The Film Room: The Texans Week 1 Weakness
By Hayden Winks
Sep 13, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive end
(97) tackles Houston Texans quarterback
(7) during the second quarter at NRG Stadium. The Chiefs defeated the Texans 27-20. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The Texans Week 1 opener was an embarrassing loss at home. It resulted in a benching of the starting quarterback, the fans booing the offense, and the defense not containing super star in the making Travis Kelce. The game couldn’t have gone worse and might not get better in next weeks battle against the Carolina Panthers.
It is important to look at individual performance on a weekly basis to pick up on trends. It is early enough in the season to fix reoccurring issues at any position. The biggest weakness in Week 1 was pass protection. Brian Hoyer in particular was being hurried, being hit, and being sacked on almost every drop back. In fact, Brian Hoyer was hit as he threw at the second highest rate in the entire NFL in week one. On top of this, he was sacked four times on his 38 drop backs.
Here are my offensive line grades for each player. Duane Brown = A. Jeff Adams = F. Ben Jones = B. Brandon Brooks = C. Derek Newton = C.
Here is the video proof of the struggles: (credit to PDS’ vine feed. Here is the link to his page.)
Jeff Adams (70), the left guard, misses block and Brian Hoyer takes the sack on the play action.
Derek Newton, the right tackle, is beaten on the outside by Justin Houston. Brian Hoyer needed to release ball sooner. He has Jonathan Grimes as a check down on the bottom of the screen.
Brandon Brooks (79), the right guard, loses his footing and Brian Hoyer takes a big hit. This is not a mistake really. I believe he lost his shoe.
Jeff Adams (70), the left tackle, had no chance on this play. This is the type of protection that makes any quarterback look panicked and show no poise.
Derek Newton, the right tackle, picks up a blitz but is driven back into Brian Hoyer. This was Hoyer’s bad interception but he had nowhere to move and couldn’t follow through.
Brandon Brooks, the right guard, was purely manhandled on this play resulting in a sack.
Alfred Blue (28), the running back, nearly taking out Duane Brown (76) for the season on this. I don’t think he was trying to cut block (that would be a penalty for high and low blocking) but rather slipped.
This play was entirely Brian Hoyer’s fault. The Chiefs didn’t even disguise this all out blitz. There needs to be an audible here before the ball is snapped.
These plays aren’t entirely the reason why Brian Hoyer lost his job but a big reason for it. This was not a good day at the offense for what was considered one of the best offensive line units in the NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs have a nasty front seven but if the Texans want to make the playoffs, this needs to be fixed quickly. Next week won’t get easier as the Houston Texans head into Carolina to play another elite pass rush.