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Pro Football Focus and the Texans Week 6

Pro Football Focus and the Texans Week 6
Jonathan Joseph turned back the clock. 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 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. You can join Pro Football Focus here.

Demarcus Lawrence - 60.5 Pass Rush Grade

My goodness, the Texans did a number on the Cowboys top pass rusher and should be commended. He had his worst game of the season against the Texans. He was held without any sort of sack for the first time this season. He had the lowest number of pressure, tackles, and stops of the season as well. Kendall Lamm rattled off a 72.6 pass block grade facing Lawrence. Really impressive stuff from the Texans offense to slow down what was the sack leader coming into the week. 

Johnathan Joseph - 81.2 Coverage Grade

The elder statesman of the Texans secondary had a throwback performance. It was his best game of the season by a wide margin. He allowed one reception for just eight yards. He had two pass breakups doubling his number from the past four games. One of those went for an interception too. In a game where Kayvon Webster was lost in the early moments of the game, Joseph stepped up huge. 

Jadeveon Clowney - 90.0 Overall Run Grade - 2nd Highest Among Edge Defenders

I know you are going to be shocked but Jadeveon Clowney had another monster game stopping the run against the Cowboys. He also added a sack to his impressive day. He did a lot of damage against a perennial Pro Bowl tackle Tyron Smith who didn't seem to know how to handle some of the movement by Clowney along the defensive line. Clowney was showing off a level of athleticism matched by few players in the league. He's .1 off the lead in overall run grade. He's a monster for offenses to try to stop. 

J.J. Watt - 90.6 Overall Defense Grade - 2nd Highest Among Edge Defenders

The new league leader in sacks also had a stellar game against the Cowboys. He now checks in only behind Khalil Mack and is worlds ahead of any defender in football when you consider how many snaps he plays. Watt is back to his old self. That's pretty much all that needs to be said at this point. 

Deshaun Watson - 83.2 Passing Grade Against the Blitz

He was 13 of 14 passing for 174 yards. The only incomplete was an interception, a bad decision for the Texans quarterback tossing one up as he was getting tackled. Other than that, perfection against the blitz. This is incredible for a second-year quarterback who hasn't even played a full slate of games yet. Watson's decision-making was off the charts and his effectiveness with the football has the Texans operating with much more efficiency and pace. 

Josh Allen - 48.9 Overall Offensive Grade

This is the lowest grade of any quarterback in the NFL who has played four games or more. So, essentially, this is all the starters and Allen is the worst. He's completing 53 percent of his passes and has thrown just two touchdowns against five interceptions. The Bills are dead last in passing this year. The Texans defense should have a field day with Allen. 

As always, you can join Pro Football Focus here.

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The Texans have reached the most challenging part of their schedule. Composite Getty Image.

Coming off their bye week, the Texans host the Dolphins with big playoff implications at stake. A win over Miami paired with a Colts loss secures another playoff berth for Houston.

Injuries will be a factor in this contest, with guard Juice Scruggs (foot) expected to be unavailable and safety Jalen Pitre now out for the year with a pectoral injury.

The Texans will also be without LB Azeez Al-Shaair (suspension), but a glimmer of hope has arrived as LB Christian Harris has returned to practice after missing the entire season up to this point.

Left guard Kenyon Green has also returned to practice and could be available this Sunday as well. If he's not, look for Zach Thomas, who was claimed off waivers from the Patriots about a month ago, to step in. Offensive line play and protection in general will be a main area of focus once again, as the Texans are arguably the worst in the NFL in this category.

As you can see from the graphic above, the Texans have blown a block or allowed a pressure on over 30% of their offensive plays, and the next closest team is the Bears at 25.4 %.

Speaking of blocking, the Texans face three of the best teams against the run down the stretch (Chiefs, Ravens, Titans). With that being the case, let's hope that Stroud and the Texans found some answers in the passing game during the bye week.

If the Texans can keep Stroud upright, perhaps we see a resurgence from Tank Dell, who has seemingly disappeared from the offense. Tank hasn't scored since October 13, and has only recorded one game with over 100 yards all season.

Swarm!

On defense, the Texans will have their hands full with the Dolphins explosive offense. Miami has scored 32 or more points in 3 of their last 4 games.

The Texans are averaging just under 24 PPG this season, so they could really use a breakout game from the offense to help cement a victory.

Houston has the best duo of pass rushers in the league, but they will be challenged against Tua Tagovailoa, who gets rid of the ball extremely quickly and accurately.

Tua also has two speedsters in Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle that can take a short pass to the house at any given moment. Speed could be the difference in this contest, but the Texans do have two corners in Derek Stingley and Kamari Lassiter that are both Top 3 in lowest catch rate allowed this year.

What does Vegas think?

The Texans are favored by 3 points and the total is set at 46.5, which is the third-highest this week.

Don't miss the video above as we break down this week's game, the final stretch of the season, and much more!

Also, be sure to watch Texans on Tap with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan live following every Texans game on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel!

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