Sack 1: -3 yards (Jerry Hughes)
Time: 10:02 in the first quarter
Situation: second-and-6, Buffalo 47-yard line
It didn’t take long for Watson to get sacked in this game. The Texans ran a play-action fake to their left side, but it went nowhere because
Trent Murphy came across unblocked on the right side.
This play was doomed from the start. Though Murphy didn’t get the actual sack, he gave
Jerry Hughes time to do so.
What I don’t get is how the Texans didn’t account for Murphy, who was too far to the right to be a factor in the running play that they’re faking. The issue with assigning blame for a play like this is you have to wonder what Watson’s options were before the snap. He should have been able to identify that Murphy was a problem, but then again, the coaches should have seen it, too.
Who was at fault: Playcall
Sack 2: -6 yards (Trent Murphy)
Time: 1:26 in the first quarter
Situation: third-and-3, Buffalo 40-yard line
Later in the first quarter and inside Buffalo territory, the Texans saw a promising drive end due to a third-down sack. The Bills only rushed four, but once again, Watson was under pressure almost immediately.
There’s something wrong with a running back blocking a pass rusher by himself while four offensive linemen block two guys, yet that’s what happened. Duke
Johnson did his best to block
Matt Milano, but he got the pressure on Watson, who escaped and was sacked by
Clark’s man (Murphy).
Clark did his job on the play, and Watson had no options available downfield. So why was
Johnson stranded against a pass rusher who was obviously coming? To me that’s a failure on the interior line —
Fulton in particular.
Who was at fault: Fulton
Sack 3: 0 yards (Murphy)
Time: 10:09 in the second quarter
Situation: second-and-6, Houston 29-yard line
While this next play didn’t lose any yardage, it was still pretty dang ugly. It was a good decision by Watson to not throw the pass, but after the fake it all went bad.
Watson stepped into this not-throw so hard that when he reset his feet, he turned all the way around — right into Murphy. That said, the right tackle didn’t do a terrible job on this play. If Watson were stepping around the pocket like any other play, it would have been a successful block.
There’s a tendency to blame Watson when he dances around in the backfield — and you should sometimes. This, however, feels like a coverage sack.
Who was at fault: N/A (coverage sack)
Sack 4:-1 yards (Hughes)
Time: 8:23 in the second quarter
Situation: first-and-15, Houston 34-yard line
On this play, just about everything went wrong from the onset, and there’s plenty of blame to be thrown around.
Tight end
Darren Fells was the one who got beat, but I really don’t like anything about this play. Bill O’Brien brought in
Roderick Johnson, the swing tackle, as an extra blocker on the left side and stacked
Fells next to him. However,
Johnson looked like he was in slow motion here. The play action didn’t work and Watson’s dropback was too deep for any of the good blocking to matter.
There’s no reason the Texans should have looked so thoroughly overwhelmed on the play. Blame goes to a committee on this one.
Who was at fault: Playcall,
Fells, and
Johnson
Sack 5: -7 yards (Tremaine Edmunds)
Time: 14:23 in the third quarter
Situation: third-and-9, Houston 26-yard line
This is an excellent example of Watson taking more sacks than he should, despite initial pressure coming his way.
At first, it looks like Watson got swarmed here. On closer inspection, it shows that when he stepped up following
Fulton getting
Jordan Phillips turned around, there was enough time to set his feet and look downfield.
Instead, he rolled out to his left and looked like he was trying to run for it.
Edmunds closed fast and sacked him for a big loss. Watson absolutely could have avoided this sack.
Who was at fault: Watson
Sack 6: -2 yards (Hughes)
Time: 11:43 in the fourth quarter
Situation: third-and-3, Buffalo 21-yard line
Once again I am puzzled by how the Texans continued to let unblocked defensive ends through the line. It’s understandable if there’s a stunt or a delayed blitz from a linebacker, but a defensive end who is clearly not going anywhere else? Yeesh.
Though it wasn’t Murphy who wound up getting the sack, he was the guy who forced this play to go off the rails.
Tunsil had his issues with Hughes, but if Murphy had been blocked initially, then Watson could have stepped up and through the rush from Hughes.
Clark and Fulton were both engaged with one guy when Murphy came around unblocked. Clark turned around slowly and saw Watson about to get crushed but could do nothing about it. On plays like these, you have to blame the outside lineman for being clueless and the coach for not recognizing it.
Who was at fault: Playcall and Clark