Pro Football Focus Grades Texans In Loss To Patriots

In a single day, Pro Football Focus comes up with their grades for every game in the NFL and locks in their data on Tuesday. With that comes numbers tied to player’s performance, as well as interesting counting stats like pressures, missed tackles, yards after contact, and passer rating when targeted. Below are some interesting stats from yesterday’s game.

First, the Texans’ offense.

-Quarterback Deshaun Watson was much improved from his first start but continues to struggle when under pressure. With no pressure, Watson completed 16-of-23 passes with one run for 198 yards with one TD on 24 drop-backs. On 16 drop-backs when under pressure, Watson completed 6-for-11 with three runs for 103 yards with one TD, two interceptions and two sacks. Watson was also responsible for five total pressures including a sack, but still finished the day with an overall grade of 74.5.

-Tight end Ryan Griffin provided a solid option for Watson as he hauled in 5-of-6 targets for 61 yards, including 27 yards after the catch with one touchdown and a 148.6 passer rating when targeted.

-Rookie D'Onta Foreman made the most of his 17 snaps as he racked up 25 yards on 8 carries with one missed tackle forced while hauling in both of his targets for 65 yards with 52 yards after the catch and a 118.8 passer rating when targeted. Foreman finished the day with an overall grade of 74.5.

-While he had some assistance, DeAndre Hopkins had some difficulty in breaking away from the Patriots tight coverage as he hauled in 7-of-9 targets for 76 yards but just two yards after the catch and one interception.

-Houston's offensive line, while better in this one, is still having trouble protecting the QB as they allowed one sack and 12 additional pressures on 42 pass blocking snaps. The Texans offensive line has the lowest pass-blocking efficiency in the NFL at 62.2 through three weeks having allowed 57 total pressures on 119 passing plays.

Now the Texans’ defense:

-Outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney brought his game in 2017 as he racked up six total pressures, including two sacks, on 40 pass-rushing snaps while adding four stops on 12 running snaps. Clowney finished the game with an overall grade of 80.7.

-For the second straight week, J.J. Watt posted the best overall grade for the Texans, this time at 89.6 after racking up four pressures on 40 pass-rushing snaps to go along with three stops on 17 run snaps, including two on the first two plays of the game for New England. Among interior defenders, Watt is ranked first in the NFL through three weeks with a run defense grade of 93.0 and an overall grade of 91.9.

-It was a rough go for newcomer Johnthan Banks as the cornerback allowed 3-of-4 targets for 89 yards with a long of 44 with one TD and a passer rating of 156.3. He finished with the second-lowest grade of the day at 36.3.

-In a limited role, Christian Covington was very solid, posting the fourth-highest game grade of the day for the Texans at 81.7 after amassing one sack, three tackles and two stops on 16 totals snaps.

Safety Marcus Gilchrist was one of the few productive players for Houston on the back end as he finished the days with an overall grade of 88.3, second-best on the team. He registered a sack on his lone rush snap of the game, recorded two stops on six run defense snaps and allowed just 1-of-2 targets for 8 yards withe one pass defended.

Watson’s numbers with and without pressure are interesting. He’s been great at dealing with it and making plays in a congested pocket. It’s encouraging to see numbers associated with it.

The other thing that sticks out to me is Watt’s numbers. Although he hasn’t produced box score stats like he has in previous seasons, he’s been impacting plays. Still, for him to the highest rated interior defender is surprising. Of course, Banks was bad on Sunday. Really really bad. The Texans should have franchise-tagged A.J. Bouye.