Texans defense laments poor performance

Sep 26, 2017 - 6:15 AM HOUSTON -- The usual conversation surrounding the Houston Texans changed dramatically Sunday with the emergence of rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson as a dual threat.

But as impressive as Watson was in a 36-33 loss at New England, the Texans left the game with concerns over an aspect of the game that is usually their strength. They struggled mightily against quarterback Tom Brady.

Many teams might not be overly concerned about being roughed up by Brady because he is, after all, Brady. But this Houston team takes great pride in the strength of its defense and cannot blithely accept breakdowns in the secondary that allowed five touchdowns and made no interception, regardless of who is the quarterback.

There were assignment issues, pick plays they didn't react to quickly enough and some instances where the Patriots simply physically overwhelmed them. Especially wide receiver Brandin Cooks and tight end Rob Gronkowski. If not for Watson's efforts, this game probably wouldn't have even been close as Brady made throw after throw late in the game to engineer a comeback victory.

"He kept us in the ballgame," cornerback Johnathan Joseph said of Watson. "We had to hold up our end and we didn't make the plays down the stretch.

There was one bright spot on defense. The vast potential of Pro Bowl outside linebacker-defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was on display against the Patriots.

Clowney alertly grabbed a Brady fumble forced by outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus and scooted 22 yards for his first touchdown since high school.

It was arguably the top performance of his career. The former top overall pick from South Carolina sacked Brady twice and finished with six tackles, four for losses and three quarterback hits.

"He had a really good game," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. "We moved him around a lot. He plays very, very hard on Sundays. He's an instinctive player.

"He makes a lot of plays on the ball. He's just a very, very explosive player."

--Texans wide receiver Will Fuller is making progress and trending toward potentially returning to play Sunday against the Tennessee Titans after missing the first three games of the season

Fuller returned to practice last week on a limited basis after breaking his collarbone during training camp.

Although Texans coach Bill O'Brien was somewhat noncommittal about Fuller's chances of playing Sunday, he was upbeat.

"I think that'll be something that we'll see starting on Wednesday, but I'm hearing some good things," O'Brien said.

A first-round draft pick from Notre Dame last year, Fuller could provide a boost to the passing game as a complementary presence opposite wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

Fuller is the fastest player on the Texans' roster with a time of 4.28 seconds in 40 yards.

He had a mostly promising rookie season last year, but struggled with his hands at times.

Fuller dropped five passes during the regular season on 92 targets, finishing his first NFL season with 47 receptions for 635 yards and two scores.

REPORT CARD VS. PATRIOTS

PASSING OFFENSE: A -- Rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson passed for two touchdowns and connected with eight different targets.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C-plus -- The Texans moved the ball consistently and had their moments running the ball, but went away from it in key short-yardage situations.

PASS DEFENSE: F -- The Texans allowed five touchdown passes to Tom Brady and didn't intercept him once. They did return a forced fumble for a touchdown.

RUSH DEFENSE: C -- The Texans shut down the Patriots' running game, but New England was having so much success passing the ball they didn't need to run it much.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C -- Special teams wasn't the culprit for the loss. Kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn made four field goals, a career-high.

COACHING: C - Texans coach Bill O'Brien did a poor job with clock management, but his offensive game plan was good and he pushed the defending Super Bowl champs to the brink.