Nico Collins’ involvement a focal point for Texans in pivotal game vs. Jaguars: ‘Get the ball to Nico’
HOUSTON – In what has emerged as arguably a must-win situation for the Texans on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, one of the most elemental situations for this losing football team is obvious.
They need to dramatically increase the involvement of star wide receiver Nico Collins: their most dangerous downfield weapon.
Although there was an uptick for Collins with seven catches for 75 yards against the Denver Broncos a week ago with 11 targets in his first game back from a concussion, there was no production after a promising first half. He was thrown to twice in the second half for zero catches as the game got away from the NFL’s worst red zone offense, finishing with five Ka’imi Fairbairn field goals in an 18-15 loss as they went 0 for 3 in the red zone.
For the season, Collins has just 33 catches for 414 yards and three touchdowns. A Pro Bowl selection last year signed to a three-year, $75 million deal, Collins is 43rd in the NFL in catches, 43rd in yards, 38th in touchdowns, 92nd with a 12.5 average.
“Look, we’re trying to get the ball to him, it didn’t work out,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Of course, we all like to see the ball go to Nico, alright, 20 times put the ball up to Nico.
“That’s everybody’s first thought, ‘Get the ball to Nico.’ Of course we want to get the ball to Nico. We’ve got to do a better job of game planning and putting him in a position to get the ball more.”
His lone 100-yard game of the season: an eight-catch, 104-yard, one touchdown game in a road loss to the Jaguars. Since that game, which included a rare fumble on a Tyson Campbell punch-out that led to the game-winning score for Jacksonville, Collins has averaged four catches and 58 yards a game
He has 57 targets and is on pace to finish the season with 70 catches for 880 yards and six touchdowns after consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Over his last five games, Collins has 27 catches for 337 yards and two scores.
The Texans want to find more creative ways to get the ball to Collins, an imposing, prototypical wide receiver at 6-foot-4, 222 pounds with 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash. Opportunities are being missed.
Sunday could be a time to get Collins the football more, considering his success last game against the Jaguars. Plus, they’ve allowed the sixth-most passing yards and the fourth-most touchdown passes. They’re particularly vulnerable to outside receivers, allowing the second-most touchdown passes on those routes, which is where Collins lines up the majority of the time.
Playing catch with backup quarterback Davis Mills, the replacement for concussed starter C.J. Stroud, could work out well for Collins. There’s chemistry and history between two players selected in the third round by general manager Nick Caserio in 2021.
“Man, Davis, he’s the perfect guy: calm, collected, great guy, head on his shoulders,” Collins said. “He’s ready to lead. There’s no better feeling right now than to go out there and execute and just have fun. He knows we got his back. I’m excited for my dog.”
And Mills can’t wait to throw the football to Collins, his friend of five years.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Mills said. “Obviously got drafted here with Nico back in 2021. I’ve thrown a lot of footballs to him over my time.”
At 3-5 and clinging to a dimming playoff outlook that could be boosted significantly with a win Sunday and a win on the road the following week against the Tennessee Titans to even their record at 5-5 to be relevant in the AFC wild-card race, the Texans need this game. Badly.
“It means a lot, man,” Collins said. “Another big week. Jacksonville coming to the building, so we know where to take it. It’s a division game, so we want to go out and get it done.”
Obviously, this has been a colossally disappointing season so far.
The Texans were talking Super Bowl this summer and offseason.
The offense is the primary issue. They struggle to throw the football, run the football and hold onto the football. It’s been tough sledding under the direction of rookie offensive coordinator Nick Caley.
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” Collins said. “When things get bad, you’ve still got to keep your hopes up, level mind, and remember your why. So, you’ve got to continue to go, man, one foot in front of the other. If things get hard, you’ve got to continue to go and be yourself.
“We know what it takes to get a win, man. We’re right there. All our losses are right there. So, we know what we’ve got to do to finish. I feel like as us, as players, we know when we step between those lines, we’ve got to execute and finish. And it really comes down to the little details.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
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