FALCON POINTS

Texans grind out 10th win of the season thanks to stellar play from J.J. Watt

Texans grind out 10th win of the season thanks to stellar play from J.J. Watt
J.J. Watt again made big plays. Mark Brown/Getty Images

During their nine-game winning streak, the Texans won a lot of ugly, grind it out games. Add Saturday's 29-22 victory over the Jets to the list.

The Texans were outplayed for much of the game and at times the Jets looked like the 9-4 team going in and the Texans appeared to be the 4-9 group. The Texans settled for too many field goals. They were gashed in the secondary (again). Deshaun Watson took too many sacks (again). The offensive line and Watson were terrible against the blitz (again).

But once again, the Texans found a way to win. Watson led a fourth quarter, game-winning drive and the Texans escaped.

While there is a lot to dislike about the win, the big picture numbers are impressive:

The Texans are now 31-1 with a halftime lead under Bill O'Brien. That is simply outstanding.

They have won 10 games under O'Brien for the first time. They sit 10-4 in the AFC.

They took another big step toward wrapping up the AFC South, and remain alive for a first-round bye if they can get some help elsewhere. But they will need to play better moving forward.

DeAndre Hopkins once again played like the best receiver in the NFL. He had 10 catches for 170 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner. He limped off afterward, but appeared to be OK.

Lost in everything is the season J.J. Watt is having. Healthy for the first time in three years, he continues to play at a high level. Watt made plays early in the game - sacking Sam Darnold on the Jets first series and forcing a fumble that led to a touchdown - and constantly put pressure on the Jets. The only thing missing from his Player of the Year days is his stamina. He has been gassed many times this year, and was again against the Jets in the second half. But he came back with a huge sack in the fourth quarter. He finished with two sacks, the forced fumble, two tackles for loss and seven tackles overall.

They needed every bit of what he had to offer. Once again, the pass defense was terrible. Darnold looked terrific at times, completing 24 of 38 for 253 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another 35 yards. The secondary could not cover the Jets mediocre receivers.

Watson was good when it mattered, but held the ball too long on several instances and was sacked six times. The offense suffered when Lamar Miller went out early. Alfred Blue was awful, with only six yards on nine carries for a ridiculous 0.7 average. They were brutal on third down, going just 1 of 9. (The Jets were 9 of 16). The Jets outgained the Texans 318-286. They had more first downs (21-15) and dominated time of possession (35:04 to 24:56).

The Texans did not make good halftime adjustments, as the Jets defense dominated out of the break.

But the Texans also got some help from the Jets, who missed two extra points. Good teams win games when they are not at their best. The alarming thing is we have not seen the Texans at their best very often this year.

Watt, however, is playing his best. He now has 14.5 sacks and has forced six fumbles. He looks a lot like vintage Watt. He won't win Defensive Player of the Year, and likely would not finish in the top three. But he has been excellent.

They needed every bit of it on Saturday, on a day where they were not at their best. But they escaped with a win.

Again.

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The Texans are the class of the division. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

The Houston Texans received a lot of praise for their moves in free agency across various outlets. And for good reason, most people believe the team got significantly better with the additions of Danielle Hunter, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Denico Autry among others.

But there's another factor to consider this offseason. How much have the other teams in the AFC South improved?

When looking at the PFF grades in free agency, the Colts received a B-minus. Most of the Colts moves this offseason involved spending a lot of money re-signing their own players. Which is great in theory, but it's hard to improve the overall quality of your roster when you're bringing back players that were already there to begin with. A lot will be riding on player development for the Colts to see a big jump this season. A healthy quarterback wouldn't hurt either.

The Jaguars have made some big additions financially this offseason by signing receiver Gabe Davis and defensive tackle Arik Armstead. They also lost the top receiver on the market, Calvin Ridley, to the Titans. Gabe Davis wasn't able to establish himself as a reliable No. 2 receiver with Josh Allen throwing him the ball in Buffalo. So it's hard to believe he'll take the next step in Jacksonville. Their best move of the offseason might have been retaining edge rusher Josh Allen by using the franchise tag on him. So what did PFF think of Jacksonville's offseason? They received a B-minus, just like the Colts.

The Titans have a lot of turnover heading into the 2024 season, and not just on the roster. They have a new head coach in Brian Callahan, who's looking to revamp Tennessee's offense. Early in free agency, they agreed to terms with former Cowboys running back Tony Pollard, signing him to a 3-year deal at $8 million per season. Which is more money than the Ravens are paying for Derrick Henry, who left the Titans in free agency. Calvin Ridley was the most notable addition to the squad, he received a 4-year, $92 million deal. And while this could be viewed as an overpay, at least he gives the Titans' offense some upside. Their receiving corps looks a lot more dangerous with Ridley added to DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks.

They also spent big at the center position, adding Lloyd Cushenberry on a 4-year, $50 million contract.

Because the Titans spent a lot of money on some highly coveted players, PFF gave them a B.

Now that brings us to the Texans. The Texans re-signed some of their own players like Dalton Schultz and Noah Brown. But they also made some big splashes with Hunter, Autry, Al-Shaair, and Joe Mixon. But the Texans spent their money in a more conservative way by not handing out many contracts over two years in length.

The Texans managed to add the best pass rusher in free agency with Hunter, but it's only a two-year deal. The overall talent level is going up on this roster, and GM Nick Caserio isn't having to sign players to long contracts that could come back and haunt him.

That's why we're seeing post-free agency power rankings coming out with Houston in the Top 10. And that's also why PFF gave the Texans an A for their moves in free agency.

Be sure to check out the video above as Craig from Sports Talk Extra takes an in-depth look at PFF's grades for the AFC South, and much more!

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