Houston Texans vs. Dallas Cowboys: Full Report Card Grades for Houston
This one hurt.
For the next four years Houston Texans fans will hear about this loss from their family members, friends and co-workers who for whatever reason root for a team from over four hours away up Interstate 45.
What makes this loss even more painful is that the Texans had every chance to win. The Dallas Cowboys didn't play exceptionally well and made plenty of mistakes to give the Texans many opportunities to seize control, but poor play and bad coaching held them back and prevented them from grabbing the reins.
I'll go into all the details in full on the following slides, but I thought Bill O'Brien had his worst game as the Texans head coach and arguably cost them the game. Ryan Fitzpatrick also didn't play well, so when you combine poor coaching and poor quarterback play it shouldn't be surprising that they lost.
The big silver lining was, of course, the play of Arian Foster, who looked fresh, sharp and like he's capable of having a huge year if he's able to stay healthy.
It was a bad loss. But the Texans have a short week, so there's no time to feel down or let the loss get to them. With two tough games coming up in prime time on consecutive weeks, the Texans can either let their season slip away in front of national TV audiences or establish control of their division and playoff chances.
"3-1 can become 3-3 very quick. Hard to see #Texans beating #Colts in four days if they can't throw the ball. #NFL
— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) October 5, 2014"
The AFC South in their hands; hopefully it doesn't slip through.
Quarterback
1 of 11
Ryan Fitzpatrick's stat line on Sunday was awful.
For the game he finished 16-of-25 for 154 yards, no touchdowns, one interception and a 64.4 quarterback rating.
"Fitzpatrick says his interception was result of a miscommunication. Calls it "100% on me." Says he failed to communicate. #Texans
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) October 5, 2014"
Fitzpatrick has his limitations and shortcomings, which are obvious, but the coaching staff has seemed to baby him with a very simple offense that appears to have made the situation worse. And it's quite possibly even holding him back.
"I want to be critical of Fitz, but they did him no favors for him today not letting him push the ball down field. #Texans
— PDS (@PatDStat) October 5, 2014 "
"Either he needs to trust Fitzpatrick to make plays or not. This is what this comes down to. #Texans
— PDS (@PatDStat) October 5, 2014"
There's most likely some of the playbook that Bill O'Brien would like to run that's not being used due to the physical limitations of Fitzpatrick. This dumbed down or limited offense is hurting the skill-position players, isn't allowing Fitzpatrick a full opportunity to play well and makes the Texans predictable to their opponent.
If O'Brien doesn't trust Fitzpatrick to make plays, then he should play Ryan Mallett. I'm not sure if Mallett is the answer, but he at least has a stronger arm to complete deeper passes, open up more of the playbook and back off the opposing defense.
Grade: D
Running Back
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The 2010 version of Arian Foster was back as he went straight beast mode. We probably all expected him to improve on his six yards rushing from last week after a little more rest and a better matchup, but he looked like his tank might be close to full still with today's performance.
He showed a great burst of speed through the hole, and his cuts were sharp and fluid and his strides long. His jukes made a couple defenders look silly, and he even showed some ability to finish strong and reach the goal line by running through defenders.
For the game Foster finished with 157 yards on 6.8 yards per carry—ridiculous.
As I'll get into more on a later slide, I don't think the Texans used him as well as they could have during the game. Not only did they not run him when they should have during overtime, but they wasted his legs on 3rd-and-long draw plays that they had no intention of actually trying to convert.
He's an older back who's had a lot of carries, so the Texans shouldn't waste his legs on meaningless carries. Alfred Blue can carry the ball in those situations, save Foster for when it counts.
Grade: A+
Wide Receiver
3 of 11
The wide receivers' potential is being stunted.
I'm not sure if more blame should fall to the coaching staff calling the plays or the quarterback throwing the ball, but the Texans are not getting the most out of their two star receivers. Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins caught nearly every pass thrown their way, but they were almost all underneath routes.
Johnson looks like he's lost a step this year, but both guys have big-play potential and ability that isn't being used at all.
On top of not using their top two guys very well, the plays designed for the slot receivers like I thought we'd see, considering how Bill O'Brien used them in New England, have been nonexistent.
Their output on the field wasn't great. But as I mentioned that's more due to the play-calling and talent of the quarterback—not because the receivers are playing poorly—so I have to get them a slight break with the grade here.
Grade: B
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Tight End
4 of 11
The tight ends were an almost invisible group on the field in Sunday's game. It's probably safe to copy and paste that line into future grade articles because the tight ends making no impact has become a definite trend.
In the receiving game, Garrett Graham and Ryan Griffin combined for a total of two receptions for 11 yards, while C.J. Fiedorowicz didn't have a pass thrown his way.
"TEs and Slot WRs nonexistent once again. An offense that prides themselves on spreading the ball around is hardly that. #Texans
— PDS (@PatDStat) October 5, 2014"
The group did play better as blockers than in previous weeks, however. Fiedorowicz in particular made a great block to help Arian Foster find the end zone on his 15-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Grade: C
Offensive Line
5 of 11
There were no sacks allowed on Ryan Fitzpatrick by the offensive line.
The Cowboys got some pressure, but we didn't see the many whiffs or missed assignments leading to free rushers like in previous weeks; that alone is a huge improvement.
The Texans' offensive line also rebounded from a poor game of run blocking to help Arian Foster reach 157 yards on nearly seven yards per carry. Some of the struggles last week were definitely due to a less than 100 percent Foster and a stout Buffalo Bills' defensive line, but it was still an encouraging performance up front.
It was also nice to see second-round pick Xavier Su'a-Filo finally get some playing time. Much of the success the Texans had running the ball came when running left from where the rookie was lined up. Coincidence? Maybe. But run blocking was a big reason why Houston selected him over a quarterback with the 33rd overall pick.
Grade: A
Defensive Line
6 of 11
The defensive line had no sacks, quarterback hits or tackles for loss—no impact.
Yes, the Cowboys' offensive line is great, but this group can't get shut out when rushing the passer. In particular, the stunts it ran all game against Buffalo last week, which worked really well, were shut down completely.
That in some part was a product of playing a better offensive line, but still, you can't get shut out.
"This ended up being a touchdown pass. Tony Romo at his finest/lucky to be living pic.twitter.com/26pxZslWNX
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) October 5, 2014"
J.J. Watt was double-teamed for most of the game, but he had to come away with this sack. Tony Romo is elusive, but you can't let a 34-year-old quarterback beat you with a spin move and throw a bomb for a touchdown after you have him dead to rights.
I'm not putting the team's struggles on Watt because he's a one-man gang out there, but if he misses a play it warrants mentioning.
Against the run Houston didn't have a great day, as DeMarco Murray rushed for 136 yards, but against a great offensive line holding him to 4.4 per carry was respectable.
Grade: C-
Linebacker
7 of 11
Johnathan Joseph and Kareem Jackson were the Texans' two leading tacklers in this game; that should give you some indication of how well Houston's linebackers played against Dallas.
DeMarco Murray didn't gash them for over five yards a carry like he has other teams, but he still had a good game with 136 yards on the ground.
I can't point to many individual plays where the linebackers made a mistake or blew coverage off the top of my head, but they didn't make an impact, which is something this defense needs from a group that features two first-round picks and one second-round pick in its current rotation.
Brian Cushing did get a sack, but overall the linebackers weren't very effective when asked to blitz. The Cowboys have a great offensive line, but someone has to get through at some point.
Grade: C
Defensive Back
8 of 11
It was not a great performance in terms of what Houston did or did not allow Tony Romo to do, but it's tough to put much of the blame on the actual players in the secondary.
To start off with, the secondary was missing three players who were inactive for the game with an injury. Then on top of that, two of them—Kareem Jackson and Johnathan Joseph—were shook up during the game. Also, I don't think the coaching staff helped them out much.
Again there was a lot of the "bend-but-don't-break" strategy with too much off-coverage. Without a pass rush to speed up the clock for the quarterback, how does Houston expect to get stops when the corners are playing off the line and giving up easy looks and completions?
Obviously the Cowboys have some very talented receivers, but you can still pick your spots with tight coverage when the situation calls for it, like on 3rd-and-short, or when the other team only needs a few more yards to reach field-goal range.
My problem isn't that the Texans mix in off-coverage; it's that they use it too much and use it in situations that don't make any sense, as I described previously.
"#Texans' secondary has barely been tested this year. When it was -- E. Manning -- didn't hold up. Romo throwing at will thus far. #Cowboys
— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) October 5, 2014"
With the exception of two big plays that went for a touchdown and set up the winning field goal—I know that's a very big exception—the defensive backs played pretty solid coverage when the scheme allowed them to against a very talented group of receivers.
Even on the long pass to Dez Bryant in overtime, the coverage was there step-for-step with him—Bryant just made a great juggling catch.
"Just can’t get mad there. Dez with an unreal catch. #Texans
— PDS (@PatDStat) October 5, 2014"
This grade probably could have been a "C," but the defensive backs did cause two turnovers and make two tackles for loss, which earns them a little boost to the grade.
"That was already Kendrick Lewis’ 3rd forced fumble of the season. Texans record for a season is 4. Had just 2 during his 4 years with KC.
— James Palmer (@JPalmerCSN) October 5, 2014"
Grade: B-
Special Teams
9 of 11
It was a solid performance from the men who kicked the ball today, but the coverage team was in large part responsible for one touchdown from Dallas.
After one of the many three-and-outs from the Texans offense, the coverage team allowed a 38-yard return which gave Dallas the ball at the Texans' 30-yard line. Maybe Shane Lechler outkicked his coverage, but it wasn't even his longest punt of the day. The coverage unit just has to perform better.
The Cowboys would go on to score one of their only two touchdowns just four plays later.
Overall though, it was a solid performance from special teams.
Randy Bullock made every kick he attempted, and Lechler averaged 46.6 yards on his punts with a long of 60 yards and one downed inside the 20-yard line. It should have been two, but a coverage team player misplayed a punt that hit down inside the 5-yard line and bounced into the end zone.
Grade: B
Coaching
10 of 11
It was an awful job today by the coaching staff and in particular by head coach Bill O'Brien.
He wasn't perfect during the first three quarters, but the real glaring mistakes came in the fourth quarter and overtime. Luckily for the team his mistakes didn't cost it during regulation, but continuing to make similar decisions will bite Houston in the end—as it did during overtime.
Down 10 points with just over nine minutes remaining, the Texans started what would become a field-goal drive. But instead of utilizing some hurry-up or no-huddle like we saw them practice during training camp, O'Brien treated it like they were ahead by 10 and just needed to bleed the clock.
That drive went 13 plays and took 7:17 off the clock as they ran the ball on five of the plays, huddled and walked up to the line of scrimmage.
There was no sense of urgency and no awareness of the situation.
"Last drive was odd in many ways. Too much running; not enough passing; should've turned to no huddle.
— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) October 5, 2014"
The Texans were bailed out by a pathetic following possession by the Cowboys—who were whistled for a delay of game coming out of a timeout and threw an incomplete pass on third down—but that doesn't excuse his decision-making.
If the Cowboys hadn't shot themselves in the foot and picked up one first down, they would have won the game in regulation. The terrible clock management from O'Brien put the Texans in a situation where they had to force a three-and-out instead of still having some time to work with after the score.
On that same drive O'Brien also decided to pass on a 48-yard field goal in favor of going for it on 4th-and-2. That was a mistake, but it wasn't as bad as his clock management.
Down 10 points the Texans were going to need the field goal anyway, and Randy Bullock has been money.
Sure, they converted, and that's great. But they also took another two minutes off the clock without gaining any more points than they would have had if they kicked on fourth down.
If they were trailing by 13 or more, I would have been all for going for it on fourth down because the situation would have called for being aggressive, as three points wouldn't have cut it to a one-possession game.
Down 10, though, all they needed to do was cut the lead to one possession and save time; they failed on the latter.
Later the coaching staff got bailed again by poor play from the Cowboys at the end of regulation when Dan Bailey missed a 53-yard field goal.
With a couple of timeouts and 41 seconds remaining for Dallas, the Texans went into prevent, used all off-coverage with their corners and allowed the Cowboys to march into scoring position.
It's one thing to start off in that coverage to keep everything in front, but Romeo Crennel continued to use it even as the Cowboys were a short pass away from getting into field-goal range.
Needing five to 10 yards, Dez Bryant caught an eight-yard pass with the Texans' corners lined up about eight yards off to make it a reasonable kick attempt for Bailey.
Again, Dallas' mistakes or poor performance saved the Texans in regulation.
Finally in overtime the coaching mistakes caught up with the Texans.
Houston won the coin toss and got the ball first to start off overtime.
On the first two plays of OT, Arian Foster continued his brilliant game with runs of 24 and six yards to put the Texans near the 50-yard line and Cowboys' territory. O'Brien then proceeded to call back-to-back plays that didn't use Foster as a runner.
Makes sense, right? Your workhorse has gashed them all game and put you on the verge of reaching scoring position, so that's the right time to take the ball out his hands.
I'll forget the run with Alfred Blue on second down because the bigger blunder came on the next play.
On 3rd-and-2 at the Cowboys' 48-yard line, not only did the Texans not hand the ball off to Foster, but they split him out wide as a receiver and used an empty backfield shotgun formation.
Yes, the running back who had over 150 yards on nearly seven yards per carry is split out wide on 3rd-and-2; it's enough to make a fan lose his or her mind.
Predictably, the pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick was incomplete, and the Texans had to punt to Dallas, which went down and won the game on the next possession.
"Andre doesn't like the call. Said Foster would have "willed it" to a first down.
— David Barron (@dfbarron) October 5, 2014"
I like O'Brien, but he blew this game. There were plenty of failures to go around in this game. And even though no one besides Foster played well, this loss is on O'Brien.
Grade: F
Final Grades
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| Quarterback | D |
| Running Back | A+ |
| Wide Receiver | B |
| Tight End | C |
| Offensive Line | A |
| Defensive Line | C- |
| Linebacker | C |
| Defensive Backs | B- |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | F |
| Overall | C- |
Training camp observations are firsthand.
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