Houston Texans: The entire secondary
The Texans finished the 2019 regular season with the worst DVOA of any playoff team, and a lower DVOA than six non-playoff teams: The Rams, Buccaneers, Bears, Colts, Falcons, and Steelers. They’ve also allowed the most touchdown passes of any playoff team with 33 — the Saints are next with 27, and only the Raiders, Redskins, Cardinals, and Dolphins have allowed more overall. Head coach/de facto general manager Bill O’Brien and his crew have certainly tried to fix the problem, bringing Vernon Hargreaves III and Gareon Conley in during the season to augment a cornerback group that hasn’t done much.
Of the five Texans cornerbacks with at least 20% of the team’s defensive snaps this season, only Bradley Roby has more interceptions (two) than touchdowns allowed (one), and Roby is the only one with an opposing passer rating allowed below 90. Lonnie Johnson, Jr., struggling through an injury-plagued season, is the primary culprit on the other end, with seven touchdowns allowed and no picks. When he tries to present tight coverage, as he does here in Week 17 against Tajae Sharpe of the Titans, Johnson is a step late to the party more often than not.
Neither Hargreaves nor Conley have been much better, allowing a combined 11 touchdowns to just two interceptions this season. Justin Reid and Jahleel Addae have been comparatively consistent as the team’s primary safeties, but this does not look like the kind of secondary that will be able to compete with any high-flying passing game in the postseason.