PFF grades from Texans loss to Ravens

Without any surprise at all, Houston Texans’ wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was Pro Football Focus’ highest graded player this week.

The Houston Texans went into Baltimore and played a tough game against the Ravens, but it all came down to quarterback Tom Savage and his mistakes. That’s why they’re now 4-7 with five games left.

In case you’re wondering what kind of grades Pro Football Focus gave to some of the players on the Texans, below are the top grades from Monday night’s game.

WR DeAndre Hopkins (88.0)

What else can I really say about DeAndre Hopkins? He’s been amazing this season and hasn’t slowed down despite the fact that Tom Savage is throwing him the football.

Hopkins has arguably been the best wide receiver in the NFL this season and he dominated a good Ravens secondary on Monday.

From PFF:

"Hopkins hauled in seven of eight targets and earned 39 of his 125 yards after the catch, Tom Savage had a 118.8 passer rating when targeting his star receiver, he had a 45.1 passer rating when targeting anyone else on the Texans’ offense. Hopkins caught passes against three different coverage players tonight and five of his seven catches resulted in a Houston first down."

CB Johnathan Joseph (85.5),  S Marcus Gilchrist (85.1), CB Kareem Jackson (84.2), CB Kevin Johnson (81.8)

I decided to lump the Texans’ secondary together. They all did a great job in shutting down the Ravens’ passing  attack. Of course it was nice that Jadeveon Clowney once again got after the quarterback.

Not to mention that Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco has had a rough season behind a bad offensive line. But they did their job and that’s all that matters.

Here’s what PFF wrote about Joseph:

"The veteran cornerback was impressive in coverage and limited opponents to only two receptions on eight targets. Joseph was matched up against the speedy Mike Wallace often and effectively shut him down, allowing only one reception on four targets for 24 yards against him. All three corners for the Texans played well, as each had a coverage grade above 80.0."

EDGE Jadeveon Clowney (81.0)

With Clowney being the last true impact player on the Texans’ defense, he once again came through and put pressure on Flacco.

You also have to give Baltimore credit for figuring out how to slow him down as the game went on.

With J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus injured, teams can focus on neutralizing Clowney.

"Clowney was a menace in the first quarter for the Texans, recording a tackle for loss, sack and hit on the quarterback. His play quieted down after that with credit due to the Ravens offensive line and coaching staff finding ways to neutralize him. When on his game, Clowney has shown flashes of being an impressive run defender and it was on display tonight. Clowney recorded a run-defense grade of 86.7, which was tops on his team."

QB Tom Savage (51.5)

I really feel bad for Tom Savage, because he could be a very good quarterback if his offensive line could actually protect him in the pocket. But that’s still not an excuse for the two interceptions that he threw. Both were very bad decisions on his part.

Ultimately, Savage can’t allow the pressure to force him into making bad throws.

"Oh what pressure will do to a quarterback. Savage was sharp tonight when he was given time to throw, completing 16-of-20 passes for 200 yards and a 108.3 passer rating when he didn’t have to deal with pressure. When the Ravens were able to get pressure though (something they were able to do on 19 of 39 dropbacks) he completely melted down, connecting on just 6-of-17 passes for 52 yards and two interceptions on pressured throws, good for a 4.7 passer rating."

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