Simmons Steps Up His Game on Bad Ankle

Unable to practice all last week, the Pro Bowl defensive tackle was one of the Tennessee Titans' best players Sunday, according to Pro Football Focus grades.

Troy Taormina/USA Today Sports

NASHVILLE – Imagine what a healthy Jeffery Simmons might have been able to do against the Houston Texans.

Playing on an injured ankle – one that kept him from taking any practice snaps last week – the fourth-year defensive tackle was still a terror in the Tennessee Titans’ 17-10 win over the Texans on Sunday. He posted a team-best 92.8 grade from Pro Football Focus, nearly matching his season-best grade of 93.0 from Week 1. Simmons played only 38 snaps, his fewest of the season, but still managed seven quarterback pressures, per PFF, which included one sack.

"I can't say enough about him as a player and a person," coach Mike Vrabel said Monday. "We've talked about his technique and how he's improved on that, and I think that continues to help him. This team means a lot to him, and we need Jeff to help us perform."

Here are some of the other PFF highlights/lowlights from the Titans’ win over the Texans:

• Top Five Offensive Grades – Running back Derrick Henry led the way with a season-high overall offensive grade of 92.1 after rolling through the Texans for 219 yards and two touchdowns. He was followed by running back Dontrell Hilliard (92.0), tight end Chig Okonkwo (78.1), center Ben Jones (77.4) and right guard Nate Davis (73.9).

• Top Five Defensive Grades (at least 15 snaps) – Simmons had the best overall defensive grade at 92.8, followed by defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker (90.0), inside linebacker David Long (78.6), cornerback Kristian Fulton (75.9) and defensive lineman Denico Autry (75.8).

• Rough Rookie Debut – In his first NFL start, rookie quarterback Malik Willis posted the Titans’ worst overall offensive grade at 40.8.

He went 5-for-5 passing with a clean pocket, totaling 39 yards and posting a 99.2 NFL quarterback rating. But it was a different story when Willis was pressured. He was 1 for 5 for 16 yards in those situations, throwing one interception and getting sacked three times. His NFL quarterback rating was 0.8 when pressured. Willis’ didn’t complete either of his two throws beyond 10 yards, and one was intercepted.

• Daley Surrenders Sack – PFF only attributed blame to a blocker on one of Willis’ three sacks. It was left tackle Dennis Daley, who surrendered his fourth sack of the season – one in each of the last four contests.

• Henry’s Beastly Performance – Any way you want to look at the stats, Henry delivered a monstrous performance. Per PFF, he totaled 193 of his 219 yards after contact. In addition, Henry recorded season bests in runs of 10-plus yards (seven), runs of 15-plus yards (three), first downs (11) and missed tackles forced (10).

We’ll throw in some Next Gen Stats on Henry just for fun. He ran against eight or more defenders in the box on 56 percent of his carries, yet still totaled 118 yards in those situations. And Henry also delivered a whopping 76 rushing yards over expectation, including 38 yards over expectation on his season-long 41-yard run.

• Paving the Way – Three offensive linemen graded out over 70.0 in the run-blocking department. Jones posted a season-best 80.8 as a run blocker, followed by Davis (74.4) and right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere (71.3).

• Pressuring the Passer – The Titans piled up 28 pressures against the Texans. Simmons’ team-high seven pressures included one sack, one quarterback hit and five hurries. Autry had five pressures (two quarterback hits, three hurries), Teair Tart four (one quarterback hit, three hurries) and Bud Dupree three (one sack, two hurries).