Grading the Houston Texans offense from Week 5 win over Buffalo

The Houston Texans hosted the Buffalo Bills in Week 5 of the NFL season. Both teams came in with 3-1 records and this was expected to be a game-of-the-week candidate. By the end, it was. The middle portion? Not so much.

The offense started hot with back-to-back touchdown drives, including a deep ball From quarterback C.J. Stroud to top wide receiver Nico Collins. However, the offense fell off immediately following that play because Collins left the game because he sustained a hamstring injury on that scoring pass and was later ruled out in the second half.

The following drive saw the Texans continue to drive the ball, but the offense stalled out after a pivotal 4th-and-1 rush from Dare Ogunbowale got stuffed deep in Bills territory. Although, the offense would bounce back to end the half and have a great 2-minute drill that resulted in a field goal attempt to put Houston on top 17-3 at halftime.

Overall, the offense looked very good in terms of gaining yards and drove the ball into Buffalo territory on most drives today. However, some things stuck out like a sore thumb.

What popped out the most was that the offense could not finish a drive with a touchdown after Collins left with his hamstring injury. Yes, Collins is the top receiver for the Texans. However, the team signed Dalton Schultz to an extension this offseason, brought in Stefon Diggs, and still has Tank Dell, among other playmakers. To not have a touchdown after the first quarter is, at least, slightly disappointing.

The running back unit, still without starter Joe Mixon and backup Dameon Pierce, looked the best it has in his absence. With that in mind, the position is still a weak point today. With a healthy running game, Stroud doesn't have to shoulder as much of the load as he has in recent weeks, including this one.

Another note is the lack of discipline in the second half. There were several unnecessary offensive penalties, such as false starts and taunts, which were wholly uncalled for considering the game was in Houston. These penalties, in addition to more understandable ones like holding, hurt, and even killed drives, and the momentum Houston had in this game.

Although he had to carry the offense once again, Stroud looked very good. Nothing new or out of the ordinary there. What was new for Stroud was the gimpiness that he played with after a hit in the third quarter left him with an apparent lower leg injury. The quarterback played through the ailment, but proceeded to show inaccuracies and held on to the ball for too long, resulting in multiple costly turnovers, allowing Buffalo to tie up the game, just before Ka'Imi Fairbairn nailed a 59-yard game-winning field goal.

Overall, the offense was a tale of two halves. The first half looked amazing. The second, not so much. The offense was largely shut down and showed its inefficiencies in the back end of the game. However, a win is a win for the Texans against a stout Bills team.

At the end of the day, the final grade for the offense is a C- in Week 5.

GRADE: C-

More Texans news and analysis