Houston Texans: Demaryius Thomas makes huge impact on MNF

The Houston Texans knew they were getting an impact player in Demaryius Thomas, and he made a huge impact on Monday Night Football.

The Houston Texans are one of the hottest teams in the NFL, riding an eight-game winning streak since starting the season 0-3. The Texans realized they had a chance to really compete this year with the AFC South wide open and the AFC in general not looking very strong at the top.

That’s why they made the move at the trade deadline to acquire wide receiver Demaryius Thomas from the Denver Broncos.

Thomas had just two 100-yard games in the calendar year prior to the Texans acquiring him through trade, but he’s an established receiver and Houston really needed someone to come in and take pressure off of DeAndre Hopkins.

Through three games, Thomas has had mixed results but the Texans are 3-0 in those games and he’s coming off of his most impressive game on the big stage of Monday Night Football.

Thomas only caught four passes for 38 yards but he had his first and second touchdown as a member of the Texans, proving his worth as a red zone weapon.

DeShaun Watson went to Thomas on a couple of out routes where he beat man coverage and showed off his strong hands and ability to make a tough catch in traffic. Thomas has unfortunately struggled with drops over the past few years, but that wasn’t the case on Monday night against the Titans.

In a big divisional matchup on a National stage, it was important for the Texans to really establish themselves. The Titans have been a tough out for teams for the past two seasons and were 5-5 heading into this game, competing for one of the two Wild Card playoff spots in the AFC.

That dream seems to be slowly dying as the Colts get hot and other teams around the AFC seem to be catching fire.

This is why the Texans were willing to take on Thomas’ remaining contract, even though they can get out of his deal ($14 million cap hit in 2019) with no dead money.

For now, Houston’s not worrying about whether or not they’ll keep Thomas beyond this season. Their focus is getting to the Super Bowl for the first time in team history and they’ve got a receiver who set the Super Bowl record for receptions (13) in 2013 and won it in 2015.

Having a player with a championship experience is huge for the Texans, who appear to be one of the NFL’s most complete teams offensively and defensively. Thomas proved against the Titans he was worth the Texans’ investment.