The Houston Texans were the first victors of wild-card weekend. In a thrilling, come from behind win over the Buffalo Bills, the Texans surged to leave their hometown crowd happy with a 22-19 overtime win and move on to face the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday.
While it was the offense (largely Deshaun Watson), that willed the Texans to victory, let’s take a gander at what the defense did on Saturday to help get the win. The re-addition of a certain three-time Defensive Player of the Year was certainly felt.
Defensive line
It took a while for the defensive line to muster up anything, but midway through the third quarter, they finally got going. Well, J.J. Watt did in his return from a torn pectoral.
Watt’s only sack was a momentum-swing one, as the Texans responded to it by scoring 19 straight to ultimately win in Houston. Defensive tackle D.J. Reader also did a good job against the run, as he typically does.
However, outside of Watt and Reader, the Texans’ defensive line play was sub par at best. When the Bills figured out how to contain Watt, Josh Allen had all the time to throw. When they ran opposite of Reader, they gashed the Texans’ rush defense. The two stars give Houston a passing grade.
Grade: C
Linebackers
The outside linebackers deserve a passing grade due to their presence as pass-rushers in the second half alone.
In the second half, outside linebackers Jacob Martin and Whitney Mercilus both created turnovers. Mercilus forced a fumble on Josh Allen, which Martin would recover. With two minutes left, Martin had a sack on Allen that would create a turnover on downs.
However, outside of the two, the Texans’ linebacking corps wasn’t anything to write home about. Though Zach Cunningham made his usual splash plays as a run-stuffer and even performed in coverage, the inside of the field was gashed, largely due to Benardrick McKinney’s play in coverage.
Allen went 7 of 9 passing for 74 yards between 0-20 yards in the middle of the field, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
Grade: C+
Cornerbacks
If it weren’t for an off-and-on pass rush, the Texans’ cornerback group likely would have had a better game. Often, Josh Allen was able to get completion solely based on the Texans’ pass rush not bringing pressure, not the cornerbacks struggling.
If he didn’t drop two catches, Bradley Roby would have had two interceptions on Saturday, including a pick-six in the first quarter. Though he had a few plays that he could have covered better, he largely played a good game in coverage.
Roby’s running mate Gareon Conley perhaps impressed more. Against a struggling wide receiver corps, he made passing against him tough, as he was handsy all-day-long while tallying a game-high three pass deflections.
Where the Texans’ cornerback group struggled was Vernon Hargreaves. The former first-round pick errantly missed a few tackles. Cole Beasley got the best of him a few times in the slot, as he finished with four receptions for 44 yards.
Grade: B-
Safeties
The Texans entered the game without their starting strong safety, as Tashaun Gipson is now on the injured reserve. Instead, it was Jahleel Addae who got the start. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long, as he suffered an injury in the first half.
The 38-year-old Mike Adams played the majority of the game alongside Justin Reid. Despite his inexperience in the Texans’ system, Houston didn’t skip a beat in the safety department while he played.
Josh Allen struggled to pass deep. His game-long 38-yard completion was the result of a screen pass, not a ball targeting the safeties. The game’s longest pass in terms of air yards was from receiver John Brown on a trick-play, which Addae was beaten on.
Gipson’s abilities to lock down tight ends and slot cornerbacks were missed, but safety wasn’t the weak link of the defense.
Grade: B+
Special teams
Not one complaint about the special teams. Okay, one: DeAndre Carter’s “common sense” touchdown that was once ruled a Bills touchdown turned to Texans touchdown. Kneel the ball, Carter.
Other than Carter’s blunder, the Texans’ special teams were fantastic. Bryan Anger averaged 43.2 yards per punt and downed three inside the 20; the Bills got eight total yards on both punt and kick returns; most importantly, Ka’imi Fairbairn drilled the walk-off 28-yard field goal.
