The Houston Texans defense has been a maligned unit throughout the 2020 regular season.
What the critics were saying in the media and elsewhere was fortified in the stat sheet. Entering Week 11, the Texans gave up the most rushing yards per game at 167.3, most yards per carry at 5.2, and opposing passers compiled a 109.0 rating against the unit, the highest in the league.
Defensive end J.J. Watt was encouraged by the results from the 27-20 win over the New England Patriots Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium.
“It’s no secret that our defense hasn’t been playing at the level that we expect to play at or that we want to play at, so we’re obviously trying to, every single week, trying to turn that around,” Watt said. “I think today was a good step to doing that.”
The Texans held the Patriots to 86 yards on 24 carries, a paltry 3.6 yards per carry. Even quarterback Cam Newton played below the Texans’ passer rating average with a 102.6 rating.
Part of what got the Texans motivated ahead of the matchup with New England was defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver demonstratively expressing his confidence in his unit during his media session on Thursday. With Weaver being so open with his feelings, the defense was compelled to back up their coach.
“There’s one thing about Coach Weave is he has the respect of the entire team, especially the defensive side of the ball, man,” safety Justin Reid said. “We all really believe in what he coaches and preaches and he has our back the same way we have his back. We believe in what he says, and he’s done a great job.”
The Texans get back to work on a short week as they take on the Detroit Lions Thursday at Ford Field for a Thanksgiving showdown.
“Like I said, with the rushing attack, obviously we’ve taken our fair share of lumps, rightfully so for how we’ve been against the run this year, today is a day that the guys deserve a lot of credit,” said Watt.
Reid concurs the defense has to continue to improve and play consistently.
“We’ve just got to keep knocking down these wins and keep improving the defense, have his back as well, too,” said Reid.