The Houston Texans added a win in Wembley Stadium with a 26-3 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars to improve to 6-3 on the season. That is not a bad way to kickoff the bye week and stay competitive in a tough AFC South.
Just the fact the defense held the Jaguars to three points, the fifth such game in franchise history they held the opposition to three or fewer points, indicates how well the unit played. Nontheless, there are gold stars and red marks to hand out from across the pond.
defensive line
This grade will be weighted given the fact the unit was playing their first game without three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and face of the franchise, J.J. Watt. All things considered, the unit played excellently. Leonard Fournette is a force and had the second-most rushing yards in the NFL coming into Week 9. He also led the NFL with 604 yards after contact. Against the Texans, Fournette gained 40 yards on 11 carries. Defensive end Carlos Watkins stepped up and recorded two combined tackles, 1.0 sack, and a tackle for loss. Defensive tackle D.J. Reader had two combined tackles, and rookie defensive end added a pass deflection along with his one assisted tackle.
Grade: A+
linebackers
The linebacking corps was also a pass-rushing unit that rose to the occasion with Watt out of the lineup. While outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus had just one quarterback hit to go along with his three combined tackles, on the other side, Brennan Scarlett took advantage with 2.0 sacks, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, and two combined tackles. Reserve linebacker Dylan Cole collected that fumble at the end of the game, and notched two combined tackles. Inside linebacker Zach Cunningham had the second-most tackles for Houston with seven and a fumble recovery. Benardrick McKinney had three combined tackles and a pass breakup. The linebackers did not look lost and were able to made an impact on the game, especially as pass rushers, with Watt out.
Grade: B+
secondary
When the Texans landed in the United Kingdom, cornerbacks Bradley Roby and Lonnie Johnson weren’t on the plane. Neither was starting safety Tashaun Gipson.
Coming into Week 9, receiver D.J. Chark was tied for the most touchdown receptions in the NFL with six. Quarterback Gardner Minshew, despite being a sixth-round rookie, had thrown just two interceptions on the season.
On the afternoon, the Texans secondary picked off Minshew twice — safety Jahleel Addae with one and safety Justin Reid with another — and limited Chark to four catches for 32 yards. Though the Texans’ pass defense gave up 309 yards to Minshew, they were empty yards that did not lead to scores. Keelan Cole was the Jaguars’ leading receiver with five catches for 80 yards.
Cornerback Gareon Conley, who was with the Oakland Raiders just two weeks ago, produced a game-high eight combined tackles and also a game-high two pass breakups. It only makes a Texans fan wonder how much better the cornerbacks will be once Roby and Johnson return, possibly after the bye.
Grade: A
special teams
Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a 58-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. The good news is the Texans were able to force the Jaguars to punt on the opening drive of the second half, and Fairbairn nailed a 42-field goal to give the Texans the 12-3 lead they sough before the break. Fairbairn was 1-of-2 on field goals, and he was also 2-of-3 on extra points as he had one blocked in the second quarter.
Bryan Anger punted three times and landed one of his punts inside the 20-yard line. Anger managed a 45.3 punt average on three punts during the game.
Returner DeAndre Carter signaled for fair catch on two of his three punts. The other punt went into the end zone for a touchback. On kickoffs, Carter had one for 19 yards and another that went for a touchback.
The Texans’ coverage units limited the Jaguars to two punt returns for eight yards and two kickoff returns for 40 yards.
