The Houston Texans suffered a heart-breaking loss at the Indianapolis Colts 30-23, punctuated with receiver Keke Coutee failing to corral a catch that linebacker Darius Leonard turned into a game-sealing interception.
This was Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel’s fourth time facing the combination of coach Frank Reich and receiver T.Y. Hilton. Throw in quarterback Jacoby Brissett, and the defense had a huge challenge ahead of them Needless to say, looking closely, they didn’t quite do enough.
defensive line
The defensive line was in Brissett’s face all day in Lucas Oil Stadium. Defensive end J.J. Watt alone had six quarterback hits, and as a unit, they frequently flushed the pocket. Sadly for Houston, this only translated to one sack on the contest. Excellent pressure did not usually translate to an impact on the Indianapolis game plan, as they carved up the Texans’ defense for 321 yards through the air.
On the ground, Houston was phenomenal. The Texans’ defense only allowed for 62 rushing yards, Indianapolis running back Marlon Mack, who is having somewhat of a break-out season, took 18 carries for a measly 44 yards.
Ultimately, the Texans’ defensive line gave an effort that would usually result in a Houston win. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the rest of the defense.
Grade: B+
linebackers
Looking at the box score, one could assume it was a good day for the Texans’ linebackers. Inside linebackers Benardrick McKinney and Zach Cunningham had eight and seven tackles respectively while outside linebackers Whitney Mercilus and Brennan Scarlett would split the defense’s only sack for the day.
Don’t buy the story the box score tells; this was a difficult day for the linebacking corps. The unit was frequently burned in pass coverage, allowing the type of underneath passes that gave Indianapolis a 50% efficiency on third-down. McKinney especially played reckless, gathering an untimely penalty against Eric Ebron in the fourth quarter that would lead to the Colts’ taking a 28-16 lead.
Last week I wrote that this unit doesn’t have to be phenomenal to win. With that said, they can’t play this poorly if Houston expects to win.
Grade: C+
defensive backs
Before starting, this is clearly the weakest part of the defense. Injuries have plagued Houston’s defensive backs for what was already a relatively shallow position group. As such, it came as no surprise that Colts’ quarterback Jacoby Brisset had a career day on Sunday.
Johnathan Joseph, Phillip Gaines, and Lonnie Johnson had few answers to an excellent Indianapolis passing game. Each, with their own individual weaknesses, was exposed throughout the game.
Simply put, it was a brutal afternoon. Receiver Zach Pascal looked like Randy Moss. T.Y. Hilton continued a string of incredible performances against the Texans. They were unable to force any turnovers despite ample pressure provided by the defensive line.
There’s no easy fix for Houston’s secondary at this point, other than maybe a visit to the Lazarus Pit.
Grade: C
special teams
The Texans special teams unit did a good job despite the circumstances on the afternoon, chiefly that long snapper Jon Weeks hurt his ankle on the opening drive of the game. Still, he gutted it out hobbling on one leg, and there were no bad snaps as a result. Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn hit on all three of his field goals and both of his extra points. Punter Bryan Anger had a net punting average of 34.5 yards.
