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Former Texan Swearinger stands out on average Washington team

Former Texan Swearinger stands out on average Washington team
D.J. Swearinger is a much different player than the one fans saw in Houston. Todd Olszewski/Getty Images

Pro Football Focus grades each individual player's performance and assigns them a grade. All 32 teams use Pro Football Focus. 

Usually each week we will take a look at some of the good and bad from the Texans and a look at the upcoming opponent as well. With the bye week last week we will we look at Washington players. They also do great fantasy analysis and draft coverage as well. Stats are for the previous game unless otherwise noted. You can join Pro Football Focus here. 

Tony Bergstrom - 31.8 pass blocking grade

The former Texans offensive lineman was the only offensive lineman to allow a pressure or a sack against the Buccaneers for the Redskins. He has played center and left guard for Washington this season and not graded out particularly well in any of the games at any of the positions. A career journeyman lineman he blocked well in the rushing game pretty well against Tampa Bay. Considering how well the Texans interior has played and how often Jadeveon Clowney rushes inside this could be a spot the Texans could exploit. 

D.J. Swearinger - 87.7 season defense grade

Another former Texans player but he has had a long track record of success with Washington. Swearinger is the fifth best defensive back in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus when accounting for playing more than 50 percent of his team's snaps. He is playing very well and has now for a couple of years. He is playing the best coverage of his career as well. He is a far cry from the one-trick pony he was when the Texans first had him on the team. He's a leader on the defense and a player Deshaun Watson and company will have to watch out for on Sunday. 

Ryan Kerrigan - 72.2 season pass rush grade

Washington is about average when it comes to getting after the passers, just a couple of sacks ahead of the Texans. Kerrigan is the consistent force for the team in the pass rush though. J.J. Watt's fellow draft class member has a sack in four straight games and is the most consistent player Washington has in their front seven in getting after the quarterback. Though he hasn't graded out great, the Texans need to be aware where the former Purdue product lines up. 

Alex Smith - 70.3 season passing grade

Smith is about the 23rd best quarterback as far as passing goes according to the grades. He is a high-level game manager for Washington that on any given day can still be a dangerous threat. He is about average below in almost everything he does with the exception of interceptions. He doesn't throw a lot of interceptions. He throws the deep ball poorly and is one of the league's worst under pressure. There's just not a ton here besides a savvy veteran who gets his team in the right play and doesn't make mistakes.

As always, you can join Pro Football Focus here. 

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The Texans will look to get back on track this Sunday against the Colts. Composite Getty Image.

C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans are looking for answers after their passing game couldn’t get going in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Houston’s passing attack had been a strength all season, and the Texans ranked fifth in yards passing per game through their first six games. But on Sunday at Lambeau Field, Stroud was limited to a career-low 86 yards in the 24-22 loss, which snapped a three-game winning streak.

Stroud was 10 of 21 and didn’t have a touchdown pass for the first time this season. The second-year player was under duress for much of the day and was sacked four times and hit seven other times.

“We have to go back to the drawing board and see what those issues were,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “As we watch the film, we’ll see what happened, starting for me the communication and just guys being on the details of the job.”

The Texans scored a season-high 41 points in a win over New England a week earlier in which Stroud threw a season-best three touchdown passes despite being without star receiver Nico Collins.

They were unable to replicate that success Sunday with Collins out for the second of at least four games after a hamstring injury landed him on injured reserve.

Stefon Diggs led the team with five receptions against the Packers, but they only amounted to 23 yards. Tank Dell, who the Texans expected to step up with Collins out, was targeted four times but didn’t have a catch.

Stroud discussed the importance of getting Dell more involved in the offense.

“We have to find a way to try and get him the rock early and often and then go from there,” he said. “It has to be a focus for us, not only just him, but the whole offense clicking early. That is really my job to get the ball out on time and to where it is supposed to go. So yeah, that definitely has to be fixed.”

Ryans spoke about his confidence is getting Dell going.

What's working

The Texans have forced seven turnovers combined in their last two games after they hadn’t caused any in their previous three games.

Houston scored 16 points off three turnovers Sunday. The Texans had two interceptions and recovered a fumble on a punt. In their win over the Patriots, they scored 17 points off a season-high four turnovers.

What needs help

The Texans won’t get to where they want to be this season if Stroud doesn’t get back on track. Before Sunday, last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year was averaging more than 262 yards passing a game, giving the team confidence that the problems in the passing game are fixable.

Ryans knows the line must give Stroud more time to throw and said the coaching staff will focus on improving in that area this week.

Stock up

RB Joe Mixon continued to shine Sunday in his second game back after missing three games with an ankle injury. Mixon, who is in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati, had 25 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay.

Mixon is confident the Texans will rebound this week if they quit making mistakes.

“Does it look I’m worried? I’m not worried at all,” he said. “Like I said, we got a ... good football team. At the end of the day, we are our own worst enemy.”

Stock down

Dell was unable to help Stroud get the passing game going. The second-year player had a solid rookie season with 709 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg. But he hasn’t been able to build on that success this year and has just 194 yards receiving with one score in six games.

Injuries

LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), LB Henry To’oTo’o (concussion), CB Kamari Lassiter (shoulder) and S Jimmie Ward (groin) all missed Sunday’s game and it’s unclear if any of these starters can return this week.

Key number

3 — Safety Calen Bullock had his third interception Sunday to tie Dunta Robinson and Jumal Rolle for most interceptions by a rookie in franchise history through the first seven games. He leads NFL rookies in interceptions this season and is tied for third-most among all players.

Next steps

The AFC South-leading Texans (5-2) return to division play Sunday when they host the second-place Colts (4-3), who have won two in a row and four of five.

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