The Houston Texans defense may not have had the big stats in the form of takeaways, but holding the Indianapolis Colts down in the club’s 20-17 win at NRG Stadium Thursday night was a great way to start the final six games of the regular season.
There are plenty of gold stars to hand out and some red marks as well. Here are the grades from the victory that improved Houston’s record to 7-4 on the year.
defensive line
Houston had J.J. Watt the first time they played the Colts in Week 7 and were able to corral the Indianapolis run game, but failed to touch quarterback Jacoby Brissett as he was dropped once. How would they ever generate pressure on Brissett without Watt?
The Texans defensive line was still unable to get to Brissett with just one sack to show for it, but they did produce four quarterback hits. Defensive ends Carlos Watkins and Brandon Dunn had four tackles and three tackles respectively, and defensive tackle D.J. Reader had two tackles and a quarterback hit.
Indianapolis mustered 175 rushing yards, and Marlon Mack’s fill-in, Jonathan Williams, produced 26 carries for 104 yards. Regardless, the Texans’ defensive line held forth at the end of the game to preserve the Houston victory.
Grade: B
linebackers
With running back Jonathan Williams going for 104 yards on 26 carries, it doesn’t speak well for the job the linebacking corps did. However, they had their moments where they showed up when called upon. Outside linebacker Brennan Scarlett had six tackles, a quarterback hit, and a tackle for loss. Outside linebacker produced four tackles, a quarterback hit, and a tackle for loss. Inside linebackers Zach Cunningham and Benardrick McKinney led the way with 16 and 11 tackles respectively. The Colts tight ends, Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle, combined for seven catches for 72 yards, which would have been an above average night for one receiver, let alone two targets. Outside linebacker Jacob Martin added the unit’s lone sack of the evening.
Grade: B+
secondary
With safeties Justin Reid and Mike Adams out with concussions and cornerbacks Bradley Roby and Lonnie Johnson both scratched with hamstring and ankle problems, it looked like it could be a long night for the Texans’ secondary. However, newly acquired cornerback Vernon Hargreaves made an instant impact with five tackles and a pass breakup. Cornerback Johnathan Joseph had a key pass breakup of a sure third down conversion catch by receiver T.Y. Hilton. Safety Tashaun Gipson also had a key pass breakup at the end of the game to halt a Colts comeback. Considering the unit was playing without two starters and two key contributors, the effort the Houston secondary gave was outstanding.
Grade: A
special teams
Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn connected on both of his field goals of 35 and 36 yards, even though the latter curved towards the right upright and ricocheted in for three points. Fairbairn hit both of his extra point tries with ease.
Fairbairn hit two kickoffs for touchbacks and had the Colts return three of his kicks for 50 yards.
Punter Bryan Anger had two punts for 94 yards, including a boomer of 57 yards that was downed at the 1-yard line. Only one of his kicks was called for a fair catch.
Returner DeAndre Carter returned two punts for 23 yards and called for two fair catches. He had no chance to return kickoffs as all of the Colts’ kicks were touchbacks.
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