Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts: Full Report Card Grades for Houston
Sunday's defeat makes it 13 losses in a row for the Houston Texans when playing at Indianapolis—not a lucky number.
I'm not trying to make excuses for the Texans, but most teams will lose games on the road without their starting quarterback and star receiver against a division-leading opponent.
The Texans defense deserves a ton of credit for keeping Houston in the ballgame deep into the fourth quarter, but I don't think many fans should be surprised with the end result of the game.
Unfortunately, as a result of the 17-10 loss the Texans dropped back to the .500 mark at 7-7 for the season, and their playoff chances are dead.
If they're able to win one of their last two remaining games—they have the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17, so they probably will—to reach 8-8 for the year, we should all still consider that a successful season with this roster.
If you want to search for a silver lining in all of this, at least the Texans will get a two-game glimpse at Tom Savage. You can't make a full evaluation off two starts, but at least they'll get a look at him in real action before making a decision on the position going forward.
Quarterback
1 of 11
Ryan Fitzpatrick didn't play very well before leaving the game with an injury, but since he didn't even play a full two quarters how can we give him anything other than an incomplete grade?
With Tom Savage...I mean, he just wasn't ready.
Savage had a few positive moments but overall didn't play well. Of course that's what should have been expected from a rookie fourth-round pick with limited college experience and zero pass attempts at the NFL level.
For any new readers, I was not a fan of the decision to draft Savage back in May.
Savage finished the game 10-of-19 for 127 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. That's not an awful game when factoring in the situation and his experience, but it's also not good enough to win many games.
Early in the game Savage just looked overwhelmed by the speed of the defense and how quickly he needed to make decisions. He settled down quite a bit in the second half, but his accuracy and decision-making were still inconsistent at best—he stared down his receivers like he was stalking them.
The Fitzpatrick the news is as bad as I'm sure we all expected once he was carted off.
"An air cast is always bad news, and such is the case for #Texans QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. He has a broken leg & his season is over, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 14, 2014"
This is just a guess, but I think that was the last time we'll see Fitzpatrick in a Texans uniform.
Grade: Incomplete
Running Back
2 of 11
With a rookie fourth-round quarterback under center who was nowhere close to being ready, it's hard to grade the rest of the offense too harshly given the circumstances.
That of course applies to Arian Foster, as he faced eight-man boxes nearly all game once Ryan Fitzpatrick left with a leg injury. When he did have lanes available Foster made plays, but those instances were too far in between.
"Watch out Toler. Foster for the people. #Texans https://t.co/EEutEqdSXt
— PDS (@PatDStat) December 14, 2014"
Foster finished the game with 99 yards on 3.8 yards per carry—a solid stat line considering the situation. Rookie back Alfred Blue was also held under four yards per carry, while Jonathan Grimes didn't see any action.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver
3 of 11
There was no Andre Johnson on the field because of a concussion injury suffered last week against Jacksonville. With a rookie quarterback who wasn't ready under center for most of the game, I think we'll need to grade the receivers on a curve here considering what they were working with against the Colts.
DeAndre Hopkins made a couple nice catches, but his big-play potential was snuffed out by a quarterback who was playing with a spinning brain for most of the game.
Hopkins finished with five catches for 77 yards and no touchdowns.
As far as the other receivers, not only did they fail to make plays in a positive sense, but they also hurt their team with negative plays.
"Damaris Johnson with a big drop
— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) December 14, 2014"
Damaris Johnson dropped a big pass late in the fourth quarter that would have been good enough for a first down, but the bigger blunder was on DeVier Posey.
Posey was called for holding on a play in the fourth quarter that should have resulted in an Arian Foster touchdown but was brought back with the flag. Not only was he in position to make the block legally, but Foster didn't even need his help as he ran through a huge hole in the defense away from "block."
""He didn't need to do it," says @TexansVoice on hold by Posey. "Foster had it (the first down)."
— David Barron (@dfbarron) December 14, 2014"
It was an awful play and a critical mistake.
Grade: C+
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Tight End
4 of 11
The tight ends were already an invisible group even before the rookie quarterback was forced into action, so no excuses should be made for their production.
Garrett Graham missed the game, while the other two tight ends combined for two catches for 11 yards.
Sadly the two catches by second-year player Ryan Griffin are a season high and half of his previous total for receptions on the season.
The tight ends needed to catch a lot more passes to make up for the blocks they continue to miss this year.
Grade: F
Offensive Line
5 of 11
Like the rest of the offense it's hard to judge the offensive line by the numbers or any specific statistical measure.
As a team the Texans averaged just 3.3 yards per carry on their rush attempts, but considering the eight-man boxes they faced all game because of the quarterback situation, it's hard to be too harsh in evaluating their performance.
One good stat, all things considered, is that the offensive line only allowed one sack during the game.
Grade: B
Defensive Line
6 of 11
Not breaking news: J.J. Watt is a beast.
"J.J. Watt is now tied w/Mario Williams for franchise lead in sacks w/53.
— Drew Dougherty (@DoughertyDrew) December 14, 2014"
Watt finished the game with two sacks, two tackles for loss, two hits on the quarterback and a pass defensed that he almost caught for an interception. The superb play from the defense was the only reason why this game remained close deep into the fourth quarter, and the play of Watt was a major factor.
The Colts weren't very efficient or consistent running the ball against the Texans, but considering who their running backs are that shouldn't be a surprise. They did manage to rush for 110 yards, but it was on less than four yards per carry.
Jerrell Powe and Jared Crick also made nice plays with a quarterback hit and tackle for loss combined, per ESPN.com.
Grade: A
Linebackers
7 of 11
Every unit of the defense played pretty well against the Colts, and the linebackers were no exception.
"2nd Half. #Texans held the Colts to 3 points, 80 yards and 5 first downs. Texans O had 168, but still still not enough.
— PDS (@PatDStat) December 14, 2014"
In particular I was impressed with the play of Mike Mohamed, who covered better in space than I thought he was capable of doing. Mohamed had two pass breakups during the game, including one in the fourth quarter deep down the field.
The Texans looked like they were in a Cover 2 man-under look with the inside linebackers responsible for getting a deep drop to take away the middle of the field for any tight ends or slot receivers. I didn't think Mohamed was capable of making the play, but he broke it up with ease.
Mohamed also led the team with eight tackles during the game.
John Simon and Brooks Reed didn't fill up the stat sheet as much as Mohamed, but they did a good job with their assignments. Specifically they set the edge against the run well and helped free up other pass-rushers when they ran stunts up front.
For the game the Colts tight ends combined to catch four passes for 48 yards—thought that total was going to be a lot higher.
It was a good job by the linebackers.
Grade: B+
Defensive Backs
8 of 11
Andrew Luck completed less than 50 percent of his pass attempts for under 200 yards and threw a pick-six; who would have guessed that coming into the game?
The performance of the defensive backs has been very up and down this season and still may need some changes during the offseason. But I have to give them credit when they play well.
"Bouye with a great play on Wayne. #Texans https://t.co/H3P4MFiEsd
— PDS (@PatDStat) December 14, 2014"
Texan-killer T.Y. Hilton, as you would expect from Luck's numbers, was also held in check as he finished four receptions on eight targets with 50 yards and no touchdowns—a lot better than the last time these teams played.
Nearly every member of the secondary made a play at some point, but the play of Kareem Jackson and Kendrick Lewis stood out. Jackson led the team in solo tackles, had a tackle for loss and one pass breakup, while Lewis broke up two passes in addition to his interception return for a touchdown.
Grade: A
Special Teams
9 of 11
New week, same old story. The punt and kick return game contributed nothing, while the Texans' kicker and punter were solid.
Randy Bullock only had one field-goal attempt but made the most of it by connecting from 53 yards.
Shane Lechler didn't have an amazing average on his seven punts, but that was partly due to him having three of those punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
The Texans should look for a return specialist in the draft next year; this offense needs better starting field position.
Grade: B
Coaching
10 of 11
There's not much a coach can do when he's missing several key players on the road, but once again I was confused and frustrated by several decisions made by Bill O'Brien.
The first example came in the second quarter not too long after Tom Savage was forced into action. Needing only one yard on third down, O'Brien called a play-action rollout pass with a rookie quarterback who was struggling to even hand the ball off at that time.
"#Texans ... snuck it on third and 2. Didn't get it.
— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) December 14, 2014"
Again they needed only one yard: Give the ball to Arian Foster! Overthinking simple plays like that drives me crazy.
O'Brien then followed up his bad play call on third down by calling a very obvious fake punt that the entire Colts defense seemed to see coming from a mile away. If the Texans wanted to go for it they could have done what they should have done on third down—give the ball to Foster.
"Colts knew that was coming.
— PDS (@PatDStat) December 14, 2014"
If you're going to use a fake at least be creative; the Colts were lined up and waiting on that direct snap to Alfred Blue. I'm a fan of being aggressive, but you still have to be smart.
The next situation came very early in the fourth quarter, when on a 3rd-and-2 play, O'Brien called a quarterback sneak. You need two full yards, and the call is a quarterback sneak? Unless the Colts had some weird formation with no one lined up over the guards or center that is a terrible call.
A quarterback sneak is for situations when you need less than a full yard, not a full two. How does an NFL head coach decide that's a good idea? It boggles my mind.
The last one I want to point out was his decision to go for it on fourth down with just over seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Normally I would agree with the opinion that you don't want to give the ball back to a quarterback like Luck with a chance to seal the game, but not this time.
The Texans defense had dominated the Colts the entire second half, so I would rather pin them deep with a punt and trust that my defense could force a punt on its end than roll the dice with a shaky quarterback playing in his first game with the added risk of giving the Colts good field position.
That decision didn't end up impacting the outcome, but it would seem hard to argue that the Texans' odds of converting on fourth down with Savage were greater than stopping a struggling Colts offense.
Again, I like aggressive play-calling, but O'Brien seems to struggle with picking the right time to be aggressive or conservative. His decision-making often defies good time and score logic and goes against the odds.
Grade: C
Overall
11 of 11
| Quarterback | Incomplete |
| Running Back | B |
| Wide Receiver | C+ |
| Tight End | F |
| Offensive Line | B |
| Defensive Line | A |
| Linebackers | B+ |
| Defensive Backs | A |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | C |
| Overall | B- |
Follow me on Twitter for more opinions on the Texans and live tweets during games: @sackedbybmac
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