Texans report card: Grading Houston's 20-6 loss to Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2

The Houston Texans lost to the Cincinnati Bengals 20-6 on Sunday at Reliant Stadium, falling to 0-2 to start the season for the second year in a row and third time in four seasons. They have gone 16 consecutive drives without a touchdown, dating back to the second half of the opener against Buffalo.

Here are the grades:

Quarterback: C+

C.J. Stroud played well early, considering he was without his best receiver, Nico Collins, and his receivers struggled with drops. He moved well in the pocket to avoid sacks and threw the ball away when nothing was available. He also took off for first downs when necessary. He led the Texans with 29 rushing yards.

But he failed to throw a touchdown pass or lead the offense to a touchdown.

Stroud finished 30 of 55 for 353 yards.

Running back: F

Apparently, last week’s performance on the ground was a fluke. David Montgomery and Woody Marks combined for just 18 yards on 14 carries. Montgomery was stopped on fourth-and-inches in the first half, which led to coach DeMeco Ryans’ baffling decision not to go for it later in the game on fourth down.

Wide receivers/tight ends: D+

The Texans got decent production from their tight ends Sunday. Dalton Schultz led all receivers with 12 catches for 140 yards. But he was probably the only bright spot.

Outside of that, the receivers just weren’t good. They rarely got open, and there were at least five drops on the day.

Collins was sorely missed.

Offensive line: F

The Texans allowed four sacks, all in the second half. The unit was dominated at the line of scrimmage whenever the Texans ran the ball, which is why it didn’t deserve anything higher than a D. As a team, the Texans averaged just 3.3 yards per carry, largely bolstered by Stroud’s scrambles. It was a bad day for an offensive line that was called for six penalties, though one was declined.

Trent Brown had three of those penalties. The Texans were missing Ed Ingram, but he probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

Defensive line: A-

The Texans got constant pressure on Joe Burrow throughout the game. Will Anderson Jr. was credited with one sack but was in on another. Danielle Hunter also had a sack, as did newly acquired defensive lineman Logan Hall. The one blemish on the Texans’ performance was their inability to stop running back Chase Brown at the line of scrimmage.

Linebackers: C

Considering starter Henry To’oTo’o was out, the Texans’ linebackers weren’t bad. But they missed a few tackles and gave up some passes over the middle.

Secondary: C

The secondary was only slightly better than it was last week. Reed Blankenship was beaten for a touchdown by Ja’Marr Chase. Derek Stingley Jr. also lost a one-on-one matchup with Chase that, quite frankly, was simply an elite player making an incredible play.

Special teams: F

This had to be the worst special teams performance of the DeMeco Ryans era, and it cost Houston the game. Ka’imi Fairbairn was 2 of 3 on field-goal attempts. Kai Kroeger averaged just 41.4 yards per punt, including two that traveled less than 40 yards. He also fumbled a hold.

The kick and punt return coverage was bad, too. This was the second consecutive week the Texans have had issues stopping the opposing team’s special teams unit.

Coaching: F

The defense played much better than it did against the Bills, getting pressure on Burrow throughout the game. But special teams and the offensive play-calling after Houston crossed midfield cost the Texans this game.

Ryans’ decision to have Fairbairn attempt a 58-yard field goal instead of going for it on fourth-and-inches was particularly perplexing. Yes, Fairbairn has made kicks from that distance before. And yes, the Texans didn’t convert on fourth-and-inches earlier in the game.

But going for it made all the sense in the world, considering a field-goal attempt in that situation is an equally high-risk, low-reward move.

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This article originally published at Texans report card: Grading Houston’s 20-6 loss to Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2.