The Houston Texans are moving on. After defeating the Buffalo Bills 22-19 in a thrilling overtime bout at NRG Stadium, they will face the 12-4 Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. The winner will go to the AFC Championship Game.
Though Bill O’Brien, J.J. Watt and Deshaun Watson only have their eyes on Kansas City, let’s take a gander at the snap counts from the win over the Bills. Why? Adrenaline is a thing.
Offense:
Z Fulton G – 69 100%
N Martin C – 69 100%
L Tunsil T – 69 100%
M Scharping G – 69 100%
D Watson QB – 69 100%
D Hopkins WR – 68 99%
K Stills WR – 68 99%
D Fells TE – 66 96%
C Clark T – 56 81%
D Carter WR – 55 80%
C Hyde RB – 40 58%
D Johnson RB – 27 39%
R Johnson T – 15 22%
C Gillaspia RB – 8 12%
J Thomas TE – 8 12%
T Jones RB – 2 3%
G Mancz C – 1 1%
Defense:
Z Cunningham LB – 85 100%
J Reid SS – 85 100%
B McKinney LB – 85 100%
G Conley CB – 85 100%
B Roby CB – 85 100%
W Mercilus LB – 71 84%
V Hargreaves CB – 59 69%
M Adams FS – 55 65%
D Reader NT – 55 65%
J Watt DE – 52 61%
B Scarlett LB – 38 45%
A Blackson DE – 33 39%
B Dunn NT – 33 39%
J Martin LB – 31 36%
J Addae FS – 30 35%
C Watkins DE – 22 26%
C Omenihu DE – 20 24%
B Mingo LB – 7 8%
A Moore FS – 4 5%
Observations:
Offensive line
- No surprises here. Right tackle Chris Clark sustained an injury late into the game. Roderick Johnson filled-in for him. Despite so, Clark had 81% (56) of snaps compared to Johnson’s 22% (15). Johnson also saw snaps in the jumbo package.
Secondary
- It’s clear as day what the Texans envision as their cornerback duo of the future; Bradley Roby and Gareon Conley. Both played the entire game, defensively.
- Vernon Hargreaves was the only other cornerback not named Roby or Conley to receive snaps. Playing in the nickel, he saw a 69% (59) snap-share.
- Justin Reid played all defensive snaps. The other safety position saw three play, as Jahleel Addae initially started with Tashaun Gipson out. However, it was Mike Adams that led the snap-share with 65% (55), Addae had 35% (30) (suffered an injury) while A.J. Moore got four snaps.
Offensive skill positions
- With Will Fuller out, the Texans used DeAndre Carter as their third wide receiver alongside DeAndre Hopkins and Kenny Stills. He wound up playing in 80% (55) of the offensive snaps on Saturday.
- Tight end Jordan Akins didn’t play. Despite so, Jordan Thomas didn’t see a bump-up in his snaps, as he played a 12% (8) snap-share, while Darren Fells handled the duties, playing a 96% (66) snap-share.
- Fullback Cullen Gillaspia saw 13 offensive snaps for the entire 2019 season. He saw eight on Saturday. The rookie from Texas A&M blocked for Deshaun Watson’s 20-yard touchdown scamper.
- Unsurprisingly, Carlos Hyde led the Texans backs in snap-share with 58% (40). Duke Johnson was behind him with 39% (27). After a standout Week 17 performance, however, Taiwan Jones found his way onto the offense, seeing two snaps, including a 34-yard reception that set up the game-winning field goal.
Front-seven
- For much of the first half, J.J. Watt acted as a situational pass rusher. That changed in the second half when they needed him most. He wound up playing 61% (52) of snaps in his return from a torn pectoral.
- With Watt playing, rookie Charles Omenihu saw his role in the defense shrink. For the first time since Week 7, he saw less than 25% of snaps, receiving 24% (20).
- The Texans continue to rotate between Brennan Scarlett and Jacob Martin as the outside linebacker opposite Whitney Mercilus. Scarlett sees run defending snaps more often while Martin acts as a pure pass rusher. On Saturday, Scarlett saw 45% (38) of snaps while Martin saw 36% (31).