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Although the Bucs do not play the 49ers until Week 11, this Sunday marks a warmup of sorts facing the Texans. Over the offseason, Houston hired defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik from San Francisco to be the head coach and offensive coordinator, respectively. If that is not enough, they have begun scheming their players in a similar manner as the 49ers. That includes rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, who has had an efficient rookie season.
While the Texans are not nearly at the 49ers level as a powerhouse, they have started to lay a foundation that has striking parallels, starting with the coaching staff.
49ers-Texans Similarities Start With Houston’s Defensive-Minded HC
Texans HC DeMeco Ryans – Photo by: USA Today
Seven games in, it is obvious that the Texans have a clear upgrade over Lovie Smith with DeMeco Ryans as head coach. Ryans, a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker back in the day with the team, was hired to help inject life into a franchise that has been in the midst of some recent dark times. The Texans have not won more than four games since 2019 and finished just 3-13-1 last year under Smith.
After firing the one-time Bucs head coach, Ryans was the clear favorite from the beginning based on his roots and defensive background. Overseeing a 49ers’ defense that ranked first in yards and points allowed last season, that identity has started to form in Houston.
Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales knows a thing or two about the problems the offense might face Sunday, having coached against Ryans back when he was with the Seahawks. A lot of what worked for him with the 49ers has carried over to the Texans.
“The crossover is that he’s coaching effort first,” Canales said. Up front, they’re a penetrating defensive line – these guys fire off the ball, whether it’s the nose tackle, the three[-technique] or the ends. They’re crash-nine techniques. You look earlier in the season, I don’t think they really understood what he was really asking them to do. You watch the last two or three games – even just thinking about Pittsburgh – they’re firing off the ball. They’re playing into blocks.
“What you’re starting to see from them is in their structures, there’s not a lot of complicated structures they have, but in the communication, you’re seeing improvement. This whole time, throughout the whole season, they team-tackle – they gang-tackle everything. If you look at it, it’s really hard to score touchdowns in the red zone because they play their defenses and they all swarm and rally to the ball. I see the same signature. As far as the philosophy and style of the way they play, he’s definitely getting them towards what he’s looking for and what I’m used to seeing from San Francisco.”
Texans DE Jonathan Greenard – Photo by: USA Today
There is no Nick Bosa or Fred Warner on the Texans’ defense, but they do have some emerging talent on that side of the ball. With the third pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Houston chose highly touted pass rusher Will Anderson out of Alabama. Pairing with Anderson is Jonathan Greenard, who already has six sacks this season.
Inside linebacker Blake Cashman has flown under the radar and has graded as one of the best linebackers in the NFL this season. Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and safety Jalen Pitre are both second-year players thought of highly. Stingley was chosen over Sauce Gardner last year and is still developing, while Pitre tallied 147 tackles as a rookie. An immediate turnaround into a top unit won’t happen overnight, but the building blocks are in place for the years ahead.
Texans Have Found Their Own Set Of Offensive Playmakers
Offensively there is even more young talent blossoming, and the Texans’ playmakers have been utilized in similar ways to the 49ers. Under Bobby Slowik, the Texans have started to unearth their own versions of the many weapons San Francisco possesses. Slowik has learned a thing or two from working offensive guru Kyle Shanahan since 2017.
Texans WR Nico Collins – Photo by: USA Today
“We look at them and we have to see the similarities,” Rodgers said. “We look at us playing San Francisco last year because a lot of the scheme is the same carryover. We were looking at them using [Tank] Dell like their Deebo [Samuel], so to speak, the way they use him on the jet sweep. He comes in and they can use him in the backfield, he could take a toss. [Nico] Collins – he has just really, really come on. He is like their [Brandon] Aiyuk in the way they utilize him. He is really making big plays and stretching people down the field, and he’s long so the short corners got problems. Fortunately, we’ve got long corners, but he is really stepping up.
“That kind of goes along to what we were saying about all of the weapons and how they’re utilizing them – on their team, everybody has a role, and everybody is executing their roles. They have a unique scheme and the thing you like about them, or appreciate about what they do, is the way they are utilizing their pieces.”
Nico Collins and Tank Dell have been pleasant surprises for the Texans, and it makes sense that Rodgers connected the dots to Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. As Tyler Dunne of Go Long recently chronicled in detail, Collins’ star is rising. Dell has been every bit of the elusive player who dominated not too far away in college with the Houston Cougars.
With Collins as a physical weapon with a knack for big plays and Dell as a hard-to-bring-down Swiss army knife, it is easy to see why they have already drawn comparisons to one of the better wide receivers duos in the league.
Bucs Facing A “Very Disciplined” Rookie QB In C.J. Stroud
While it sounds like the Bucs have done their due diligence, their defensive game plan will have to place an emphasis not only on limiting their wide receivers but also on the guy who has been throwing them the football.
He hasn’t been too shabby, either.
After being taken with the second pick in this past draft, C.J. Stroud has impressed so far with his decision-making and uncommon poise for a rookie quarterback. If that should remind Bucs fans of anyone, it should be 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. In Purdy’s first NFL start last season, he looked like a grizzled veteran and was instrumental to their 35-7 win over the Bucs. Stroud has looked no different, and Tampa Bay coaches and players alike took the time this week to talk about his early success.
Texans QB CJ Stroud – Photo by: USA Today
“I know he’s getting coached really hard in a system very similar to what they were doing in San Francisco,” Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales said. “They ask the quarterback to be very disciplined – read your first progression and then check it down. That’s what you see from C.J. – he’s playing smart football and he’s taking care of it.
“On top of all of that, he’s a really talented passer. He’s taking advantage of some of the shots he has downfield. I’m not surprised but you definitely don’t see rookies come in with that kind of maturity and discipline to come in and play like that. Brock Purdy did that in San Francisco and I see C.J. doing some of the same things.”
Inside linebacker Lavonte David gave a similar assessment of Stroud. “The crazy thing is, he’s not playing like a rookie quarterback,” David said. “He’s very poised in the pocket, he can make all the right decisions and makes all the right throws. He knows where guys are supposed to be at.
“He [doesn’t] make the silly mistakes that you kind of see out of the rookie quarterbacks. He’s controlling that offense really well. They’ve got a great team around him, they’ve got a great running game and a great offensive line that protects him really well. He’s definitely holding up his end of the bargain of being the No. 2 overall pick.”
Whether it is the coaching staff to the playmakers on both sides of the ball, it is evident that the Texans have quite a bit of 49ers influence. They are no longer the pushover they once were, and they are now a formidable opponent the Bucs cannot take lightly on Sunday.
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