Texans get Nico Collins back after two-game absence, will play Cowboys in Week 4
HOUSTON — DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN reported that wide receiver Nico Collins is set to return for the Houston Texans’ Week 4 game against the Dallas Cowboys. Collins returned to practice Wednesday and Thursday after hurting his hamstring during a Week 2 practice. He missed the previous two games.
Collins sat out Houston’s games against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Indianapolis Professional Football Team, during which the Texans averaged 11.5 points per game. In the season opener with Collins on the field, Houston scored 31 points, with the Pro Bowl receiver a primary target in the passing game. The injury absence coincided with a notable drop in offensive production.
Coach DeMeco Ryans emphasized Collins’ impact, and the team also will get starting right guard Ed Ingram back after he missed the last two games. “Everyone understands and knows the type of player Nico is,” Ryans said Wednesday. “He’s an explosive playmaker any time he’s touching the ball; any time he’s on the field, he’s a threat. Defenses have to prepare for him and they have to do different things to adjust for him, so we’re happy to have Nico back.”
Houston enters Week 4 at 0-3 and views the matchup with Dallas as a pivotal opportunity to avoid a deeper hole early in the season. The Texans’ 0-3 start echoes last season’s early struggles, when they were 0-3 before finishing the regular season by winning 12 of their remaining 14 games. Historically, only the 1992 Chargers began 0-4 and still reached the postseason.
NFL Sports Blog Take
Nico Collins’ return restores a proven playmaker to an offense that struggled to score in his absence. The statistical contrast — 31 points in the opener with Collins versus an 11.5-point average without him — underscores how his presence changes defensive game plans and creates opportunities for other skill players. Getting right guard Ed Ingram back should help pass protection and the running game, but the Texans must translate those roster restorations into cleaner execution and consistent scoring against the Cowboys to keep realistic postseason hopes alive.