Grading the Texans After Another Close Loss, This Time to Denver
No touchdowns makes it tough to win
Landry Locker will post his grades for the Texans each week. Here are the grades for week nine. Follow Landry on YouTube.
The Texans squandered away another opportunity to beat a good team and get their record up to .500.
It damn sure didn’t help that their starting quarterback exited the game with a concussion, but it still felt like this was a winnable game where competent coaching, specifically on the offensive side of the ball, could have prevailed.
This was a coaching mismatch, make no mistake about it, and it appears offensive coordinator Nick Caley was a downgrade from Bobby Slowik.
The Texans will now have to win a game with their backup quarterback, which isn’t ideal, but two of their three wins this season have come against backup quarterbacks, so they won’t get much sympathy.
Here are the Land Lock week nine grades.
Quarterbacks: C
Both C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills failed to get into the end zone despite getting extremely close. Stroud got off to a decent start before leaving the game. Mills got off to a decent start before falling off in the second half.
It’s hard to grade Stroud for such a short outing, and I don’t expect much from Mills. They also appear to have incompetence at offensive coordinator, so I will go with a C.
Running Backs: F
Woody Marks is just a dump-off option and a guy they run up the gut. Meanwhile, Sean Payton is finding creative ways to get his rookie running back, RJ Harvey, the ball in the passing game.
Nick Chubb is about what you’d expect at this point in his career.
Dare Ogunbowale is still in the rotation after not being for a while. They cannot quit him.
Wide Receivers: D
As feared, Christian Kirk pushed Jaylin Noel out of the rotation, which is one of the most frustrating things to observe. Kirk also didn’t do much, and the explosiveness he provides is a pretty steep downgrade from Noel. It’s very clear that whether it’s Caley, DeMeco Ryans, or someone else that they don’t believe in rookie skill guys on offense.
Nico Collins was involved early, but the effort to feed him seemed to disappear in the second half.
Tight Ends (Dalton & Guys): A
Dalton Schultz was banged up all week and had a long reception that set up a field goal. He did everything he was asked to do and has emerged as the most consistent performer on the offense.
Offensive Line: C-
It wasn’t great, but I have seen worse. Their flaws aren’t hidden as well as they should be, and hearing DeMeco say it’s as simple as “mindset” on Monday was interesting and discouraging.
Defensive Line: B
Solid effort by the defensive line, but with the investment on the edge, it feels like the Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter impact should be higher.
Linebackers: C-
Henry To’oTo’o was found in coverage on the RJ Harvey touchdown, and E.J. Speed saw a significant decrease in snap percentage. The linebackers are solid, but the play-making upside is pretty low. I do wonder if teams are going to start seeking them out more in coverage moving forward.
Cornerbacks: B+
The Broncos threw a massive amount of deep balls and only completed two of them.
Derek Stingley was beaten for a touchdown by Courtland Sutton, but outside of that, the cornerbacks kept the Denver receivers in check. Bo Nix’s inaccuracy didn’t hurt, but the cornerbacks held up nicely.
Kamari Lassiter was the best player on the field on defense and might be the most physical player on the team. Rookie cornerback Jaylin Smith had a fumble recovery and is already lining up outside on passing downs, allowing Lassiter to move inside, adding even more versatility to a really good defense.
Safeties: A
Calen Bullock had an interception that was much-needed after Stroud’s injury sucked the life out of the stadium.
Jalen Pitre wasn’t exposed in coverage, and M.J. Stewart has held up nicely since taking over for C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Special Teams: C-
Fairbairn was all of the offense the Texans had. They had a fumble recovery. Noel’s punt return set up a field goal, and another return put the Texans in position to score.
So why this grade?
Tommy Townsend was completely outmanned in the punting battle. The team decided to use Braxton Berrios on kick returns instead of Noel, which is unbelievably confusing.
Coaching: F
This has been a bad year for Ryans from a clock management standpoint. The personnel decisions on offense are mind-boggling. The coaching display on Sunday was Varsity (Denver) vs JV C-Team (Texans).
Caley is clearly fearful of running quarterback sneaks against good teams. This offense lacks creativity and a feel for the game. Three of the last four halves of football have ended in baffling blunders by the offense.
Ryans’s stance last year on the Azeez Al-Shaair’s hit on Trevor Lawrence compared to when Stroud got hit couldn’t be more different. I don’t think the plays are identical at all, but the selective simplicity of the head coach at the podium is interesting. What’s even more alarming is that Ryans doesn’t seem to have a grasp of what the issues are on offense. His words create even more skepticism. He appears lost when anything about offense is discussed.
Ryans is going to be the head coach of this team no matter what next season, but figuring out things on offense will make or break him.
JJ Watt was on the Pat McAfee show today and pointed out again that the Texans have failed all 10 times when inside the 2 yard line. JJ repeated, you have to score from inside the two. Period.
Whose fault is that? It starts with Caserio’s failure to build an O-Line. Hard to fault Caley for his play calling when his line can’t push. Yes, his play calling has been predictable, but we’re talking about inside the 2 yard line!
I don't disagree with you at all on this week's grades, Cody. The one-dimensional approachs within the 1 yard line and at the 3 yard line were egregious. I don't know what it is going to take to make things better for the offense this year, but heads need to roll at the top this off-season or it will be more of the same. Years of mediocrity only to fall short, be irrelevant for a number of years, and repeat. The narrative is old and redundant.