The Houston Texans defense gave up 601 yards total offense to the Tennessee Titans in Week 6’s 42-36 overtime loss at Nissan Stadium Sunday.
The points and the yards are bad enough, but the defense needed to at least force a Titans field goal on the opening drive in overtime to give the offense a chance to respond. Instead, the Titans drove 82 yards with running back Derrick Henry taking a 53-yard screen pass to the Houston 27. Four plays later, Henry scored the game-winning touchdown.
“The offense gave us a chance to win the game today,” defensive end J.J. Watt said. “We didn’t do it. Despite everything else that happened, back and forth obviously getting turnovers in the red zone, there’s opportunities. There’s times when we do it right and we do it well and at the end of the game when it matters most we didn’t, and that’s what hurts.”
The Texans defense has activated in the takeaway department. Despite going the first four games without a turnover, the Texans have generated four takeaways in the past two games, including a strip-sack of Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill and an interception.
“We have the ability to make plays,” Reid said. “We have good players. We just got to do it not some of the time; we got to do it all the time, and that’s going to be the challenge that I’m going to put on myself and a lot of other guys in the locker room is to be consistent.
“Do it every play. Not just some plays, not just the second half, but from the start of the game to the end of the game.”
If the Texans offense can continue to score in the thirties as the defense plays more consistently, Houston could have the formula to recover their 1-5 record and make the 2020 season end on a positive note.