Chiefs vs. Texans: Houston Grades, Notes & Quotes

We've seen that type of game from the Houston Texans play out many times before, haven't we?

How many times during the Matt Schaub era did we watch the Texans offense start off frustratingly slow only to pick it up in the second half to make their narrow loss that much more excruciating? Had to be at least a dozen times.

It really did feel like nearly every loss of the Gary Kubiak/Matt Schaub era. They did nothing in the first half while wilting under pressure and turning the ball over only to score quickly in the second half once the defense started to play back.

The only problem with this comparison is that the best of Hoyer isn't even close to the best of Schaub.

He became a popular and deserved target for criticism by Texans fans during the 2013 season, but sometimes people forget that Schaub had three seasons with over 4,000 passing yards including leading the league in that stat in 2009.

Unfortunately for the Texans, they're getting only the bad side of Schaub with Hoyer with little potential of seeing the good side.

Not only did Hoyer hurt the offense, but he killed the Texans defense as well, with 14 of the Chiefs' 27 points coming off drives that only had to travel a combined 20 yards after turnovers.

That's right, two Chiefs touchdown drives only had to go a combined 20 yards because of Hoyer's two turnovers. The Texans, or any other team for that matter, won't win many games giving up 14 free points to their opponent.

That's not to excuse the defense completely for giving up 27 points, because they certainly had their struggles covering the Chiefs running backs and tight ends in coverage, but Hoyer cost the team 14 points on top of not moving the team down the field.

Lots of things went wrong during the Texans' first game of the 2015 season, but nothing will go right moving forward unless they change their starter at quarterback.

Position Grades for the Texans

Patric Schneider/Associated Press

Position	Grade
Quarterback	C
Running Back	C+
Wide Receiver	B+
Tight End	D
Offensive Line	C
Defensive Line	B
Linebackers	C-
Defensive Backs	C
Special Teams	D
Coaching	D
Overall	D

On his own Brian Hoyer would have received a D or maybe even an F, but the play of Ryan Mallett once he entered the game was enough to boost the grade up one letter.

Hoyer's decision-making in the pocket was slow, his passes were underthrown and behind the receivers all game long and, of course, he turned the ball over twice.

The refs missed two obvious pass interference calls, which caused a lot of anger on Twitter, but on the first one on a pass intended for Cecil Shorts, the pass from Hoyer being behind the receiver caused the should-be penalty.

If the pass was in front of the receiver where it needed to be, the corner wouldn't have even been involved in the play.

The decision to start Hoyer is a large part of why I gave Coach O'Brien a poor grade. In addition to that, I also didn't like his decision to go for it on 4th-and-1 in the third quarter.

A field goal there—not that it was a sure thing since Randy Bullock missed an extra point earlier—would have cut the lead from three to two possessions. When any score cuts the lead by a possession, take the points.

Even if you like the decision to go for it, the halfback dive to Alfred Blue was a poor play call. The Texans struggled all preseason in short-yardage, power situations to get any push, so a play-action fake or a quick slant would have been a better call.

Staying with the offense, the wide receivers had a good game whenever their quarterback was actually able to get them the ball.

New Texan Nate Washington went 105 yards receiving on six catches while No. 1 target DeAndre Hopkins led the team with nine receptions including two touchdowns.

If the Texans are able to get more consistent play out of their quarterbacks—see what I did there—then these receivers could shine.

On the defensive side, the front seven did a nice job against the run but unsurprisingly struggled badly in coverage against the Chiefs' tight ends and running backs.

The Texans held star running back Jamaal Charles to just 3.6 yards per carry on 16 attempts, but he was able to pick up 9.2 yards per reception including a touchdown as a receiver.

In news that also couldn't be described as surprising, the Texans' safeties and linebackers struggled mightily in coverage against tight end Travis Kelce, who led the Chiefs in all three major stats with six receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

The secondary didn't give up a big day to any of the Chiefs' wide receivers, but the tackling from that group was sloppy and allowed Kansas City to pick up several big first downs by failing to wrap up or just straight up whiffing.

Last—and possibly least—the special teams were nowhere near special against Kansas City.

Inconsistent kicker Randy Bullock missed an extra point from the new, longer distance and later got lucky on a 47-yard field goal that hit the post and bounced through the uprights. He's certainly improved from his miserable 2013 season, but I still feel nervous every time he lines up for a kick.

The Texans got nothing out of the return game once again, which has sadly been a trend for a long time.

Punt returner Keith Mumphery averaged just 3.5 yards per return with a long of eight, while the team didn't even attempt a kick return. The most glaring of those came when they oddly took a knee just one yard deep in the end zone late in the game.

Punter Shane Lechler was unsurprisingly the lone bright spot on special teams, which was a good thing since he was pretty busy with the Texans' struggles on offense. Lechler averaged 47 yards on his seven punts, which included one downed inside the 20-yard line.

Ryan Mallett Leads 4th-Quarter Touchdown Drive in Relief of Brian Hoyer

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

The fans who chanted his name finally got their wish, but unfortunately it didn't come until late into the fourth quarter.

Fans everywhere watched on as Bill O'Brien named Brian Hoyer the starting quarterback of the Houston Texans during an episode of HBO's Hard Knocks, crediting better consistency, but few agreed with that decision.

The quarterback controversy played out during the Texans' Week 1 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, with Hoyer struggling for most of the game before finally being replaced with the most popular man in Houston among Texans fans.

To paraphrase a Dennis Green quote, Hoyer was who we thought he was: not good.

Hoyer played well on two scoring drives, but for the majority of the game his decisions were slow, his passes were late, underthrown or behind the intended targets and he turned the ball over twice.

Remember, though, Coach O'Brien told us he was more consistent. He did consistently play poor, so I guess he was kind of right.

Mallett by no means played like an All-Pro once he took the field, but his decisions were quicker, his passes had way more zip and he was more accurate with the football.

I'm sure Coach O'Brien thought he was making the right decision before the season when he named Hoyer the starter, but it's time to go ahead and make the change.

Arian Foster Won't Play Next Week vs. Carolina

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Regardless of who starts at quarterback the Houston Texans desperately need their star running back, Arian Foster, back on the field.

Unfortunately, according to Bill O'Brien that return won't happen next week, per Brian Smith of the Houston Chronicle. 

"

Arian Foster won't play next week, O'Brien said. #Texans

— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) September 13, 2015"

The backup running backs actually played better against the Chiefs than they did when Foster missed games last season, but no one can replace what Foster does for the Texans.

The yardage totals of Alfred Blue and Jonathan Grimes weren't impressive, but they each had respectable numbers in terms of yards per carry. If the Texans hadn't fallen behind so quickly they might have had a bigger impact on the game.

Not only is Foster the team's best runner, but he's also an excellent pass protector in the backfield and arguably their best receiving target outside of DeAndre Hopkins.

Having Foster on the field even when he doesn't touch the ball is a huge help because of the attention he demands from the opposing defense. With him on the field the safeties aren't able to play as deep and the play action tends to work a little better. He's the motor that drives this offense.

The health of Foster is arguably the biggest single factor to the Texans' success or failure this season.

J.J. Watt Impacts the Game Even in a Loss

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Not that this will come as any surprise, but J.J. Watt was one of the few bright spots during a tough opening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. 

"

JJ Watt lost his helmet, still got the sack. Beast http://t.co/yOBPYJufrQ pic.twitter.com/CAoGZR1pRq

— Jason McIntyre (@jasonrmcintyre) September 13, 2015"

Facing a patchwork offensive line Watt was expected to have a great game, and at least by the stats he did exactly that.

For the game Watt finished with nine tackles—second on the team to Brian Cushing's 10—including six tackles for a loss, two sacks and three hits on the quarterback. 

"

This is J.J. Watt’s 15th multi-sack game since 2012, the most over that span according to @espnstatsinfo.

— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) September 13, 2015"

The rest of the Texans defenders combined for zero sacks, zero hits on the quarterback and just one tackle for a loss; it was too often a one-man show on defense.

Jadeveon Clowney had a few nice moments causing pressure on the quarterback and setting the edge against the run, but Watt will need more help than what he got today.

Bill O'Brien Unsure Who the Starting Quarterback Will Be Next Week

Patric Schneider/Associated Press

Still? 

"

Bill O'Brian said he doesn't know if Hoyer is still starter. Too early to say. Will have to review tape. #Texans

— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) September 13, 2015"

Seriously, how could Coach O'Brien still be unsure about who the starting quarterback should be for this team? The only explanation I can come up with for this statement is that he wants to talk to the quarterbacks privately first before announcing to the media.

Still being honestly unsure about who should start would be frightening to me as a fan.

Not only did Hoyer fail to move the team down the field and put up enough points, he basically gifted 14 points to the Chiefs in a seven-point game.

Hoyer played for about three-and-a-half quarters and attempted 21 more passes, yet Mallett produced the same number of points during his much shorter time on the field.

Look I'm not going to blame all of the offensive struggles just on Hoyer, because the offensive line was inconsistent and without Foster on the field that would be unfair, but he still does nearly everything worse than Mallett.

Mallett missed a couple of throws that should have been easy completions once he came into the game, but his decisions were quicker, his passes had more zip and while not perfect his accuracy was better than Hoyer's.

Coach O'Brien stated consistency as the reason why he picked Hoyer during Hard Knocks, but the only thing consistent about Hoyer today was his poor play. It's time to make a change.

Duane Brown Says the Offensive Line Has to Play Better

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

While Hoyer deserves part of the blame for the issues with pass protection against the Chiefs for holding on to the ball too long, the offensive line does need to play better going forward.

After all, it's hard to complete a pass if you're lying on your back. 

"

Duane Brown 'whoever's out there at quarterback we need to do a better job in pass protection'

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 13, 2015"

Duane Brown and the Texans offensive line allowed five sacks against the Chiefs and allowed pressure on the quarterback several other times that caused throws to be hurried.

Going back to what I said before, on the strip sack from Justin Houston that set up the touchdown pass to Jamaal Charles, the blame belongs to Hoyer on that play for holding on to the ball for way too long.

The Texans have had some consistency issues with the offensive line this year including the preseason, but even a line featuring five Hall of Famers will look incompetent if the quarterback doesn't get rid of the ball on time.

After all, the Chiefs did finish fifth last year in sacks including a league-leading 22 from Justin Houston, so getting rid of the ball on time had to have been an emphasis during practice leading up to this game.

Follow me on Twitter for more news and opinion on the Houston Texans: @sackedbybmac