Breaking Down Andre Johnson’s Winning Catch

It has been a while since Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson dominated a game the way he did in Week 11 against the Jaguars. Actually, with 273 yards on 14 receptions, he bested his career high in yards by 66. It was his final catch of the game — a 48-yard touchdown that came on a screen — that was Johnson’s most impressive.

In many ways, the Texans were lucky to be in position to win. Tied with Houston at 37-37 with 2 minutes 36 seconds remaining in overtime, the Jaguars faced a 4th-and-10 at the Texans’ 47-yard line. Sitting with a record of 1-8, Jacksonville decided to go for it in a situation when a team fighting for a spot in the playoffs might otherwise punt and play for the tie. The Jags really handed Houston an early Christmas present when Chad Henne failed to connect with Justin Blackmon.

Texans quarterback Matt Schaub found Kevin Walter on a 5-yard out on the next play for Houston, and the clock was ticking inside of 2:20. With no timeouts, Schaub dialed up a play at the line.

21AJ-fifthdown-blog480

Going no-huddle, it took Schaub only 14 seconds to get his offense lined up after the completion to Walter. With a Shotgun 5 Wide formation, the Texans spread the field. The Jaguars showed blitz before the snap, with six defenders — four linemen, a linebacker, and a defensive back — lined up as if they’d rush.

21AJ1-fifthdown-blog480

The Jaguars had blitzed on the previous play in an attempt to force the issue on defense. Knowing their only real shot to win was with a takeaway, Jacksonville rightfully played with a high-risk/high-reward defensive strategy. But knowing a blitz was almost certainly on the way, Schaub called the perfect play for the situation: a screen to Johnson.

Interestingly, the Texans actually had a double-screen called. Both Johnson and receiver Lester Jean (lined up closest to the sideline on the three-receiver side of the formation) ran the same route — three steps up before coming back to Schaub. It appeared as if Schaub had his choice of where to go with the ball, choosing Johnson for obvious reasons; in addition to Johnson’s being a bigger threat with the ball, the Jaguars were also out of position to the boundary since they blitzed their slot defender on that side. Further, the Texans released three of their five linemen toward Johnson.

21AJ2-fifthdown-blog480

By the time Johnson caught the pass, center Chris Myers, guard Ben Jones and tackle Derek Newton were all in prime position to block. Myers peeled back to catch any trailing defenders, Jones made his way to the second level, and Newton headed out to take care of the cornerback covering Johnson. Jones was particularly useful on the play, acting as a wall between Johnson and the last man to beat: safety Dawan Landry. Jones ran with Johnson for just about 25 yards, paving the way for the receiver’s game-winning score.

21AJ6-fifthdown-blog480

In what was probably the most thrilling game of Week 11, the Texans stormed back from a seemingly insurmountable 14-point fourth-quarter deficit. After Blackmon’s 81-yard fourth quarter touchdown, the Texans’ chances of winning were around 4 percent. With a little luck and a few well-timed plays, Houston showed why they could very well be the team to beat in the A.F.C. come January.


Bookmark and Share
(nytimes.com)
blog comments powered by Disqus