By now, you’ve likely read our observations from Detroit Lions vs. Houston Texans joint practices on Thursday. And if you haven’t, do it right now. You could even check out our hour-long recap of the practice if you become a Pride of Detroit Direct subscriber.
But let’s step out of our own perspective for a minute. I think it always helps to see an outsider’s perspective on things. And while there were only a few Texans reporters on site in Allen Park—and they were mainly focused on Houston’s team—I do think they can provide a more balanced overview of practice. So let’s check out what Texans writers said about the Lions vs. Texans joint practices.
If you want to read the full recaps from Texans writers, here are some sources to check out:
Nico Collins was a problem
I was wondering how the Lions’ secondary would hold up against a non-Lions receiver this entire camp, and when Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle didn’t practice much last week, it was a disappointing lost opportunity to see where the Lions’ defensive backs stood. Unfortunately, it looks like Nico Collins, one of the best young receivers in this league, proved to be a handful.
From Alexander:
While the Lions’ defense made plenty of plays against the Texans’ offense, they never had an answer for Nico Collins, who often found himself open for big gains.
Even Lions beat writer Colton Pouncy gave it up for Collins:
So were the Texans’ depth receivers
Take this with a grain of salt, because Detroit’s second-team secondary consists of roster bubble players like Erick Hallett, Nick Whiteside, Tyson Russell, and Loren Strickland, but it sounds like Detroit’s second-team defense had their hands full with young, budding receivers like rookies Jaylin Noel, Jayden Higgins, and 2023 pick Xavier Hutchinson.
Alexander:
Hutchinson, who is entering his third season with the Texans, is finally starting to emerge as a legitimate weapon.
Wilson:
Rookie wide receiver Jaylin Noel is making his mark. The third-round draft pick from Iowa State made several big plays, including red-zone touchdown catches.
Lions’ defense was giving Texans offensive line problems, but Houston rebounded
The Texans have a ton of moving parts on their offensive line and are still figuring out where each piece goes. But one thing was for certain: early on, Aidan Hutchinson was giving them problems.
Alexander:
Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson got the best of rookie left tackle Aireontae Ersery on a few reps and went back-and-forth with tackle Tytus Howard.
That said, it sounds like Tytus Howard was a bit of a problem for Hutchinson.
Via Harris:
OT Tytus Howard was outstanding. I had a great view of his battle with future All-Pro DE Aidan Hutchinson all day long. Rep after rep, Howard frustrated Hutchinson, not yielding against bull rush, staying with him on high speed rush and laterally sliding inside to slow the inside rush. It was all day. Hutch went to the other side to get some pressure using spin moves on rookie OT Aireontae Ersery a couple of times. But Tytus was excellent against one of the league’s best young pass rushers, now 100% after breaking his leg against Dallas last year.
Lions receivers impressed
As I pointed out in my observations, the Lions’ receiving corps did a pretty impressive job against one of the best secondaries in football, and Texans writers agreed.
Alexander:
The Texans are expected to have one of the better secondaries in the league, but Lions receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams made Houston work for it.
While cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. made several plays against St. Brown, he also got beat when Williams split Stingley and safety M.J. Stewart for what looked like a touchdown pass from quarterback Jared Goff.
Wilson:
St. Brown is one of the sharpest route runners in the NFL, and Jameson Williams is a dangerous deep threat. Williams got behind All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and safety M.J. Stewart for a long touchdown pass.
It was mostly even, maybe a slight edge to the Lions
We always try to determine who “won” practice. Admittedly, it’s a silly thing to try to do, as the real goal is to improve and get ready for the regular season. On top of that, it’s very difficult to quantify an entire practice. Still, a few Texans writers called this a draw or slightly in Detroit’s favor.
Alexander:
The Texans weren’t bad. They made improvements over the latter part of practice, which included getting into more of a rhythm on offense.
But if we’re grading who won, you’d have to give it to the Lions, who had just a little more success on both offense and defense.
Harris:
I said it earlier, these two teams have a ton of respect for one another that showed in everything that transpired on those two fields today. For your Texans, it was a bit of a slow start, but by the second quarter, they’d found their sea legs and played well against one of the best teams in the league as you’d want, and expect.
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