible that if Collins is out next week that we see better usage from Higgins, whose size does give him an edge on sideline throws over Noel.
Dalton Schultz: 10 Targets, 9 Receptions, 98 Yards
**Left game briefly with eye issue
The Texans really had no choice but to deal up a ton of targets to Schultz. Collins went out and the Texans could not protect Stroud, so they ended up throwing a ton of short and intermediate passes to Schultz just to get the ball out of Stroud’s hands. It is a bit of a theme with the Seahawks, who tend to get pressure on almost everyone, and force QBs to use their TEs as quick outlets.
I wouldn’t get too worked up about this game as the matchup for Schultz was great (and he was fortunate with the Collins injury), but there is the potential for a big game next week if Collins can’t go.
Seattle Seahawks
Quarterback
Sam Darnold: 16/27, 295 Yards, 2 TD | 4 carries, 2 yards
Darnold had a great start to this game but did start to make mistakes later on once the Texans really started to bear down on JSN. The fumble that turned into a Texans’ TD was just a silly mistake(and I’m not sure why Seattle dropped him back so much there to begin with) but the late INT was a bit of an aggressive throw given the score at the time and something he could have avoided.
Overall, you love what you’re seeing from Darnold who has turned into one of the league’s most accurate deep/midfield passers this season. Part of that is him getting to work with JSN but his overall development the last two years has been great. It was a down game for fantasy (and he had a couple mistakes he needs to clean up) but he’s very viable to stream against weaker defenses.
Running Back
Kenneth Walker III: 17 Carries, 66 Yards
I thought Walker ran hard in this game, but was given little chance out in space, as most of his runs were straight up the middle where he just attempted to hit a hole and either got some speed/push for a decent gain, or was stymied before he got up to speed. On the one play he did get out wide (a screen that was ruled a backward pass) Walker busted for his best gain of the night (16 yards). He continued to lose red zone touches to Charbonnet who converted both times.
It’s perplexing why Seattle does not use him more as a receiver (he technically had zero targets) especially since they don’t have a legit WR2, or any real pure punt returner/deep ball specialists. As long as Charbonnet remains the red zone back, the TD upside is very limited.
Zach Charbonnet: 12 Carries, 49 Yards, 2 TDs | 2 Targets, 2 Reception, 6 Yards
No big plays, but again, came in as soon as the Seahawks were inside the 5-10 yard line and converted two TDs this week on nice runs, one of which was a pure walk in (credit to O-Line). He’s a good back with less explosiveness, but better suited for running between the tackles.
Seattle is probably correct to give Charbonnet all these red zone chances and keep Walker healthy, who is the smaller back. I’d like to see them use both RBs more in the passing game, but don’t hold your breath.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 14 Targets, 8 Receptions, 123 Yards, TD
JSN battled hard vs a tough Texans secondary and once again proved that it doesn’t matter who you put on him, he’ll eventually get his.
He started the game hot and really benefited form some great throws from Darnold who hit him in stride on a couple of deep sideline routes. It’s crazy how confident Darnold is at JSN ‘s ability to get open because they were not easy throws and required a lot of timing. There is not a better QB-WR duo than Darnold-JSN right now.
The TD was another play where Darnold anticipated where JSN was going (and trusted him getting open enough to make a catch) as he fired a 15-yard strike down the middle in the endzone between what looked like double coverage (or between the safety and CB). He also just missed a second TD later in the game, but got a PI call on that play which set up another short TD run to Charbonnet.
Credit the Texans and Derek Stingley for shutting him down in the fourth, but it took too long for them to make their mark.
Cooper Kupp: 1 Target, 1 Receptions, 32 Yards, INT
Bizzare game from Kupp, who caught a 32-yard pass early and then became a ghost the rest of the night, outside of an INT he threw on a trick play (to JSN). The 32-yarder was a nice playcall down the sidelines (that they used again with Arroyo) and a play where Kupp may have broken free after-the-catch for a TD 5-years ago, but was tackled just before he broke free in this case.
The Seahawks should be buyers at the deadline because Kupp isn’t giving them enough as a secondary WR right now, and it is costing them as teams can more easily crowd JSN during crunch time without a legit secondary option to worry about.
Tory Horton: 3 Targets
Looked to get injured on a deep ball attempt in the sceond half and didn’t do much or anything at all after that. He looks fine, and you like that the Seahawks gave him a deep ball, but is losing ground after two poor weeks or production.
Elijah Arroyo: 5 Targets, 4 Reception, 42 Yards
Just when you thought that Arroyo was completely dead the Seahawks resessitated him and made him the defacto number two WR for Week 7. The Seahawks have tended to switch up who they give secondary tragets to (I’m not sure if it’s purposely, or just a matchup thing) and this week was Arroyo’s turn to shine. His best play was a 27-yard catch and run down the sideline where he was hit in stride and then also hit immediately by a defender who bounced off him. He did go out of bounds on the play but was close to just running through it and keeping his balance (and going for an even longer TD).
He’s running/ran some really good routes downfield in this game and even on his fumble (where the Houston defender made a great play on the ball after he caught it) he made a nice catch in the middle in field right before getting swarmed. Likely Seattle’s best receiver (outside of JSN of course) and they would really benefit from him developing into a legit number two option.
AJ Barner: 3 Targets, 1 Receptions, 7 Yards
It did feel like a coming out game for Arroyo, which is of course bad news for Barner who was non-descript in this game, outside of his blocking. Seattle has been baiting us by giving targets to a different receiver every week so you don’t need to outright drop Barner tomorrow, but just know, a real Arroyo breakout likely spells the end of Barner’s fantasy usefullness.