Houston Texans: Week 5 Grades vs Patriots

DEFENSE (B)

This Houston Texans defense did as much as they could to keep this game in the Texans favor. Their first-half performance was fantastic when they only allowed nine points against. The Houston Texans were able to force two turnovers, an interception from Lonnie Johnson Jr., and a fumble recovery by Jaleel Johnson.

The Texans defense was given no help from their offense or special teams in the second half. This defensive unit deserves a ton of credit for how they forced the Patriots to two consecutive field goals in the third quarter which could have helped the Texans extend their lead.

Eventually, the Houston Texans defense bent so much that it finally broke at the end of the game. They did all they could to keep the lead, but unfortunately the pressure and field possession wasn’t in their favor late in the game.

Houston Texans: Special teams graded the worst for Week 5

SPECIAL TEAMS (F)

There is not much to say when it comes to the Houston Texans performance with their special teams unit. Ka’imi Fairbairn with his first field goal attempts since coming back from injury was brutal. He went 1-of-2 on field goal attempts and an even worse 1-of-3 on extra-point attempts. If Fairbairn makes all of his extra points this game could have swung much differently for the Texans.

The punting situation wasn’t much better. Cameron Johnston made a massive mistake in the third quarter after showing a fake punt. He wasn’t able to get back far enough to kick the ball after the team decided to change their plans and punt the ball instead of going for the fourth down conversion. This play was a major game-changer. Johnston kicked the ball and it bounced off of a Texans player’s helmet and went out of bounds.

This play and many others on the special teams’ side of the ball were the major determining factors in the Texans loss on Sunday.