Smith: Watt (and Clowney?) Could have escape games against the Giants' line

We still do not know Jadeveon Clowney for week 3.

"I do not have too much update. It's too early in the week, "said Texans coach Bill O'Brien, again uncertain when asked what Clowney's status was for Sunday's home game against the New York Giants at NRG Stadium.

But the Texans defense line is expected to be among the strongest in the NFL in 2018, which means that JJ Watt and Co. against one of the weakest offensive lines in the league is a perfect opportunity for a breakout game. .

"We have to position ourselves to be successful and then we have to go ahead and succeed to succeed," Watt said Wednesday, as the 0-2 Texans geared up for the 0-2 Giants.

A newly restored Texas O-line yielded seven sacks, but helped produce the number one attack in the league. The beleaguered New York line dropped eight sacks, including six at Dallas in the Cowboys 20-13 win over the latest episode of Sunday Night Football.

Watt is still looking for his first bag this season – and his first since he's been detained at only 1 ½ during a limited campaign in 2016. Whitney Mercilus only has five tackles combined across two games and is also bagless. Clowney, who has only two combined tackles and no bag to enter in the third week, did not start against Tennessee. This is a mid-week question mark against the Giants.

A porous offensive line could inspire the seven in front of Texans, who received the majority of the attention of opposing blocking teams early in the season. Overall, the Texans defense has only three sacks, tied with 23 teams out of 32.

"Of course, Dallas did a good job in that game," said O'Brien. "We have to make sure that number 1, we stop the race. It's our business every week. Then, when they fall, we have to turn the dial. I think that's the big thing too. Part of that is, every week, to put pressure on the quarterback. How do you do that is another ball of wax. But I think that's part of what we're trying to do this week. "

Old Watt would feast on such an opportunity. Clowney was written for such games.

This image of a haunted and crumpled Eli Manning trying to figure out where he was and what was going on against the Cowboys?

The race for Watt and Texans could be even more fierce in front of an audience just waiting for something to be heard.