(SportsRadio 610) - That was a rough watch at NRG Stadium on Sunday with the Texans losing again to the Tennessee Titans.
Houston falls to 1-5-1 for the season with a short week ahead, as the NFL's only undefeated Philadelphia Eagles come to town.
Here are the grades for Sunday's 17-10 loss to the Titans.
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OVERALL
The worst performance of the season and one of worst in Houston professional football history.
Grade: F-minus
Quarterbacks
Davis Mills looked like a rookie third-round pick making his first start. He was awful. What’s happened to the Mills who was so impressive over the last five games of last season compared to the Mills fans are seeing this season?
Grade: F-minus
Running backs
The Titans had a terrific game plan to shut down Dameon Pierce, and they did it. He got hit too often before he got started and finished with 15 carries for 35 yards and scored the team’s only touchdown on a 3-yard catch with 17 seconds remaining. He averaged 2.3 yards a carry.
Grade: F-minus
Wide receivers
Until the last series when the Texans scored their only touchdown, the receivers and Davis Mills weren’t on the same page. On that last possession, Brandin Cooks caught a 44-yard pass to finish with four receptions for 73 yards. The offense missed the injured Nico Collins big time.
Grade: F-minus
Tight ends
O.J. Howard, Brevin Jordan and Jordan Akins combined for 5 catches for 48 yards. Howard had the longest reception of 24 yards. They got steamrolled by the Titans when they were supposed to be run blocking for Dameon Pierce.
Grade: F-minus
Offensive line
One of the worst blocking performances in team history. They were crushed by the Titans’ pass rushers and run stoppers. The Texans had no answer to the Titans’ onslaught that helped limit the offense to 71 yards before the team’s last series.
Grade: F-minus
Defensive line
It was another embarrassingly bad performance against a team that rushed for 314 yards, including 219 and two touchdowns by Derrick Henry. Jerry Hughes, Roy Lopez and Jaleel Johnson recorded sacks, but that didn’t make up for the way the linemen were obliterated by Henry and Dontrell Hilliard.
Grade: F-minus
Linebackers
They were just as responsible as the linemen for letting an opponent rush for more than 300 yards for the second time this season. They got pulverized by the Titans’ running game, and not just Derrick Henry. Backup Dontrell Hilliard, who used to play for the Texans, ran for 83 yards and a 10.4 average per carry. Bad tackling, bad angles and bad discipline will do that to a group of linebackers.
Grade: F-minus
Secondary
Because rookie Malik Willis threw only 10 passes, it’s hard to grade the defensive backs. Steven Nelson intercepted a pass and returned it 33 yards to the Titans’ 11 to set up a field goal, the Texans’ only score. Jalen Pitre had two tackles for loss, tying Jerry Hughes for the team lead.
Grade: C
Special teams
Another solid performance that began with Tremon Smith stripping the ball from punt returner Robert Woods in the first quarter. Dare Ogunbowale recovered at the Tennessee 42. A great scoring opportunity the offense wasted by going backward to the Texans’ 45 and punting. Ka’imi Fairbairn provided the only points with a 43-yard field goal. Cam Johnston punted eight times with a 46.8 gross and a 41.8 net. He put three inside the 20. Returns were mediocre and coverage was above average.
Grade: B
Coaching
This was one of the worst coaching jobs in Texans’ history. Lovie Smith didn’t have his team ready to play a division game against a team they defeated in Nashville last year and lost to by three at NRG Stadium in the last game of the season. Pep Hamilton’s offense was pathetic. With the exception of Frank Ross (special teams), the Texans were outcoached terribly by Mike Vrabel and his staff. Just an unbelievably bad and embarrassing performance.
Grade: F-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.