McClain’s grades
A B-minus is the best mark, and that goes to punter Shane Lechler.
We knew the Texans’ offense would struggle this season, but we did not know the pass protection would be as pathetic as it was in Sunday’s 29-7 loss to Jacksonville. Surrendering a franchiserecord 10 sacks in what might have been the worst performance by the Texans’ offensive line in team history was bad enough, but the defense getting rolled over at the most crucial time of the game was worse.
“Look, it was a terrible day on offense, but it wasn’t all that much better defensively,” coach Bill O’Brien said.
Despite a wretched performance on both sides of the ball, the Texans had a chance to rally after rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson came off the bench to throw a 4-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins to pull them within 19-7 with 9:09 left in the third quarter.
The Texans had some momentum. The crowd came out of its trance.
What they needed was for their defense that finished No. 1 in the NFL last season to force a turnover or make the Jaguars punt, but the Texans just weren’t good enough.
‘Can’t play much worse’
The Texans thought they had forced a three-and-out, but on a third-down incompletion, cornerback Kevin Johnson was called for a 20-yard passinterference penalty, giving the Jaguars a first down at the Texans’ 48.
The drive ended with the Jaguars in the end zone after Blake Bortles threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to fullback Tommy Bohanon to make it 26-7.
“We didn’t stop them, plain and simple,” defensive end J.J. Watt said. “We didn’t do a good enough job of stopping them all day long.
“I’m not going to take anything away from them. They deserve a lot of credit. They came in here and did what they had to do. They’re a good team.”
And Sunday the Texans were a bad team that could get worse with a Thursday night game at Cincinnati before a road trip to New England.
When quarterbacks are besieged by pass rushers who aren’t concerned with the run, it’s going to get ugly. But there was no excuse for the Texans’ defense not to play better.
The Jaguars’ defense — sixth in the NFL last season — outplayed the Texans’ defense.
A good example of the Texans’ futility? Left guard Xavier Su’a-Filo had two tackles on fumble returns by the Jaguars — as many as Watt and Jadeveon Clowney combined.
Watt, playing in the regular season for the first time since Sept. 22, was asked afterward to describe his performance.
“Terrible — no other way to put it,” he said. “There’s only one way to go from here, and that’s up. Can’t play much worse.”
The day began with a pregame tribute to city and county officials as well as first responders who were heroes in the tragedy created by Hurricane Harvey. During player introductions, Watt received the loudest ovation when he became the last Texan running onto the field, and he was waving the Texas flag.
“It’s not good when that’s the highlight of your day,” Watt said.
Watt suffered a compound fracture of his finger, but he had it taped up and stayed on the field, unlike five of his teammates who suffered concussions and were forced to leave the game.
While the offense stumbled and bumbled through its miserable performance, the defense allowed 155 yards rushing, including 100 by rookie Leonard Fournette. The Texans failed to sack Bortles.
Welcoming the short week
The defense played well enough to win the game, but it didn’t play as well as it should have considering the front seven could be the NFL’s best. The secondary was the best part of the defense Sunday.
Bortles was limited to 125 yards passing. The Texans gave up 280 yards overall and limited the Jaguars to 3-of-12 (25 percent) on third down.
Still, the goal on defense this season has been to force more turnovers than last season and shorten the field for the offense. The defense came up woefully short of that goal against the Jaguars.
“Just got punched in the mouth today, to be honest with you,” cornerback Johnathan Joseph said. “I think today was a good learning lesson for us, that any time you don’t show up, you’re not going to play up to your standards.”
They better play up to their standards in Thursday’s nationally televised game against the Bengals, or they’re destined to start 0-3 with the next one against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
“I’m very excited it’s a short week,” Watt said. “You don’t like a taste like this to sit in your mouth for too long.”