The Houston Texans, for the first in a decade, defeating the New England Patriots on Sunday night. Their offense blew away expectations, playing efficient football against one of the NFL’s best defenses — not in 2019, but ever.
The Texans gained 276 yards and four touchdowns on offense against the Patriots. They didn’t turn over the ball once, scored on all of their visits in the red zone (three) and converted six of their 11 first downs in the win. Let’s grade the individual groups who led to the upset victory.
Quarterback
Deshaun Watson needed a perfect or near-perfect performance to beat the vaunted, No. 1 scoring Patriots defense. He hit the latter, playing a near-perfect game to ultimately get what he wanted most: a win over Tom Brady, who refers to as the GOAT.
Watson went 18 for 25 passing for 234 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His 140.7 passer rating is the most by any quarterback against the Patriots in 2019, surpassing Lamar Jackson’s performance in Week 9.
To top it off, Watson caught a touchdown pass via a trick option play with DeAndre Hopkins and Duke Johnson involved.
Watson did miss a few throws. He took three sacks, two of which were avoidable from his side. However, he faced one of the NFL’s historically great defenses and slew it via deep bombs, smart check-downs and decisiveness, whether running or standing still.
That’s called a passing grade and then some.
Grade: A+
Running backs
On the ground, Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson failed to have big games. The two combined for 51 rushing yards on 19 attempts against a stout, disciplined run-defense.
Johnson ran nine times for 36 yards. Hyde received 10 totes for 17 yards. Hyde was shut-down running side-to-side, rushing for two yards on three attempts on both sides, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Johnson struggled to rush towards the inside left and outside right.
As a ground attack, there was nothing to brag about.
However, the two, particularly Johnson, did enough to leave NRG Stadium with a Texans win. Johnson acted as Deshaun Watson’s reliable threat out of the backfield, hauling in five receptions for 54 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown reception to spark a 21-point unanswered streak.
Due to Johnson’s productivity as a receiver, the backs get a passing grade.
Grade: C+
Wide receivers
Stephon Gilmore, Jonathan Jones, Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung, the Patriots’ spooky secondary has locked down opposing receivers all-season long. Though the Texans didn’t boast any “have a day” stats from their receiving corps on Sunday, they certainly weren’t shut-down.
DeAndre Hopkins led the pack, hauling in five receptions for 64 yards. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, he averaged 3.65 yards of separation on Sunday against the Gilmore-led Patriots secondary. For reference, Dallas Cowboys superstar wide-out Amari Cooper had 1.44 in Week 12.
Hopkins pulled in double coverage for other receivers. Kenny Stills brought in three receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown (35 yards) while Will Fuller had one for eight yards.
The receivers weren’t a focal point for the Texans offense in Week 13. Instead, it seemed as if Bill O’Brien and Co. schemed their playbook for tight ends, running backs and non-Hopkins plays to get touches while the New England defense focused on Nuk.
It worked. The receivers did their jobs, didn’t have costly drops (an excellent play by Jones in a non-Fuller touchdown wasn’t a drop) and scored when asked upon. Big-time stats don’t hamper a good grade.
Grade: A-
Offensive line
Despite not fielding Tytus Howard (injured reserve – MCL), the offensive line was not a unit worth screaming at through screens. They stood up against a stingy Patriots pass-rush that is creative at getting to quarterbacks, allowing three sacks for 16 yards, with two not being 100% entirely on them.
The Texans rotated right tackles Chris Clark and Roderick Johnson throughout the game. It appeared as if the line, as a run-blocking unit, showed that, as they seemed out of sink opening non-existent lanes for tailbacks Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson, who combined for 53 yards on 19 carries.
Houston’s line didn’t perform like a “Great Wall.” They weren’t a dumpster fire, either, however. Deshaun Watson had enough time for a career day, their mistakes weren’t awful and they, like the back group, got the job done.
Grade: C
Tight ends
Sunday’s win was the second-straight of minimal action from the Texans’ tight ends. Darren Fells and Jordan Akins combined for three receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown.
The touchdown came in the first half of the win, which would be the Texans’ second of the night. A 13-yard score for Fells, Deshaun Watson rolled out on Houston’s signature tight end-RPO design. In getting his seventh touchdown of the season, he passed Owen Daniels (2012) and Joel Dreesen (2011) for most in a single-season for the Texans.
Like most of the offensive position groups, the tight ends played mistake-free football — outside of a Jordan Thomas drop, which was negated due to penalty. Pre-film review, they blocked sufficiently and they caught passes when they needed to. Just as Bill O’Brien and Tim Kelly drew it up.
