Texans DE J.J. Watt emphatic about improving tackling against the Ravens

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt held nothing back when he talked about how the defense must improve its tackling against the Baltimore Ravens.

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has had enough.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year aired out his frustrations with the media Wednesday when it came to the poor tackling the Texans suffered in their 34-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1.

“We need to execute our assignment better,” Watt also said via Wilson. “We need to get off the field on third down. We need to play better defense all-around.”

The Texans defense had just four missed tackles last week, tied with the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts for the sixth-fewest in the NFL. However, with the Chiefs tallying an equivalent of five touchdowns and 369 total yards and quarterback Patrick Mahomes taking one sack, it felt like more.

Houston faces an even more athletic, dynamic quarterback in Week 2 with the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, who was deadlier through the air than he was on the ground. The reigning NFL Most Valuable Player completed 20-of-25 for 275 yards and three touchdowns, amassing a 152.1 passer rating, the highest of the week. Jackson took two sacks against the Cleveland Browns in the 38-6 win.

Last year, the Texans suffered 115 missed tackles, tied with the Miami Dolphins for the 11th-most in the league. Watt seeks to fix Houston’s problems quick so that they don’t finish anywhere near the top-10 of that negative category.