Poor quarterback play hurt DeAndre Hopkins again in Texans' playoff exit

HOUSTON -- A casualty of the Houston Texans' quarterback struggles on Saturday was, as it often is, DeAndre Hopkins.

The receiver made one of his patented sideline, tip-toe-dragging catches to haul in a pass headed out of bounds midway through the second quarter for a 16-yard gain in the Texans' 30-0 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC wild-card round. Many more were thrown too far away for Hopkins to do much. He finished with six catches on 11 targets for 69 yards and no touchdowns.

When asked what was tough about the Chiefs' coverage, Hopkins said nothing was.

"Do you think I was open?" Hopkins said when asked if he was open. "I mean you watched the game. I just run my routes."

The Texans' offense suffered the constant blow of turnovers throughout Saturday's game. Quarterback Brian Hoyer threw four interceptions, three of them in the first half, giving the Chiefs a 13-0 lead. Houston had the chance to cut the lead to 13-7 late in the first half, but Hoyer threw an interception on a pass intended for Hopkins on a play that started at the Chiefs' 3-yard line.

The Texans recorded only 136 total passing yards. Hoyer's passer rating was 15.9 and his Total QBR was 1.7.

Hopkins was asked if he felt bad for Hoyer.

"He is a grown man," Hopkins said. "I can't sit here and say I feel sorry for a grown man. You learn and this is football, you make mistakes. I don't feel bad for him because I know he is going to move on and be a better player from this game."

At one point during the game, their connection seemed better, but that was a short-lived blip.Houston Texans Jerseys Official Hopkins pulled Hoyer aside for a chat, but nothing seemed able to settle down the quarterback. Hopkins had only 21 yards on two catches in the second half.

Hopkins said after the game he was looking forward to working with Hoyer next season.

"We made it to the playoffs," Hopkins said. "A lot of people are sitting at home watching us."

He added that their chemistry couldn't be at its best after only one year together. Hopkins had 1,590 yards this season on 117 catches with 11 touchdowns while playing with four different quarterbacks.NFL Jerseys Houston Texans Outlet It's possible, though, that he'll have another quarterback next season with whom he'll need to develop some chemistry.