CODY STOOTS PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS
PFF: Watson's best game so far; Talented Browns team ahead
Nov 28, 2018, 7:05 am
Deshaun Watson has had some nice games, but Monday night was his best. Bob Levey/Getty Images
Pro Football Focus grades each individual player's performance and assigns them a grade. All 32 teams use Pro Football Focus.
Each week we will take a look at some of the key grades as well as some from the Texans upcoming opponent. 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.
Deshaun Watson - 91.8 offense grade
His best grade of the season. Watson only made a handful of mistakes in this game and even then they were excusable ones because he was fantastic on this night. He took care of the ball and gave his pass catcher plenty of chances to make plays. He got his legs moving too as he was scrambling more than he has in recent weeks. He completed almost 80 percent of his passes. He was on against the Titans. His next task is a suddenly hot Browns team and it may not be nearly as easy.
Johnathan Joseph - 46.8 defense grade
A rare bad game from Joseph who has been on a hot streak recently. It's his lowest graded game since his last game against Tennesee in week two. The Titans seemed content to pick on Joseph and the dump offs the Titans like to use in their offense will affect his grade quite a bit. He allowed a big completion and all the passes his way to be completed. A rare bad game. I would expect he bounces back against the Browns.
Justin Reid - 33.2 tackling grade
Justin Reid finally missed a tackle. The nature of the Titans offense sets up for a hard night for grading safties. They throw it shorts and players have to run up from the safety position and make big plays. It was the first time his tackling grade had slipped below the 80's since week one of the season. It cost him his league-best tackling grade but it was a rare slip-up for Reid. He learns quickly and likely will be making big plays against the Browns.
Myles Garrett - 83.2 defensive grade (season)
The former top pick is the 10th best-graded edge defender in football when accounting for playing 50 percent of the team's snaps. He's a monster. He has 10 sacks on the season to his name and he is just as dangerous in slowing down the run too. He will be a tough one to slow down for the Texans. It will be important for Deshaun Watson to use his legs to escape some of the pressure and make sure the protection is there to handle Garrett.
Denzel Ward - 84.4 coverage grade (season)
He is a rookie and has the fourth-best coverage rating in football when accounting for playing 50 percent of the team's snaps. That is insane. He was widely panned when he was drafted but Ward is playing his tail off. He has tallied 11 pass deflections and three interceptions. The quarterback rating when throwing at Ward is 69.7 which is one of the best in the league. It will be a challenge for the Texans wideouts dealing with this talented rookie.
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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