Texans vs. Jaguars: Houston Grades, Notes & Quotes

In every other division except maybe the NFC East, the Houston Texans would be completely out of the NFL playoff race with their 2-4 record.

However, if the Indianapolis Colts lose to New England on Sunday Night Football—Patriots favored by nine points at the time this article was posted—the Texans would only be one game back in the AFC South division race.

That doesn't necessarily mean their odds to make the playoffs drastically improved with the win over Jacksonville on Sunday, but all things considered with how this season has gone so far, being just one game back with 10 weeks left to play is a nice silver lining.

The victory moves the Texans' record to 16-11 all time against Jacksonville, easily their highest total of wins over any other franchise in the league.

Position Grades for the Texans

John Raoux/Associated Press

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

Brian Hoyer isn't close to being a perfect quarterback, obviously, but there are a few things he does well that proved positive in this game.

Hoyer seems better equipped than backup Ryan Mallett to make calls at the line, identify coverage quickly and deliver the ball accurately.

The toughness he showed also shouldn't be overlooked. Hoyer came back into the game just one play after taking a big hit to the head—that should draw an even bigger fine—to throw the go-ahead touchdown a couple of plays later.

Hoyer still has several flaws like staring down his target at times, but he gives the Texans offense the best chance at success among their current quarterbacks.

One of the things Hoyer did best today was show willingness to give DeAndre Hopkins a chance to catch the ball even when it looked like he was covered.

Hopkins is one of those receivers who doesn't always gain great separation but is capable of bringing down more than his fair share of 50-50 balls.

In particular Hoyer connected with Hopkins on several back-shoulder throws, which are a nightmare for corners trying to take away the deep pass to a receiver with great high-point ability.

Hoyer also showed a knack for identifying mismatches in this game, like finding Arian Foster in one-on-one coverage on a linebacker or safety.

The Texans have a couple of other dangerous targets, but whenever Foster has single coverage on an option route like he did on his touchdown catch, he should get the ball every time.

For the game Hoyer had 293 yards on 24-of-36 passing, with three touchdowns. It was the first time this season, and the first time overall since Ryan Fitzpatrick's magical six-touchdown game last November, that a Texans quarterback finished with at least three touchdowns and no interceptions.

From the point right after the second touchdown pass to Hopkins, Hoyer was also 8-of-11 for 95 yards and three touchdowns on third-down plays. Just a great game for the veteran.

His two best weapons—Hopkins and Foster—also had big games.

Foster proved once again that he's a great dual-purpose threat with 112 combined rushing and receiving yards and one touchdown on a pass from Hoyer.

Hopkins continued his campaign to make the All-Pro roster with 10 receptions for 148 yards and two touchdowns.

On defense, a few guys who had been invisible earlier this season had huge games to lead the way in the Texans victory.

With Jadeveon Clowney out, outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus got to play his more natural position as an edge-rusher and came away with two sacks for the game.

Former seventh-round pick Andre Hal also made several plays by showing great awareness. Neither pass he intercepted was very good, but Hal did a great job of quickly diagnosing what was happening in front of him and making a quick jump on the route to make it look easy. 

"

Andre Hal said he anticipated Blake Bortles' passes on both interceptions saw them coming

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 18, 2015"

Blake Bortles threw the Texans secondary a couple of gifts, but give credit to guys like Hal for taking advantage of the opportunities available.

Bortles' final stat line looked rough for Houston with over 300 yards passing, but he also had a low completion percentage and three interceptions. 

"

J.J. Watt said he started getting sick a few days ago was determined to play today he said he needs a lot of sleep

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 18, 2015"

Texans superstar J.J. Watt had an uneventful first half after dealing with illness this weekend, but he turned it on after the break. Watt seemed like he was in the backfield for the entire second half and did come away with a batted pass and several quarterback hurries before the game was over.

The front seven as a whole also played well against an injured Jaguars running game by holding them to 83 yards, the second-lowest number they've allowed on the ground this season.

On the coaching decisions, overall they had a solid game, but they used empty formations way too often. The Texans just don't have the blocking to make that work and need the threat of a run to help open up windows for the pass.

DeAndre Hopkins Ties Another Team Record

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

DeAndre Hopkins has produced all season, but he did most of his damage against soft coverage with the Texans trailing early and often in several games during the first five weeks; that changed today.

That trend wasn't Hopkins' fault and shouldn't have completely diminished the numbers he had put up, but Hopkins left no doubt by making several big plays this week when the game was still on the line. 

"

DeAndre Hopkins with four straight 100-yard receiving games, tying Andre Johnson's club record

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 18, 2015"

Hopkins is on pace for a huge statistical season and will be a lock to make the Pro Bowl and All-Pro rosters if he keeps up this level of play.

At his current rate, Hopkins would finish this season with 139 receptions, 1,936 yards and 13 touchdowns. 

"

"I just think that he's a force in this League."-O'Brien on DeAndre Hopkins.

— Drew Dougherty (@DoughertyDrew) October 18, 2015"

Not only would Hopkins break the team record in each stat with those numbers, but he'd also finish just five receptions shy of breaking Marvin Harrison's single-season record for receptions and 28 yards short of breaking the single-season record for receiving yards held by Calvin Johnson.

Hopkins has been incredible, especially when you factor in whom he's playing with as his quarterback.

Not only have the Texans found their replacement for Andre Johnson as their new No. 1 target, but they also have arguably the most underrated receiver in the league.

Defense Forces Three Turnovers

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

One of the big storylines heading into this week was the surprisingly poor play of the Texans defense and, more specifically, the shockingly low number of turnovers they had forced this season.

The Texans defense caused a league-high 34 turnovers during the 2014 season but through their first five games this year ranked last in the league with only two takeaways.

They almost doubled their season total for takeaways with three interceptions against Jacksonville, including one that was taken back for a game-clinching touchdown on the second pick from Andre Hal.

Playing against a mistake-prone quarterback like Blake Bortles certainly helped their cause, but it was nice to see the secondary jump a few routes and put themselves in the right place at the right time to make a few plays.

Whitney Mercilus Plays Big with Jadeveon Clowney Injured

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

At the risk of making excuses for a player who seemed invisible earlier this season, Whitney Mercilus looked really good in his return as the Texans' primary pass-rusher at outside linebacker with Jadeveon Clowney missing the game.

When Clowney was healthy, he was defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel's primary edge-rusher from the outside linebacker position, which put Mercilus in a tough spot playing a role that was unnatural to him.

Mercilus was drafted in the first round in 2012 to rush the passer, but with Clowney fully taking over that role this season, Mercilus had his duties shifted toward setting the edge on the strong side against the run and dropping back into coverage in passing situations instead.

That's a valuable role that Mercilus needed to perform better, but he's better suited as an edge-rusher. 

"

.@HoustonTexans OLB Whitney Mercilus with his second sack of the game and 20th of his career, which is 4th most in team history #HOUvsJAX

— Texans PR (@TexansPR) October 18, 2015"

Hopefully, his two-sack performance against Jacksonville will open up some eyes and put some ideas in Crennel's head on how to better play to the strengths of his players.

The spin move Mercilus put on Luke Joeckel for his first sack was very impressive. He can apply pressure with plays like that if they put him in a position to do so.

At least on obvious passing downs with their sub-packages, there's no reason why both Mercilus and Clowney couldn't be their two edge-rushers with J.J. Watt rushing from an inside position.

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