Houston Texans defensive tackle Vincent Taylor is encouraged, but still motivated to get better.
The Texans’ seven takeaways procured are the most in preseason. Their 72.0 rushing yards per game are the fourth-fewest in the league.
It all isn’t too bad for a unit that only had nine takeaways in 2020, and gave up 5.2 yards per carry — both of which were the worst in the NFL among defenses.
Even though there is positivity, Taylor isn’t going to get sidetracked from the work.
“We always got room for improvement,” said Taylor. “It’s good that we’re getting turnovers. I think each preseason game we had got turnovers. That’s one thing [defensive coordinator] Lovie Smith preaches, so we just got to keep getting turnovers. Like I said, there is always room for improvement.”
The Texans defense will get a bit of a test in their final preseason game — a 7:00 p.m. Central Time kickoff from NRG Stadium Saturday — as they face the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. How many starters play for the Bucs in the finale remains to be seen, but the concept of going against the defending champions is a benchmark of sorts.
“I think this week will be a big test for us like he just mentioned playing the defending champ,” said Taylor. “That’s one thing that we got to just keep focusing on, the run defense, and then forcing turnovers.”
If the Texans can continue their improvement of shutting down the run while procuring takeaways, it will be the right kind of encouragement the team needs heading into Week 1.