A thriller of a Monday night game culminated in a last-second field goal winning the game for the New Orleans Saints. Wil Lutz sank the Houston Texans from 58 yards as Deshaun Watson looked away in the hope he would miss. But how did Watson and his offensive colleagues perform on the night?
Quarterback
Watson did all he could to win the game for the Texans, including a last-minute drive resulting in a magnificent Kenny Stills touchdown pass. Despite this, and playing through back pain after injuring himself on a touchdown run in the first-half, it wasn’t perfect.
Of the six sacks he suffered, yes six, at least one if not two can be attributed to lack of awareness of the pass rushers. He should have given up on the plays, and the same can be said on multiple runs from the pocket which resulted in a loss of yardage.
However, his performance and resolve to play till the last second was impressive, it is just a shame such a talented player has to play without an offensive line.
Grade: B
Offensive Line
Where do we begin? Newly acquired left tackle Laremy Tunsil had plenty of bright moments and was one of the better performers. However, his lack of experience in the system showed as he was beaten on the outside a few times, being at fault for one of the sacks.
On the opposite side was Seantrel Henderson, making his first start in a year. The rust showed. He was slow and a step behind from the word go. Don’t expect him to keep his spot once Tytus Howard is healthy.
At the end of the day, six sacks and a total of 11 QB hits is horrendous. Not one of the linemen was consistent. All had some strong plays, all had some appalling plays. This lack of consistency was one of the reasons they walked away with the loss. Just look at Drew Brees, he was sacked just once and hit on only three occasions. He had a clean pocket to work from, and time to find the open receiver, that’s the big difference between a team with potential and a team that wins.
Grade: D-
Running Back
A mixed bag overall. Carlos Hyde had some really good runs finishing their lead rusher with 10 carries for 83 yards. Duke Johnson too had some splashy plays, but as per usual was over-utilized by Bill O’Brien. He finished with 57 yards on nine carries, and with 33 receiving yards on four receptions.
Grade: B
Tight End
A very disappointing performance overall. They were mainly used as blockers, but after all the hype this offseason, hearing how talented this tight end group looks, Jordan Akins had the sole reception among the unit for 17 yards, as well as a holding call.
Grade: C-
Wide Receiver
An unexpectedly up and down performance from DeAndre Hopkins in particular. Yes, he did finish with 111 yards and two touchdowns, but he was also penalized for an unnecessary roughness tackle, dropped three passes and also had a fourth which hit his hand. Uncharacteristic as best.
On the plus side, Will Fuller returned with a bang. On his two receptions, he finished with 69 yards and zero drops. And sticking with the positive takeaways, Kenny Stills was three for three, for 37 yards and a wonderful fourth-quarter touchdown.
Grade: B+
Coaching
Again, a very mixed bag of results here. It was good to see Bill O’Brien bring his aggressive GM style to the play-calling at times, especially with their final drive in the fourth quarter. Seeing Duke Johnson moved around so much and the lead blocking work out so well with Carlos Hyde was very positive.
However, his unnecessary loss of two timeouts in the first half and stubbornness in sticking with Johnson in the run game on third-and-forever or after a previously good run remains puzzling.
