It seems that the Houston Texans have had every possible factor working against their favor in 2022, but hopes remain high that the team can at least secure their second win of the season before the playoffs start. Though they won’t be competing in the postseason in January, Houston is focused on improving their game heading into a rebuild next season and can gain valuable insight into team leadership before constructing their roster in 2023.
Defensive lineman Ogbonnia Okoronkwo told reporters about the team’s defensive leadership on Tuesday when asked about how the unit is doing amid the Texans’ skid to their 1-7-1 record. Though his comments were relatively brief, he emphasized that the defense is doing its best to stay optimistic about its future and is setting its sights on growing together as a team.
“I think we just try to keep everybody together and make sure everybody’s heads are up,” Okoronkwo explained. “Just try to stay as positive as possible. Just try to get back to work and just try to do something different or try to do a little bit more. Just try to encourage everybody.”
It certainly can’t be easy for Houston’s defenders to put their bodies on the line every week to be met with consistently bad results at the final whistle. The Texans’ offense on the other side of the ball has been notoriously inconsistent to this point in the season and is struggling to produce points at a significant enough rate to help the defense maintain pressure in all four quarters.
For all of its faults, Houston’s defense was able to put together a competent showing in their outing on Sunday, but couldn’t limit the damage enough to provide their floundering offense enough of a cushion to pull out a win. They will face a serious challenge on Sunday against a Washington Commanders team that upset the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles in Week 10 and will need to maintain their positivity in the face of severe adversity in a game where they are likely to be overwhelmingly outmatched.