Here's the top offensive players for the Houston Texans in their 20-3 preseason win against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday afternoon.
Winning in front of the hometown crowd is fun. The Houston Texans hope to see more of that this season with C.J. Stroud punching it in for six points on Sundays at NRG Stadium.
Behind a 6-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins in the first quarter, Stroud and the Texans coasted their way to a 20-3 win over the Carolina Panthers in the second preseason game. The defense forced two interceptions in the second half, including one by Damon Arnette to set up a British Brooks 1-yard touchdown run.
Stroud, who sat out in last week’s 20-10 loss at Minnesota, played the first two series, going 6-of-8 passing for 44 yards. Under new play-caller Nick Caley, there appeared to be more juice in the play design and consistency of the offensive drive.
“It was great, he’s still learning a lot,” Stroud said of Caley. “First-time play caller, he handled it great. He’s very communicative. He loves to wire guys up and bring juice and I think it’s a great thing for offense and I’m excited to work with him.”
Pro Football Focus handed out player grades for those who took a snap in Houston's win against the Panthers 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.
Pro Football Focus handed out player grades for those who took a snap in Houston's win against the Panthers 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 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
- OL Juice Scruggs - 91.0
- WR Justin Watson - 80.4
- OL Ed Ingram - 79.6
- TE Cade Stover - 78.0
- OL Laken Tomlinson - 77.6
Scruggs posted the highest run-blocking grade of the afternoon with a 90.3, but Tomlinson posted the highest pass-blocking grade of 82.4. Ingram, who's rapidly worked his way into the starting lineup with Cam Robinson missing time, was the most balanced of the three linemen, posting an 82.4 pass-blocking grade and a 74.7 run-blocking grade.
Bottom 5 offense
- WR Jayden Higgins - 47.5
- OL Austin Deculus - 49.3
- QB Kedon Slovis- 49.3
- RB Jahwar Jordan - 51.3
- WR Jaylin Noel - 51.7
While Higgins made an impressive 14-yard diving grab in the first quarter, his overall afternoon was forgettable. Deculus posted the lowest pass-blocking grade on either line at 25.8. Jordan offered little in the running game, but he did post a 77.2 pass-blocking grade, which happened to be the highest among all runners.
Other notables
- TE Irv Smith Jr. - 71.7
- OT Blake Fisher - 64.9
- OT Aireontae Ersery - 71.1
- RB British Brooks - 67.5
- RB Nick Chubb - 66.7
- WR Xavier Hutchinson - 61.2
Ersery, the Texans' projected starting right tackle, only saw action from the left side since Cam Robinson didn't play. Last week, he impressed in pass protection but this week, it was more so a balanced approach with a massive uptick in run blocking at 69.6, while his pass-blocking grade of 70.6 remained impressive, too.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans PFF grades: Top & Bottom offensive players in win vs. Panthers
Category: Football
