Aug 9, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason game at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Denver Broncos are set to welcome the Houston Texans to town for joint practices on Tuesday at Dove Valley.
Get it? Denver, joint practices?
All joking aside, the Houston Texans are intriguing to me for two very specific reasons: J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney. If there is any better defensive player in the league than Von Miller, and many would argue he is, it’s J.J. Watt. Clowney looks like a future star in the making,
The Broncos’ offensive line will have their hands full.
Otherwise, this is a team the Broncos smacked up in week 16 of last season. It’s the game in which Peyton Manning broke the single-season touchdown record, previously held by Tom Brady.
The Texans are fresh off the worst season in the NFL among all 32 teams, and while the addition of Clowney is exciting, you could argue they significantly downgraded at the QB position going from Matt Schaub to Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Many expect the Broncos’ defense to feast on the Texans’ offense this week, and I would tend to agree with that. The Broncos are getting healthy across the board and are looking forward to a good week of practice against Houston as they prepare for their third and most meaningful preseason game in terms of how long the starters will play.
Von Miller is expected to play this week, albeit probably on a limited basis. There’s also a chance that star nickel corner Chris Harris could play a bit. Both players are coming off of torn ACL injuries, Miller’s ironically enough coming against Houston last season.
Miller appears to be returning to his old self at Broncos practices, per reports, so the Texans should get a heavy dose of him this week as they prepare for this exhibition matchup.
The Broncos will have an intriguing practice matchup going up against wide receivers Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins, who are both big bodies out there. Johnson is one of the best receivers in the NFL when healthy, even in his later years.
This is pretty exciting to see these guys coming to town for practices. It’s good for the players to get a look across the field during the week at someone other than their own teammate, even if just to mix things up a bit.
Between practicing against their own defensive front seven, the Houston Texans this week, and playing against the Rams next week, the Broncos won’t face any better defensive lines this year.