The Houston Texans have had big-name pass rushers over the past decade, but the 2021 defense is finding a way to get it done with low key names.
What is helping the Texans generate pressure on the quarterback is their communication between their defensive ends. According to defensive end Jacob Martin, what has helped him and fellow end Jonathan Greenard become an effective tandem off the edge is how well they are in sync with one another.
“Me and Jon (Greenard) are talking all the time, whether that’s in game, in practice, in between plays, during the play,” said Martin, who has 4.0 sacks on the season, the most in single season for his career. “We’re always in constant communication in terms of what he’s thinking or what moves he’s thrown on guys, how he goes about being in certain situations or how he plays six-technique, or how I play six-I.”
Greenard, a former 2020 third-round pick from Florida, has been a big beneficiary from the constant communication as he has tallied 8.0 sacks on the year, the most since 2018 when J.J. Watt recorded 16.0.
Said Martin: “We lean on each other in terms of what looks the other person is getting on the other side, and then just trusting that, like ‘Okay, I know that Jon will keep contain if I’m rushing high or if he’s going under.’ Just having that unspoken chemistry between us, I think that helps us work pretty well.”
The Texans have generated 25 sacks on the season, tied with the Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, and Baltimore Ravens for the 15th-most in the NFL. Houston is tied with the Chicago Bears for the fifth-fewest quarterback hits in the league with 52. The Texans have a chance to add to these numbers in Week 13 when they take on the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium.