Tag: Texans defense

Zach Cunningham: Texans have to put their best foot forward

Heading into an important three weeks, Houston Texans inside linebacker Zach Cunningham says the team has to put their best foot forward.

It’s do or die time for the Houston Texans. At 8-5, they are tied for the crown of the AFC South, with none other than an opponent they will see twice in the next three weeks: the Tennessee Titans.

Houston, if they have playoff aspirations, must at least split the series with the Titans and beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sandwich game to ensure their spot in the playoffs.

Texans standout linebacker Zach Cunningham explains.

“I mean, it’s basically what it is. Three games left, we gotta, you know, put our best foot forward going into the rest of the season,” said Cunningham on Monday.

Cunningham, in his third professional season, is a catalyst to the Texans’ success. He already has a career-best in combined tackles with 114, which also paces the team. His 79 solo tackles sit at second in the NFL while his 114 combined ones are sixth.

Of course, Cunningham won’t be the one to lead the Texans to the post-season alone. He needs to rest of the team to step up to the challenge, which he feels like they can do.

“I feel like we are able to step up to the challenge. Just got to go out there and prove it,” said Cunningham.

Houston will have to embark in their three-week stretch to the postseason without their best defensive player, J.J. Watt, who has been out since Week 8. Instead, their defense will be compiled by a lesser-known group, one that Cunningham believes will get the Texans where they want to be.

“Definitely confident in the guys that we have in the locker room. Guys will continue to fight and throughout the whole season,” said Cunningham. “That’s what we continue to show.”

The Texans will begin their playoff quest on Sunday. They will travel to Nashville to face the surging Titans.

Justin Reid says Broncos came out with more urgency than Texans

The Denver Broncos beat the Houston Texans in upset fashion on Sunday. Safety Justin Reid says they came out with more urgency than Houston.

A 38-24 loss doesn’t quite depict the route the Houston Texans witnessed on Sunday to the Denver Broncos. From the get-go, Denver had Houston’s number, as indicated by a 14-0 first quarter lead and a 31-3 halftime score.

The Texans dropped to 8-5 in the loss, the Broncos got up to 5-8. A week after beating the New England Patriots at home, Houston fell flat in an opportunity to get closer to a potential first-round bye.

Texans safety Justin Reid feels that the Broncos played with a better sense of urgency, despite their lack of need to win to get to the playoffs.

“I think guys were prepped,” Reid told reporters after the game. “We were ready to go. It’s just, they came out with a better sense of urgency than we did.”

Reid called the loss “a little bit deflating.” However, he went on to say that the Texans won’t, or shouldn’t, dwell on it. The 8-5 Tennessee Titans are their new focus.

“But, the best thing we can do is just kind of flip the page on it as fast as we can,” Reid said. “We are going to watch the tape [and] learn from it. We got the Titans next week, basically for the division.”

The Texans will travel to Nashville to face the surging Titans, who have won four games in a row and five of the last six with Ryan Tannehill starting under center. The game, as Reid says, is essentially for the AFC South division. Both teams are currently tied at the top, with the Texans holding the tiebreaker based on division wins.

Houston’s loss to Denver was disappointing and, at times, downright embarrassing. There is no other way to spin it. However, they do have time. With three games left in the season, the Texans can either round out as a playoff team or shrink.

OLB Jacob Martin says he will excel in whatever the Texans ask him to do

Houston Texans outside linebacker Jacob Martin has flourished as of late, in large part because he will do whatever the team asks of him.

The name Jacob Martin no longer stands as a “throw-in” for the Houston Texans’ trade away of Jadeveon Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks. He is a blossoming pass-rusher for the 8-4 team down in Houston.

In back-to-back prime time games, Martin has shown just that. While defeating both the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots, the second-year Temple product has 2.5 sacks and four quarterbacks, leading the Texans through those two weeks.

Martin’s recent boom of production should come as no surprise. He’s worked at it meticulously and, since joining the team on Aug. 31, has volunteered to do whatever he can.

“I would just say, just staying consistent with my craft and my technique. Not changing anything up, not changing my preparation up,” said Martin on his development on Thursday. “And, obviously, just waiting for my number to be called.”

Through 12 active games, Martin has played in 35% of special teams snaps (111) and 22.5% of defensive ones (183). Recently, he’s seen an uptick in defensive snaps, going from 13 to 24 to 45 since Week 10.

“Anything I can do for this team, I will,” continued Martin. “Whatever they ask me to do. If that’s strictly special teams, then that’s special teams. If that’s pass-rushing, that’s pass-rushing. But, whatever they ask me to do, I will excel at.”

Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel sees growth in Martin. In the process, he is experimenting by moving him around and giving him a bigger role in the defense.

“I think he is beginning to experiment with different moves. His straight-line ability really helps because he’s really fast off the edge, but he’s been experimenting with things and we’ve been moving him around a little bit along that front.”

The Texans have struggled to get to the quarterback in 2019. That is only emphasized since J.J. Watt’s pectoral tear in Week 8, which earned him a spot on the injured reserve. Perhaps Martin will provide a boost as Houston gears up for a playoff run.

Texans OLB Brennan Scarlett getting close to playing versus Broncos

Houston Texans outside linebacker Brennan Scarlett (shoulder) is getting close to playing against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

Brennan Scarlett missed out on the fun of the Houston Texans’ 28-22 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday. Instead, he spent the night inactive with a shoulder injury.

A starting outside linebacker, Scarlett was a limited participant in the practices leading up to Week 13’s win. Ultimately, the Texans sat him out. He should be available to play in Week 14’s tilt with the 4-8 Denver Broncos, according to coach Bill O’Brien.

“I think that Scar’s probably trending in the right direction,” said O’Brien on Monday. “He’s going through a couple of different things, but I think he’s getting there. He’s trending in the right direction.”

Scarlett’s availability in Wednesday’s practice will depict his status for Sunday’s matchup.

Scarlett is enjoying a career-year with a bigger role in the Texans defense. In 11 games, the 26-year-old Stanford product has recorded 3.5 sacks, 33 combined tackles, three tackles for loss and six quarterback hits.

Whitney Mercilus says the Texans must be clutch and consistent to beat Patriots

Houston Texans outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus says the Texans must be clutch and consistent to beat the New England Patriots.

The New England Patriots are coming to town. The Houston Texans know —with a 1-10 record all-time against the vaunted dynasty up in Foxborough — what they have to do to beat them: bring back Clutch City.

“We’ve had some, some close bouts,” said outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus on Monday. “So, the thing is, we’ve got to be clutch in really tight moments and stuff like that. And we’ve got to play consistent. So, we just understand going into this game what we have to do.”

Sunday’s tilt with the Patriots will mark the fifth-straight season the Texans have hosted Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Co. The last time Houston bested New England, it was 2010. Deshaun Watson was in high school.

The Texans have played the Patriots close in the past, most notably a 36-33 loss in 2017 and a 34-16 one in the 2016 playoffs — with the scoreboard depicting a blowout, but the film not doing so.

However, playing someone close isn’t worth anything, other than perhaps a cookie. The Texans, at 7-4, are playing to win. The prior results are not relevant, according to Mercilus.

“Past history, whatever, that’s behind us. What we have to do is live in the moment and the present and all that. So, that’s what mainly what we are focused on,” said Mercilus. “We’re just going to have to be in the moment. And keep laying brick by brick.”

For the first time since 2015, the Texans will host the Patriots. However, with New England standing at 10-1 with an elite defense, home-field advantage will only get Houston so far. To pull off an upset, and subsequently re-gain respect in the playoff hunt, the Texans must bring back Clutch City.

OLB Jacob Martin is delivering with ‘important pressures’ for Texans

Outside linebacker Jacob Martin is delivering with important pressures for the Houston Texans in his first year with the team.

Thursday’s tilt with the Indianapolis Colts represented a first for outside linebacker Jacob Martin. In the win, the second-year pass-rusher recorded his first sack as a member of the Houston Texans.

The Colorado native tackled Jacoby Brissett for an eight-yard loss in the first quarter.

“He did a good job on that rush,” said Texans coach Bill O’Brien on Friday. “He got a good takeoff, which is the key. If you can get a good takeoff, that’s half the battle and then he was able to get low to the ground and turn the edge.”

The Texans brought in Martin in the Jadeveon Clowney trade on Aug. 31. Since then, he has acted as a rotational pass-rusher, tallying three quarterback hits before hitting on his first sack in Houston.

“He’s been very active for us. He plays with great effort, and yeah, he’s had a couple of important pressures,” said O’Brien. “Like in the Kansas City game, he had a pressure on (Patrick) Mahomes, and then yesterday it was good to – or last night it was good to see him finally get home on the sack. He did a nice job on that. It was a good play.”

Martin measures in at a slightly undersized 6-2, 242-pounds. While not the biggest pass-rusher, he has found success in his 138 defensive snaps, particularly as a speed-rusher off the edge.

For the Texans, the hope for Martin moving forward is that he can build on his first sack donning steel blue and battle red. The team desperately needs help at pass-rusher with J.J. Watt out for the season (torn pectoral), Clowney residing in Seattle and the rest of the unit not creating consistent pressure.

Perhaps Martin will be that pass-rusher the Texans so desperately need. An uptick in snaps will dictate that notion heading into Week 13 versus the New England Patriots.

CB Johnathan Joseph: Texans didn’t do enough defensively against the Ravens

Houston Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph said that the defense did not do enough against the Baltimore Ravens in a blowout loss.

When the opponent scores 41 points, the presumption is that the defense did not do enough against the offense. On Sunday, that notion is applicable to the Houston Texans defense against the Baltimore Ravens, as they were outscored 41-7.

“We just didn’t execute the defense as a team. When you come on the road in a tough environment, you know it’s going to be tough, but, at the end of the day, we didn’t do enough,” said cornerback Johnathan Joseph after the loss. 

The Ravens recorded 25 first downs to the Texans’ 16 on Sunday. Their 491 total yards doubled the 232 from Houston. On third-down the Ravens converted 56% of their attempts (nine) to 20% from Houston (10).

The Texans could not get off the field. Even worse: Baltimore’s 41 points came after a first quarter in which Houston allowed none and did a relatively good job of shutting down quarterback Lamar Jackson.

“We got off to a hard start on defense,” continued Joseph. “We got two fourth-down stops if I remember correctly and then, I wouldn’t say things spiraled out. But third downs, we had them a couple of times and let them get out. There were several second-and-longs, and they made a couple catch and runs and moved the chains.”

Houston’s defensive performance was one to forget. There aren’t any individual places to point the blame to. The loss was a group effort. The pass-rush couldn’t get to Jackson; the secondary struggled; the run defense wasn’t there; the linebackers were exploited in coverage.

“There were a lot of things throughout the game, said Joseph, “but it wasn’t any one thing in particular other than Lamar Jackson at quarterback.” 

The culmination of a defense that struggled in most areas and couldn’t contain Jackson is their worst loss in recent memory. Luckily, they will be able to shake it off quickly, as Houston plays host to the rival Indianapolis Colts on Thursday.