The Houston Texans wrapped up their trip across the pond — to Wembley Stadium in — with a 26-3 win over the rival Jacksonville Jaguars. With another W in the win/loss column, Houston stands at 6-3 heading into their bye week.
The Texans offense topped the Jaguars defense in all facets in the win. They recorded 410 total yards, allowed just one sack, won the time of possession battle (32:33 to 27:27) and picked up 21 first downs while scoring 26 points. As such, there are probably more gold stars to give out than red marks.
Quarterback
What more can you say about Deshaun Watson? He’s a wizard, Houdini, a magician, a bona fide superstar and an MVP candidate. His stat line of 201 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on a 78.6% completion rate won’t tell it, but Watson could not be defended on Sunday.
Watson also turned seven rush attempts into 37 yards.
Numerous times, the Jaguars thought they had a sack, only for Watson to pull out a completion or scramble for a gain out of nowhere. He was sharp all game long, failed to make noticeable mistakes, kept the ball in the Texans’ possession, game-managed when he needed to and took over when he had to.
By all accounts, Sunday’s game was another impressive performance for Watson. It was also his best-ever against the Jaguars. His 120.4 passer rating is over 30 points higher than his previous career-best against Jacksonville. He is undefeated (4-0) as a starter against them.
Grade: A+
Running backs
The Texans ran all over the Jaguars. Houston recorded 216 yards and a touchdown on the ground against Jacksonville in London, with 173 of them coming by way of running backs Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson.
Hyde carried the rock 19 times for 160 yards. He didn’t have a touchdown, but he should have. On a 60-yard run, in the fourth quarter, “El Guapo,” as some call him, nearly got the ball across the pylon. Keyword: nearly. Jaguars safety popped the ball out of his right hand, making him regret not switching hands.
Nevertheless, Hyde had a big day.
Johnson recorded the team’s only rushing touchdown. He did so on a run outside where he trucked Jaguars cornerback Tre Herndon as if he were Larry Csonka. He finished the game with seven attempts for a lowly 13 yards, but did lead the team in receptions and receiving yards.
Hyde and Johnson combined for a big-day against Jacksonville. However, it’s not enough to warrant an A or higher, solely on the fact of the fumble, which shouldn’t have been.
Grade: B+
Receivers
Sunday was not a day for wide receivers. Just 108 of Houston’s 201 passing yards came by way of receivers. DeAndre Hopkins ended the outing with eight receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown, Kenny Stills had four for 52 yards and DeAndre Carter logged a reception for eight yards.
Hopkins, per usual, had an A performance. He proved to be Deshaun Watson’s safety valve target when the going got tough on Sunday and his touchdown on A.J. Bouye was enough to please fantasy owners. Stills, despite coming in and out of the medical tent (groin), played the sidekick role well.
In all, the receivers weren’t a featured part in Sunday’s game plan. However, they did their jobs well. If it weren’t for Steven Mitchell’s illegal block flag then blown touchdown opportunity — on a play where he showed a lack of communication — this group would get an A for doing their part.
Grade: B+
Tight ends
Unlike last week, Sunday’s win wasn’t a game defined by Houston’s tight ends. Jordan Akins and Darren Fells combined for four receptions for 25 yards and a touchdown, with Fells reeling in the touchdown and Akins amassing three receptions for 24 yards.
The tight end unit did their jobs. Blocking wasn’t much of a complaint and Fells got the Texans going with the first touchdown of the day — he was wide-open sneaking behind the line of scrimmage into the end zone.
However, the tight end’s grade is hampered a bit by a couple of drops and a false start penalty from Fells. Nonetheless, their play was adequate; a touchdown doesn’t hurt their grades either.
Grade: B-
Offensive line
The Texans escaped London and the then-fourth best pass-rushing team in the NFL (29 sacks) with one sack allowed on Deshaun Watson. In addition, Houston rushed for 216 yards and a touchdown behind the line.
The Texans were able to keep Watson relatively unscathed and helped Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson thrive. They did so without left tackle Laremy Tunsil (groin) but with right tackle Tytus Howard. Statistically, it was an excellent outing for a unit that flip-flopped between Chris Clark and Roderick Johnson at blindside protector all day.
However, the statistics don’t tell the full story. Watson escaped many of those sacks with his fleet-feet and wizard-like abilities, many of those rushing yards came at the second level and they gave up 40 yards on four penalties. Despite so, their efforts were good enough to earn a passing grade.
