The Texans delivered an absolute offensive thrashing on Sunday, beating the Atlanta Falcons 53-32. Houston wracked up 592 yards after what was nothing short of a pitiful performance against Carolina the week before, a testament to the amenity the offense has been during the Bill O’Brien tenure. This week, the dual Coach and GM looked like a genius going 10-13 on third down with 31 first downs total. As such, this is a great game to assign offensive grades to.
Quarterbacks: A++
Deshaun Watson had what was probably the best game of his career. The third-year signal caller completed 28-of-33 passes for 426 yards and 5 touchdowns. For any casual readers, that’s good for a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
After the game, Watson once enlightened fans as to what he saw on the field and what contributed to his big day against the Atlanta secondary. Ultimately, Watson read the field beautifully, got rid of the ball, and showed just how much of a proverbial wizard he can be when he’s on the move. This was No. 4 at his absolute best and he provided a gem of a game.
If Watson can continue to play like this throughout the season, there is nothing stopping Houston from reaching their 11 win total from 2018. The team goes as he goes and, today, that went very well.
Running backs: B
Looking at the box score, it’s possible to be underwhelmed by the performance of the Texans’ running backs. However, in the context of the whole game, it was a solid outing for the position group. Carlos Hyde once again led in carries, handling the rock 21 times for 60 yards and punching it into the end zone for a short touchdown early in the game.
Duke Johnson had a more efficient day, taking his 9 carries for 59 yards including an excellent run for 24 yards. The acquisition from Cleveland would also handle passing downs for the Texans.
Although no individual running back had a ‘huge’ day, the Texans ability to run the ball ultimately allowed them to separate in what was a shootout with Atlanta. Without the 166 yards on the ground, the Texans may not have won this one as comfortably as they did.
Wide Receivers: A
For Deshaun Watson to have the huge day that he had, it’s obvious the wide receivers must have also put forth excellent efforts. What was unusual was that the consensus superstar, Deandre Hopkins, had a relatively quiet day with 7 receptions for 88 yards. However, his presence was certainly felt as Will Fuller exploded.
14 receptions. 217 yards. 3 touchdowns. This wasn’t Madden or your fantasy football dream, this was just Will Fullers’ day against the Falcons. The fourth-year receiver consistently burned a Falcons’ secondary that just seemed ill prepared to deal with his speed. The Texans schemes consistently created opportunities for Fuller to get open and Watson certainly took advantage.
Finally, many were concerned about the absence of new receiver Kenny Stills after his injury against Carolina last week. Rather than miss a beat, Keke Coutee stepped up perfectly to fill the slot role. The Texas Tech product looked far more comfortable than he did the week prior and similar to the player we saw dominate for a few games during the 2018 campaign.
The receivers had an absolute field day and nobody should be surprised. This is a talented unit that should only get better as the season progresses.
Offensive Line: B+
Deshaun Watson took zero sacks today. Yes, zero sacks allowed for the much maligned offensive line. It wasn’t a perfect day for the group, as Grady Jarrett certainly made his impact felt disrupting run plays left and right.
At the end of the day, the line didn’t need to be perfect. This game was more than enough as they bought time for Deshaun, created running lanes, and ultimately did what was necessary as the Texans’ steam-rolled to 53 points. If they perform this well on a consistent basis, the national media narrative regarding their ineptitude should disappear very, very quickly. Maybe then we could be done with this nonsense
