DeAndre Hopkins vs. the Colts (14 targets, 11 catches, 169 yards)

3-3-HST 27 (Q3, 11:46) (Shotgun) B.Hoyer pass deep left to D.Hopkins pushed ob at HST 48 for 21 yards (V.Davis). PENALTY on HST-D.Hopkins, Offensive Pass Interference, 10 yards, enforced at HST 27 - No Play.

So far, we’ve gotten to see Hopkins pick on Greg Toler all game. The Colts keep their CBs to the same side of the field, so that was a matchup the Texans clearly thought they could exploit and did to this point. Now, however, he’s facing off against Vontae Davis, who is one of the best cover corners in the game. It’s a difficult assignment. Hopkins breaks hard outside, and Davis is patient and keeps with him step for step. Hoyer still throws the ball his way, counting on his receiver to make a catch on a 50/50 ball. Hopkins makes the catch, but there’s a problem. The refs ruled offensive pass interference, as he ever so slightly pushed off on Davis. You can see Davis’ head kind of dip down, that’s when Hopkins pushed off against him. I don’t think it was all that egregious, and a lot of times they’ll just let the guys play on this, but Hopkins got caught here and it cost his team a third down conversion.

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1-10-HST 10 (Q3, 9:08) B.Hoyer pass short left to D.Hopkins pushed ob at HST 15 for 5 yards (V.Davis).

The Texans are pinned deep with first and 10 here. They send Hopkins in motion and then send him on a simple quick out against off coverage. There’s not much to this, but it gains five yards and keeps the offense on schedule.

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1-10-HST 21 (Q3, 8:06) B.Hoyer pass short left to D.Hopkins to HST 35 for 14 yards (G.Toler).

This play is what’s called a mesh route combination, with the receivers both running “Over” crossing routes (meaning the crossers are done at a 14 yard depth). This is a favorite of Bill O’Brien, and Hopkins is clearly the intended target on this play because of two things. First of all, he’s the underneath receiver at the mesh point, which means that the receiver over top of him should get in the way of the CB. Secondly, there’s a vertical route to the side of the field he’s crossing over to, which takes the single high safety out of the picture. Hopkins had a simple enough time getting separation with the off coverage on the play, and he ends up very open. Unfortunately, he loses his footing and slides to a halt, so he was unable to pick up any yardage after the catch.

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1-10-IND 44 (Q3, 5:20) B.Hoyer pass deep middle to D.Hopkins pushed ob at IND 10 for 34 yards (G.Toler).

This is pretty much a mirror of the previous play. Hopkins now starts off at the top of the screen, and runs the top route. The clear route is still to his side, and Davis (who appears to be in zone) is not in a good position to try to drive on the crossing route. This leaves a lot of open space for Hopkins, and Hoyer hits him in stride, where he’s able to pick up 15 extra yards after the catch.

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3-4-IND 31 (Q4, 6:18) (Shotgun) B.Hoyer pass incomplete deep left to D.Hopkins (E.Walden).

Hopkins is able to get massively wide open on this play, and his route running is the reason. He turns and head fakes toward the inside, and gets Davis to bite on a potential crossing route. Then, he cuts hard back outside, and runs right throw Davis, who is way out of position at this point. Hoyer correctly identifies it, but his throw sails on him and Hopkins is unable to get to what would have been a TD because of a poor throw.

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1-10-HST 36 (Q4, 3:25) B.Hoyer pass deep middle to D.Hopkins pushed ob at IND 43 for 21 yards (D.Lowery). PENALTY on HST-D.Hopkins, Unsportsmanlike Conduct, 15 yards, enforced between downs.

Once again we have Hopkins running a deep crosser with a vertical route clearing out over top for him. This time there isn’t a second receiver coming across the field, but the same purpose is attained. Hopkins has more than enough space to make the catch. He is unable to get away from Dwight Lowery, who drags him out of bounds and gives him an extra tug at the end. Hopkins didn’t like that, and made a really boneheaded decision to throw the football at Lowery, which resulted in a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that killed the drive, which also ended the Texans’ comeback attempt.

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With the exception of maybe three plays, it was a very positive performance for Hopkins. He won in a variety of ways on a number of different routes. He beat DBs by solid route running, with his speed, and by being physical at the catch point. He ran go, out, curl, and crossing routes successfully. He did a solid, but not spectacular, job of racking up yards after the catch. He showed that he was the total package, although he did have one boneheaded play where he let his emotions get the best of him. Hopefully that part of his game will mature out of him, because he was an absolute monster that the Colts really struggled to contain. This week, he gets to face the Jaguars, who have really struggled against opposing #1 receivers, so expect another big day out of him.