Texans’ defensive grades from 22-19 overtime win versus the Bills

The Houston Texans beat the Buffalo Bills on Saturday to advance. How did the J.J. Watt-led defense do to earn the win?

Linebackers

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The outside linebackers deserve a passing grade due to their presence as pass-rushers in the second half alone.

In the second half, outside linebackers Jacob Martin and Whitney Mercilus both created turnovers. Mercilus forced a fumble on Josh Allen, which Martin would recover. With two minutes left, Martin had a sack on Allen that would create a turnover on downs.

However, outside of the two, the Texans’ linebacking corps wasn’t anything to write home about. Though Zach Cunningham made his usual splash plays as a run-stuffer and even performed in coverage, the inside of the field was gashed, largely due to Benardrick McKinney’s play in coverage.

Allen went 7 of 9 passing for 74 yards between 0-20 yards in the middle of the field, per NFL Next Gen Stats.

Grade: C+