This offseason saw the Philadelphia Eagles say goodbye to safety Reed Blankenship. The former undrafted gem out of Middle Tennessee State signed a three-year deal with the Houston Texans, and it was seen as a home run move for both Blankenship and the Texans.
Blankenship would get the chance to play for DeMeco Ryans' suffocating defense, while Ryans would add a baller to an already-impressive unit. Meanwhile, the Eagles would have to go in another direction at safety and lean on Howie Roseman to make sure they were set up to succeed there.
Week 1 might give us a small sample size, but so far, Eagles fans are thanking their lucky stars that Blankenship didn't sign another contract with Philly. The Bills put up over 30 points on the scoreboard against a supposedly elite defense, and Blankenship had his fair share of struggles in his Texans debut.
Pro Football Focus did not go easy on Blankenship in his first game in Houston, giving him a 31.5 grade, the second-worst mark among qualifying safeties. PFF also reported that Blankenship was targeted six times and surrendered all six of those catches. Ouch.
Reed Blankenship's first game with Texans left a lot to be desired
Sure, it's just one game, and it came against one of the best offenses in football in the Bills, but Blankenship's struggles were pretty evident to anyone watching the game. He struggled in coverage and failed to haul in a Josh Allen pick late in the second quarter. Blankenship tried to go for the interception but, in doing so, failed to cover D.J. Moore, who trotted in for the touchdown. The Texans ended up losing by five. You do the math.
It was a rough day at the office for Blankenship, that's for sure. In his defense, he was tasked with having to slow down the Bills' offense, though, which is always a challenge for any defense. He won't be the only one who fails to do that, but it's easy to point to this game, see how easily Allen carved him up, and think the Eagles dodged a major bullet here by not retaining Blankenship.
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Things won't get much easier for Blankenship next week, as he and the Texans host the Cincinnati Bengals. In back-to-back weeks, the Texans defense has to figure out ways to slow down Josh Allen and Joe Burrow. That does not sound fun. Will Blankenship fare any better against Burrow and the Bengals' wide array of weapons? Or will it be another long afternoon for the former Eagles fan favorite?
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