Here are the top takeaways and the highest graded players from the TB-HOU game.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
– QB Jameis Winston posted his second consecutive positive grade (+0.2), but his accuracy percentage of 60 against the Bucs' was much closer to the 55.2 percent he had in Week 1 than the 71.4 percent in Week 2. Jameis showed the ability to place the ball right where he needed to at times (for example, with under 12 minutes to go in the first quarter, he delivered a ball to Vincent Jackson right in between two defenders to pick up a first down on second-and-15), but he struggled to do it consistently.
– Jameis wasn’t the only player struggling to find consistency in Tampa’s passing attack; WR Mike Evans (-1.7) finished the weekend ranked 82nd among receivers who saw 25 percent or more of their teams' snaps. He led all receivers with three dropped passes. Evans had just four dropped passes all last season.
– LB Lavonte David (+2.1) ranked seventh among 4-3 outside linebackers in Week 3; his six stops tied K.J. Wright for the lead among the position.
Top Performers:
P Jacob Schum (+4.8)
DT Gerald McCoy (+2.3)
LB Lavonte David (+2.1)
DT Clinton McDonald (+1.4)
RT Gosder Cherilus (+1.4)
CB Sterling Moore (+1.3)
Houston Texans
– LT Chris Clark (+3.1) bounced back from a poor Week 2 showing (-1.6) to have his best game since the divisional playoff round back in 2013, when he was on the Denver Broncos. He had the fifth-highest grade among all OTs this weekend, and his +2.6 pass-blocking grade was the third-highest.
– CB Johnathan Joseph (+3.5) ranked second among all CBs this weekend. Joseph was targeted 12 times, and he allowed just two receptions for 24 yards and had three pass defenses.
– QB Ryan Mallett (+1.1) bounced back from a disastrous Week 2 (-7.2) to have the highest-graded game of his career in Week 3. A big reason for his success this week stems from Houston’s use of play action. For the season, Mallett’s completion percentage is 26.9 percent better when he’s throwing from play action. Through the first two weeks of the season, just 9.5 percent of Mallett’s attempts came from play action; in Week 3, 20 percent of his attempts came from play action.
Top Performers:
P Shane Lechler (+5.5)
CB Johnathan Joseph (+3.5)
NT Vince Wilfork (+3.3)
LT Chris Clark (+3.1)
DE J.J. Watt (+3.0)
RT Derek Newton (+2.1)
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