OVERALL
One week after their debacle against the Titans, the Texans played about as well as they could have against the undefeated and heavily favored Eagles. They were tied 14-14 at halftime, and they trailed 21-17 early in the fourth quarter.
Grade: B-minus
Quarterbacks
Davis Mills played an awesome first half and an awful second half. He was 8-of-9 for 90 yards, two touchdowns and a 147.9 rating in the first half and 5-of-13 for 64 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions in the second half. His interceptions were killers. He finished with a 72.9 rating against a defense that entered the game tied for third in the NFL.
Grade: C
Running backs
Dameon Pierce was outstanding playing before the Amazon audience. He carried 27 times for 139 yards and a 5.1-yard average against a strong defense. His longest run was 36 yards. Pierce ran hard, broke tackles and showed the Eagles and the national television audience why he should be a leading candidate for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Grade: A
Wide receivers
Playing without disgruntled leading receiver Brandin Cooks, who was inactive because he pouted over not being traded last week, veterans Chris Moore and Phillip Dorsett did well in his absence against the league’s fourth-best pass defense. Moore had four catches for 43 yards and an outstanding catch on a touchdown. Dorsett contributed three receptions for 69 yards, including a 34-yard gain.
Grade: B-minus
Tight ends
Davis Mills failed to utilize Jordan Akins for the first time. Rookie Teagan Quitoriano, playing for the first time in his career after returning from an injury, caught a 2-yard touchdown pass to give the Texans a temporary 7-0 lead. O.J. Howard caught one pass for 14 yards.
Grade: D
Offensive line
The linemen redeemed themselves after a miserable performance against the Titans. The run blocking was ferocious against an Eagles defense that entered the game tied for third in the league. The Texans ran 32 times for 168 yards and a 5.3-yard average. It was a physical performance. On pass protection, they couldn’t contain Javon Hargrave, who dominated Kenyon Green and Scott Quessenberry. Hargrave had three sacks and six unassisted tackles.
Grade: B-minus
Defensive line
The Texans went into this game allowing a league-worst 186 yards rushing and limited the Eagles to 143 yards – bad for other teams but not the Texans. The linemen didn’t get dominated the way they did against the Titans. They produced consistent pressure on Jalen Hurts. Jerry Hughes gave Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson fits. Hughes recorded two sacks and should have had three. They sacked Jalen Hurts four times, including one by rookie tackle Kurt Hinish. Jaleel Johnson recovered a fumble.
Grade: B
Linebackers
Like the linemen, the linebackers improved against the run. Christian Kirksey and Christian Harris had five unassisted tackles each. Miles Sanders ran for 93 yards, a 5.5 average and one touchdown. The linebackers helped keep Jalen Hurts bottled up. He ran for 23 yards and a 2.6 average.
Grade: C-plus
Secondary
Steven Nelson played a terrific game, including a sack. Desmond King II continued to play well. Once again, safeties Jonathan Owens and Jalen Pitre had to make too many tackles, combining for 19. The safeties struggled to stop tight end Dallas Goedert, who had eight tackles for 100 yards and a touchdown. Jalen Hurts threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns. A.J. Brown had only four catches for 59 yards, but one provided a 17-yard touchdown to the victory.
Grade: C
Special teams
Ka’imi Fairbairn connected on his only field goal attempt from 30 yards. Cam Johnston had two touchbacks and only one punt inside the 20, very unusual for him, against his former team. He finished with a 52-yard gross average and a 40-yard net. They didn’t get many chances to return or cover.
Grade: C
Coaching
Lovie Smith and his staff had their team ready to play against the superior Eagles, who were favored by 13 ½ points. It was an impressive turnaround from the horrendous performance against Tennessee. Pep Hamilton had the offense working as efficiently as possible in a 14-14 first half. It was his best half of play calling. Smith’s defense played as well as it was capable. Frank Ross’ special teams didn’t provide much to the overall performance.
Grade: B-minus
John McClain can be heard Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on Sports Radio 610 and Monday and Thursday on Texans Radio. He does three Houtopia Podcasts a week for SportsRadio610. He also can be read four times a week on GallerySports.com.