The Houston Texans have been a source of interesting storylines since the start of the offseason. First, it was the hiring of Defensive Coordinator Wade Philips and their subsequent conversion to a 3-4 base defense. Then the Texans passed on Nnamdi Asomugha and shrewdly opted for their new top cornerback Jonathan Joseph (+12.0) once free agency finally opened. Opportunity shined with Peyton Manning’s neck injury, which opened the door for the Texans to claim their first-ever playoff berth.
After gaining a comfortable lead in the division, despite losing Mario Williams, it was Matt Schaub’s (+26.1) season-ending injury and the potential opportunity for Matt Leinart to do what his former mentor in Arizona, Kurt Warner, did for St. Louis once upon a time. Now, the Texans have to try to create a new storyline, rallying around a fifth–round rookie quarterback in T.J. Yates to reach the postseason.
This game was as much about woeful offensive performances as it was good defense, especially when it mattered most as the Jaguars and Texans combined to make seven of 35 third and fourth-down conversions. Neither offense even came close to 300 total yards and to provide further perspective as to how unproductive they were, only seven players on both offenses combined graded in the green. Let’s take a look at some of the individual performances that were the deciding factor in the Texans' ability to hang on to their lead despite being unable to produce a drive of more than four plays in the second half.
Houston – Three Performances of Note
Prolific Pass Rush
Thanks to an early lead built before Leinart’s injury, the Texans were fortunate to have had Jacksonville quarterbacks drop back to pass 49 times. The Jaguars may have had a better chance if they had stuck with the running game as Houston had no problem getting pressure. Blaine Gabbert (-3.4) was pressured on exactly half of his 36 drop-backs and was so intimidated by it that his pocket presence became virtually non-existent. He was benched in the middle of the fourth quarter with the team down two scores. It wasn't a one-man show, with the team grading out at +11.0 in pass rush, but Connor Barwin (+5.9) did his best to try to make it one. Barwin’s career day featured four sacks and six pressures – as well as a tackle for a 4-yard loss when he sniffed out a stretch run by Deji Karim (-1.5). Barwin made multiple quality plays moving to the sideline, showing his transition from DE to OLB has, for one game at least, been successful. Rookie left end J.J. Watt (+4.1) had his best game rushing the passer yet with two sacks, two hits, and three pressures of his own. He also batted a pass down at the line on the Jaguars’ first third-down situation in the game. When Williams was lost, did anyone think the Texans would be able to generate a seven-sack game without him?
Good on the Back End Too
Anybody who has spent any time watching football can point out that a good pass rush correlates with good coverage. The Texans have been able to get both most of the time this season and with seven sacks and 30 total quarterback disruptions, the secondary wasn’t about to take a day off against the Jaguars. Joseph made the play that will make the highlights when he out-leaped Jason Hill for an interception, but a couple missed tackles that cost significant yardage in the run game prevented him from being the star of the secondary. That honor goes to Glover Quin, who was targeted nine times and allowed three net yards in three catches. Quin earned a +3.6 grade for his work in coverage, but his overall grade (+1.8) suffered somewhat because of a DPI that he may be justified in arguing. Quin also had two plays where he couldn’t make a clean tackle of the runner, missing on one occasion and being carried for extra yards on the other.
An Off Day for Top Offensive Contributors
If you knew Owen Daniels, Andre Johnson, and Arian Foster would all have their worst-graded games of the season beforehand, would you have expected Houston to be the winner? Well they did and they were, with Daniels and Foster both grading out at -3.7 and Johnson a little better at -2.6. That’s how dominating the Texans’ defensive performance was in this game. Daniels allowed PFF favorite, Daryl Smith (+1.8) to get pressure on his only snap in pass protection and was responsible for more than one failed run when he couldn’t handle a Jaguar defensive end. With four catches for 31 yards, he didn’t do enough in the passing game to make up for his blocking. Johnson similarly didn’t produce enough in the passing game to make up for an offensive pass interference penalty. His inability to lay a hand on Ashton Youboty on one outside run also helped cause Foster’s first fumble. Foster did a good job forcing five missed tackles and gaining the majority of his yards after contact, but two fumbles aren’t acceptable even if only one was lost.
Jacksonville – Three Performances of Note
Weighing in on Gabbert’s Benching
Gabbert is PFF’s lowest-graded starting quarterback (-14.5) by a wide margin and considering the fact that Jack Del Rio’s job isn’t safe by any means, it’s not too surprising Del Rio chose to go to Luke McCown to close out the game. Winning games may not get the Jaguars to the playoffs, but they will help the coach's case to get another year to develop Gabbert and turn the Jaguars into a legitimate threat. McCown simply provided the best opportunity to win this game, and, frankly, it would have been a disservice to the team not to bench Gabbert. It wasn’t so much about the numbers— those were plenty bad—but it was Gabbert’s lack of composure that necessitated the change. He was simply too intimidated by his opponent to play the position. Even more than the tangible performance, a team relies on its quarterback to remain confident and serve as a leader for his offensive teammates. Gabbert’s dejected appearance wasn’t getting it done in terms of leadership and that’s far more concerning than making a few poor throws.
Help the kid out
Of course, Gabbert’s lack of composure surely had a little something to do with his offensive weapons failing him time after time. The Jaguars tried to make use of all of their available wide receivers but not a single one graded out positively in this game. The Jaguars offense also dropped four passes, two of which failed to stay in the hands of Cecil Shorts. Mike Thomas (-2.3) was a non-factor and was called for a false start. Jason Hill (-1.3) gained only 12 yards in his three receptions and was outplayed by Joseph on the interception. Marcedes Lewis managed to get open quite a bit, but dropped a wide-open pass in the end zone. Lewis and the Jaguars' running backs took up 19 of 35 Jacksonville targets, which is a clear indication that the vertical passing game just isn’t working. When Gabbert makes his next start this week, his teammates need to do more to help him out or he’s not going to be able to make much progress.
New Starters Fill-in Well
For all the injuries Jacksonville has sustained on defense, they played surprisingly well under the circumstances. They lost starting cornerbacks Derek Cox (+5.9) and Rashean Mathis, which forced William Middleton into a starting role alongside recent signee Youboty. Weakside linebacker Clint Session was placed on Injured Reserve last week and Russel Allen was asked to take his place, playing four less snaps against Houston than he did the rest of the season combined. Middleton has been quite good in spot duty this season but the other two were seeing their first extended action of the year. All three acquitted themselves well overall. Both cornerbacks played the run well but Youboty (+3.4) had the bigger impact in that regard with the forced fumble, recovery, and touchdown. Middleton (+2.7) had the stronger game in coverage, but their combined efforts should be appreciated in limiting Andre Johnson to two catches even if it was Johnson’s first game since Week 4. Allen (+3.2) looked like an upgrade over Session in this game and forced a fumble.
Games Notes
– Maurice Jones-Drew (+3.5) forced four missed tackles and picked up 70 of his 99 rushing yards after contact.
– Center Brad Meester (+2.4) became the Jaguars all-time leader in games played and was the highest-graded player on either offensive line.
– Overmatched rookie left guard Will Rackley (-7.9) bottomed-out here in a season that has brought 11 red grades in 12 games.
PFF Game Ball
The Texans don’t win this game without their tenacious pass rush, and Connor Barwin was the most accomplished of the bunch with 10 pressures, including four sacks.
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