The Houston Texans are visiting the Carolina Panthers in the NFL Preseason Week 1 opener. It’s everyone’s first look at Deshaun Watson in a Texans uniform, as well as Zach Cunningham, D’Onta Foreman and the other rookies. J.J. Watt is expected to see a handful of plays, too.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, 6:30 CT. Because of the unusual Wednesday date, the game is a national broadcast for the NFL Network. It will also be streaming live on NFL.com. In Houston, the matchup is scheduled to air on KTRK 13.
We’ll keep you updated here with all the scoring and big plays, injury updates and quick opinions on the Texans action.
Houston Texans vs Carolina Panthers NFL betting matchup for Aug 09, 2017. Get stats, odds, trends, line movement, analysis, injuries, and more. Rookie QB Watson shines in Texans' 27-17 loss to Panthers. Deshaun Watson shined in his NFL preseason debut, completing 15 of 25 passes for 179 yards and running for a score in the Houston Texans.
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But the Texans couldn't do much on the ensuing drive, which included two sacks, and had to punt it away. The Panthers took a 3-0 lead on a 48-yard field goal with about 2 1/2 minutes left in the. Watson runs for TD, leads Texans over Bengals 13-9 in debut. Deshaun Watson ran 49 yards for a touchdown in his first NFL start and led the Houston Texans' depleted offense to a late clinching. Looking back on the Hall of Fame game, we were dealing with even less talent and players playing smaller portions of the game, yet we felt pretty confident the Total was too low. That ended up being the case, as even that atrocious game produced 38 total points and hit the Over.
Inauspicious start for Tom Savage. Not exactly inspiring the Deshaun Watson advocates.
Savage 1-for-3 and not looking comfortable. Sigh.
Panthers strike first with an impressive drive from Derek Anderson.
Texans tie it up on a solid drive from Savage. Alfred Blue TD scamper and we’re tied 7-7.
Nice play from Gimel President to snuff out a Carolina drive. Great backside pursuit on 3rd & short. Still 7-7.
Some real good news here…
Eddie Pleasant bone head penalty on the punt is the Texans 7th of the night. Carolina strikes right away, Joe Webb to Damere Byrd, who torches Robert Nelson. 14-7 Panthers.
A bad turnover after a bad penalty on a bad kick return sets up the Panthers for a Graham Gano field goal from 49. It’s good. Carolina goes up 17-7 with just under 6 minutes left in the half.
We have a D’Onta Foreman highlight!
Halftime ends with Dres Anderson slinking out of bounds with no hope of scoring. Carolina up 17-10.
A deeper look at the stats, courtesy NFL.com
The Carolina Panthers begin their preseason campaign in just a few hours when they host the Houston Texans. Even though it’s a practically meaningless game, there’s plenty of reasons to tune in.
Here’s our predictions for the general flow of the game and which players will stand out on both sides of the ball.
The first preseason game of the year usually isn’t the prettiest football that you’re ever going to watch. It takes time for teams to shake off the rust of the offseason and we’ll mostly be seeing backups and third-stringers on the field. In other words? Don’t expect a shootout.
With Derek Anderson, Joe Webb, Garrett Gilbert, Tom Savage, Brandon Weeden and Deshaun Watson expected to play at quarterback, this matchup is probably going to get ugly at some point.
Both Houston and Carolina have tough defensive front sevens, which should keep this one a low-scoring affair.
He may not be in the game too long, but rookie running back Christian McCaffrey’s debut in the NFL is not something you’ll want to miss.
McCaffrey has been making remarkable plays at Panthers training camp and even forcing some of the best linebackers in football to miss him over and over again when he gets into space.
Coach Ron Rivera says McCaffrey will play about a quarter and a half tonight. We’re expecting somewhere between 50-75 yards from scrimmage and a couple of punt return reps as well.
On the other side of the ball, look for second-year defensive tackle Vernon Butler to get plenty of playing time.
Starters Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei will likely only play a few series, which should give Butler a chance to show what he can do after an injury-shortened rookie season.
Texans Vs Panthers 2019
Butler has a knack for batting down passes (and field goal attempts) but he has to improve on his run defense. A sack and a couple tackles for a loss for Butler would be a nice start to the preseason.
With No. 2 wide receiver Will Fuller out with a shoulder injury, Houston needs someone else to step up. At least in the first half of the game, we’re expecting that to be third-year receiver Jaelen Strong.
Strong has the size (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) and speed to get over the top against some of Carolina’s backup corners. He should provide a good test for those young Panthers defensive backs hoping to earn a spot behind James Bradberry and Daryl Worley.
Texans Vs Panthers 2017 Score
Houston’s most famous rookie is Watson, but don’t sleep on their second-round pick Zach Cunningham.
According to our Texans Wire editor, Cunningham has looked strong on the practice field so far. He’s great at shooting gaps and stopping plays in the backfield. Cunningham also has a wide tackle radius and a sharp eye for diagnosing the offense, not unlike Luke Kuechly.
Not that it matters, but Vegas is favoring Carolina by three points for this game and we see no reason to bet against them.
