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Pro Football Focus grades: Brock Osweiler playing well; two Texans bounce back
Oct 23, 2018, 2:50 pm
Brock "The Ostrich" Osweiler is playing at a high level for the Dolphins. Michael Reaves/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 good and bad from the Texans and a look at the upcoming opponent as well. 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.
Greg Mancz - 70.1 Run Blocking Grade
Greg Mancz rattled off a grade higher than any in this category by injured starting right guard Zach Fulton. Mancz was also a part of the standout dominant rushing play where he and center Nick Martin and right tackle Kendall Lamm combined to blow the Jaguars defense off the line of scrimmage and open a huge hole for Lamar Miller. It was much better than Mancz's other starting appearance which was at left guard against the Giants earlier this season. With the short week, he may get to ply his trade against the Dolphins if Fulton hasn't fully recovered.
Whitney Mercilus - 90.0 Pass Rush Grade
He's back! He had his highest grade in almost every defensive graded category. Mercilus forced a fumble on Blake Bortles and racked up his first sack of the season as well. He was very active rushing the passer with plenty of opportunities. The previous weeks he had seen fewer chances to get after the quarterback. He seems to finally be rounding into form after his preseason was non-existent thanks to injury.
Deshaun Watson - 55.8 Offensive Grade
His second worst game via grades and statistics but a big tick up from the previous week when he was first dealing with his injury. Watson was protected by a rushing attack that broke out but did more than enough to make plays for the team to win. He got back to scrambling after sticking around in the pocket mostly the previous week. With a vicious pass rush and talented secondary, it made sense for Watson to have a down statistical game.
Brock Osweiler - 75.3 Offensive Grade
Brock Osweiler makes his return to NRG Stadium for the first time since he was the team's quarterback. He comes in playing decent and grading out well. Osweiler completed 72 percent of his passes against the Lions and his yards per attempt check in the highest ever in his career. His passer rating on the season is 107 which would be good for seventh best in the league ahead of Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Ben Roethlisberger, for whatever passer rating is worth. He isn't playing bad coming into Thursday Night Football.
As always, you can join Pro Football Focus here.
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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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