You keep putting obstacles in the Houston Texans way, and they keep knocking them down. This week they didn’t have to deal with any injuries, but rather overcoming a 9-point deficit with only 5:35 left to play as impressive rookie T.J. Yates made his watching parents (and all Texan fans) proud with a late drive that involved a completion on 3rd-and-15, as well as throwing the game winning touchdown.
All this after it seemed so unlikely in the first half, with a Bengals offense finding plenty of joy on the ground, and Houston running game that just couldn’t get Arian Foster going. But, as they did when Mario Williams went down, and continue to do as they were forced to cope without both Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart, Houston won. It’s what they do now, and it’s why they’re the AFC South champions for the first time since their formation.
As for Cincinnati they’ll be left ruing a Geno Atkins fumble and other plays as they couldn’t put a way a Texans team they had on the ropes. Instead the unlikely playoff contenders have surrendered their spot in the top six in the AFC, and have it all to do if they want to play some postseason football. Let’s look at some of the key performances.
Houston – Three Performances of Note
Protection
It may seem odd in a game where the Bengals picked up five sacks, but near enough the entire Texans line had a great day in pass protection. The problems (and sacks) came in a variety of ways. Mike Brisiel (-3.7) didn’t give up any sacks, but the pressure he allowed from Jonathan Fanene (Q4, 9:28) forced T.J. Yates into the arms of Manny Lawson. Yates himself took two sacks for holding onto the ball too long, whilst the other two sacks came with Arian Foster getting beat, and Kelly Jennings coming unblocked. It may look like a bad day for the offensive line, but they held up extremely well, earning a cumulative grade of +6.7 for their pass protection with just six combined sacks, hits and hurries given up between them. They were a big part of the reason their QB was pressured on only 26.9% of plays.
Bad Day
You can say a lot of things about Antonio Smith (-4.4), but one thing you won’t say is that he struggles to make an impact. At least not normally. His encounter with Nate Livings saw him rendered impotent by one of the worst starting left guards in the league as Smith failed to deliver his trademark pressure (a blank in this regard), while getting handled in the run game. Sometimes brains will win over brawns, and Livings had no problem using Smiths’ desire to get up field to seal him outside. Even when Smith did make a play he was fortunate not to get flagged, grabbing the facemask of Bernard Scott in a play that wound up being his only contribution to the stat sheet (Q3, 6:27).
Impressive rookie
With our new normalized QB grades, the +1.2 grade that T.J. Yates received is more impressive than it may seem. There were some very bad moments. his interception with 3:35 to go in the first was as bad an overthrow as you’re likely to see, but by and large he avoided mistakes, grading negatively on six plays as he made good decisions and took what the defense gave him. He’ll need to work on holding onto the ball, but the poise of Yates was incredibly encouraging as we start to wonder just how far this Texans team can go.
Cincinnati – Three Performances of Note
Mixed day for linebackers
I haven’t always been impressed with the play of Rey Maualuga (+3.2) this year. The transition to the middle linebacker spot has brought some issues with it, as he’s looked a little lost at times. You couldn’t say that in this game, as the former second round pick forced two fumbles and really showed up big in the run game with four defensive stops. Similarly Manny Lawson (+3.2) had an excellent day, picking up a sack through the good work of Fanene, but also coming up to make three defensive stops. I can’t speak in quite so glowing terms about Thomas Howard (-3.8) who had some issues covering the Texans' tight ends, or the play of Brandon Johnson (-2.3). Johnson's inability to pass defenders off and manage his zone was a vital reason for the Bengals defeat and it’s not a good skill for a nickel linebacker to display.
Anything you can do …
I mentioned just how good the Texans offensive line were in allowing six pressures between them, well the Bengals went three better by just allowing one sack, one hit and one hurry combined. Not easy against a Houston defense that has been feasting on teams recently, but something Cincinnati was well prepared for, with Andy Dalton getting rid of the ball quickly as he faced pressure on just seven of his drop-backs. What’s more we got to see one of those performances from Nate Livings (+3.8) that explains why he’s still a starter in this league, as he handled Antonio Smith and was able to pull effectively, moving DeMeco Ryans about on a couple of plays on his teams’ second drive of the game.
Flawed plan?
When you have a talent like A.J. Green, there can be a tendency to force the ball to him. With Houston tracking him with Johnathan Joseph and shading a safety over to his side it’s clear they were prepared for it. That didn’t stop Andy Dalton (-1.0) going for his star receiver, and it did draw a big completion down the field and a pass interference penalty. But outside of those plays and a very good catch by Jerome Simpson, Dalton failed to really move his team when provided with excellent protection. Indeed, the Bengals seemed to either be going big or playing very conservatively as they really failed to test the middle of the field against Houston, with just three attempts the entire game going in the intermediate, 10-19 yard area. Given that they couldn’t sustain drives when their running game faltered, and how hard Houston found it to cover Jermaine Gresham, perhaps it would have been better to get the big tight end involved more?
Game Notes
– This game featured just 11 missed tackles.
– It’s not easy tracking A.J. Green, as Johnathan Joseph (+0.4) found out. He gave up a penalty and 67 yards, but did manage to break up two passes in another example of how good a signing he has been for the Texans.
– Anthony Collins (+2.1) has yet to allow a pressure of any variety since coming into the lineup for 40 snaps in Week 13.
PFF Game Ball
In a game that should have been decided by big plays, no one made key ones like Rey Maualuga. His forced fumbles stopped Houston at the Bengals goalline, and but for some sloppy ball handling would have put Cincinnati in scoring position. Can’t ask for much more than that.
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