Jonathan Joseph had a big grade last week. 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.
Johnathan Joseph - 92.3 Defensive Grade
Besting his season-best from last week Joseph jumped up 12 points for his new season-best defensive grade. He allowed just four catches on 10 attempts for 51 yards. He, of course, had the game-winning score for the Texans as well. Joseph had a history of knocking off the rust a few weeks into the season.
Deshaun Watson - 32.4 Offensive Grade
His worse game since New England. He only had one scramble in this game which could be him taking care of himself but that is part of an element of his successfulness as a quarterback. Two interceptions hurt the grade and with Jacksonville coming up this isn't the time to be struggling to throw the ball.
Zach Cunningham - 90.7 Defensive Grade
This is by far his best game of the season. He had 12 tackles to go along with just two yards allowed when he was targeted by the opposing offense. Cunningham is warming up with his two best grades of the season the past two weeks and with a team that will have to run the ball to keep Bortles from hurting them he could clean up again.
Julie'n Davenport - 21.8 Pass Blocking Grade
This was not a good one for Davenport after he was decent the week before. He allowed nine total pressures resulting in three sacks. With Jacksonville's furious pass rush coming up, they're the sixth best according to PFF, Davenport is going to have to get a lot better in a hurry.
Blake Bortles - 70.3 Offensive Grade (Season)
He is the 20th best quarterback when it comes to grading out regular starters in the league. He's coming off his worst yardage performance of the season as the Cowboys stuffed the Jaguars offense at every turn. He's tied for the league lead in interceptions with eight, five of them in the past two weeks. He's the third most in quarterback scrambles though so the Texans need to keep an eye out for him bailing himself out.
Jacksonville Jaguars - 68.3 Coverage Grade (Season)
This is startling when you consider they were the second best in the league last season with 93.9 coverage grade. I was shocked when I saw them 17th in the league in coverage grade. Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye are having huge down years so far compared to their normal production. Safety Barry Church is playing the worst he has played in three years. They have just three interceptions after finishing second last year with 21 total. There are some holes to be taken advantage of for sure. Their pass rush is down too, they are sixth so far this year, but that is only a slight drop off from last year when they were the best compared to the coverage drop off.
As always, you can join Pro Football Focus here.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
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!
_____________________________________________
*Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!