Houston Texans’ Defensive Line Is 8th In Pro Football Focus’ Rankings

The Texans’ pass rush has been abhorrent to start the 2018 season. It’s been J.J. Watt and not much else. The run defense has been bad too, but it’s been helped out by playing against a New England team in obvious run situations and a Titans team starting Blaine Gabbert at quarterback. So, I was surprised, like you probably will be, dear loyal reader, when I read the Texans are eighth in Pro Football Focus’s ratings. This is what they had to say:

DEFENSIVE LINE RANKING, WEEK 3: 8TH

Texans star edge defender Jadeveon Clowney missed Week 2 with back and elbow injuries, and even when he has taken the field, he has left little to no impact as a pass-rusher. Clowney has just one total pressure across 70 pass-rush snaps this season. As such, J.J. Watt has had to do a majority of the heavy lifting to keep Houston’s defensive line afloat, and he’s delivered, posting the seventh-ranked pass-rush productivity (9.2) among qualifying edge defenders. Watt also ranks fourth in average depth of tackle (-0.5) and tied for first in stops (eight) in run defense, carrying Houston’s defensive line to 29 run stops (T-No. 1) through Week 3.

Has the Texans’ defensive line looked as good to you as it has to PFF?