Yes, the Houston Texans’ playoff chances are very much alive and well following a Thursday Night Football thumping over the Buffalo Bills at NRG Stadium.
The Texans sacked Josh Allen eight times and created three turnovers in a 23-19 win on Thursday to move back into the winner’s column. Houston is currently on a three-game win streak despite not having quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Davis Mills did enough in the first half to avoid a potential comeback in the second. He threw two touchdown passes, including one with two minutes remaining in the first half to rookie Jayden Higgins. Meanwhile, the offensive line looked improved with Tytus Howard shifting over to the left guard. Houston only allowed one tackle for loss and zero sacks.
“The offensive line did a great job opening up holes for them and controlling the line of scrimmage, and our receivers and tight ends got in on the action,” Mills said postgame. “When you can do that, play-action pass opens up because they’re stacking more people in the box and you can spread it out and really get everything going scheme-wise as an offense.”
Pro Football Focus handed out player grades for those who took a snap in Houston’s win over the Bills and we broke them down by offense and defense. Below are the five highest and lowest grades on the offensive side of the ball after a surprising performance at NRG Stadium.
There were a few surprises in terms of the highest- and lowest-graded players, both on offense and defense. In fact, most of you can already guess who graded out in stellar and horrendous fashion.
Here’s a look at the five best offensive players below:
Top 5 offense
While the pass-blocking grades were average, Ingram and Brown graded out with elite numbers on the run-blocking side of things on Thursday. Both finished with at least an 84.1 finish while neither allowed a single pressure in pass-blocking. Meanwhile, Collins posted a 67.9 receiving grade, but an 84.1 blocking grade.
Bottom 5 offense
Stover was terrible as a run-blocker, posting a 49.3 overall grade, but his hands were worse. He was targeted three times and dropped two balls, while his route-running was considered lackluster. Meanwhile, Andrews was the only offensive lineman to allow a single pressure on Thursday night, but he still managed to finish with a passable pass-blocking grade of 68.4.
Other notables
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans PFF grades: Best and worst offensive performers from Week 13 win vs. Bills
Reporting by Cole Thompson, Texans Wire / Texans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
