Grading the Texans After Crushing the Cardinals
A decisive victory for the Texans brought plenty of high marks
Landry Locker grades the performance of the Texans. Here are the grades for the win over the Arizona Cardinals. Follow Landry on YouTube.
Six straight wins and any rumors of a letdown were significantly exaggerated.
This win creates a lot of intrigue and excitement moving forward. What a time to be alive, discussing pigskin in Houston.
Here are this week’s Land Lock grades.
Quarterback: A
C.J. Stroud did a good job of making plays on and off script. He used his legs to extend plays and threw the ball away when it was necessary.
He found running backs or tight ends 17 times, which is a sign of taking what the defense gives you.
Stroud has been excellent in the three games since his return.
Running Backs: A
Without Nick Chubb, the running backs looked better and more complete than they have all season, top-to-bottom. It could be a coincidence and the benefits of playing a bad team, or there could be more to it.
During training camp, I frequently said that Chubb had the least amount of juice of all the running backs on the field.
One of those backs was Jawhar Jordan, who provided the Texans with their first 100-yard rusher in a game during the 2025 season. It was also the most yardage a back has had in a debut in franchise history.
Dare Ogunbowale did a fine job with an increased role, minus using him in the Wildcat formation, with three receptions and a fumble recovery on special teams.
Woody Marks, who had some solid runs and a touchdown that avoided a potential disaster on a bad snap, limped off the field for what seems like the eighth straight game. DeMeco Ryans said he could have returned to the game, but it’s time to get him some rest.
This aligns nicely with something else that is now a MUST in the running back room: At the very least, the Texans need to see more of Jordan down the stretch to see if he can add a much-needed element to the offense in the playoffs. At the very most, Jordan and Marks could provide the best possible 1-2 punch.
There’s also a question that needs to be asked: Do we even see Jawhar Jordan if Chubb doesn’t hurt his ribs?
I think we know the answer to the previous question, and although it’s disturbing when it comes to evaluating the evaluators of the offense, there’s now intrigue with the running backs.
Wait… Another Question: Why did Dameon Pierce linger around so… Ok, I’ll stop and focus on the positive.
The backs looked good, and there’s excitement at the position that could provide a boost to an offense that could use it when it matters most.
Wide Receivers: B
Nico Collins set the tone early and found the end zone twice on three catches. Three catches don’t sound like a ton, but it was actually 60 percent of the WR reception production.
There were only five catches total at the WR position, but their services really weren’t needed because of the elite performances by the backs and tight ends.
Tight Ends: A+
Dalton Schultz has been beyond solid all season long. Sunday’s eight-catch, touchdown performance was the peak. Cade Stover also had his best performance of the season.
This was the best individual tight end performance of the season and the first time Schultz and another tight end both played well in the same game.
Offensive Line: B+
Based on expectations, it was a solid day.
Blake Fisher had a couple of penalties, one of which DeMeco Ryans clearly disagreed with, and the other was an offside penalty that didn’t look clear on the replay.
The run blocking looked better. Maybe Jordan helped make it look better?
Defensive Line: C
The defensive line kept the run game in check, but didn’t perform up to their elite, honor student standard.
Will Anderson Jr. didn’t produce a statistic and appeared to have gotten poked in the eye during the game. There were also rumblings that his frustration led to his declining to speak to the media after the game.
Danielle Hunter had his twelfth sack of the season, and Sheldon Rankins drew a holding penalty on a spin move, but other than that, the flashes from this elite group weren’t the usual norm.
Linebackers: B
Trey McBride owned anyone and everyone who lined up on him, but that wasn’t all on the linebackers.
On defense, Azeez Al-Shaair and Henry To’oTo’o each had double-digit tackles and contributed to the minimization of the Arizona run game.
On special teams, Jamal Hill forced a fumble on kickoff, and Christian Harris had some violent tackles.
It was a solid performance.
Cornerbacks: B+
Kamari Lassiter battled a foot injury and had another interception. I don’t love a guy with a bad foot doing a back flip, but it is what it is.
Derek Stingley Jr. was physical and battled, but suffered an oblique injury, which will definitely be monitored closely down the stretch.
Safeties: C
McBride was a serious problem for the defense.
Jalen Pitre had an up-and-down game that included a fourth-down penalty that extended an Arizona drive that led to a touchdown.
Calen Bullock was solid around the line on scrimmage, but has had better showings.
Myles Bryant whiffed in coverage on a drive-extending catch, but battled as much as you could expect.
The safeties have set a standard of being better.
Special Teams: A+
This game might’ve been close without the effort of special teams. There have been a couple of weeks during this streak where Frank Ross’s special teams put out a poor effort, but this effort was elite, and the Texans needed it.
The only slip was the blocked field goal at the end of the second quarter, but I’m willing to overlook it.
Coaching: C
The coaching staff did what was needed to win, and there was no letdown; that’s the most important thing.
Frank Ross also had an A+ effort, and there were no clear mistakes.
So, why a C? It’s really hard for me to fathom this offensive staff and some of the decisions they make.
It has been clear that this team has needed running back help this season.
1: They’ve carried Nick Chubb and Dare Ogunbowale in the running back room all season.
2: They allowed an unplayable Dameon Pierce to linger around the majority of the year.
3: They neglected Woody Marks when he was clearly the best option and then ran him into the ground because clearly no other options were worth a significant share.
All while they had someone on the practice squad, who they cut early in the year, who clearly had more juice than Chubb in camp!
Jordan stepped on the field and immediately demanded a larger share than Ogunbowale, opened up the run game, and provided the team with their first 100-yard rusher of the season. That’s fantastic, but it happened by accident!
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, and this offensive staff damn sure isn’t good, but maybe this luck adds a much-needed boost down the stretch, assuming Chubb doesn’t push Jordan out of the rotation.
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