Houston Texans: Week 2 Final Thoughts

Sep 15, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) smiles as he talks with linebacker Brian Cushing (56) in the fourth quarter against the Tennessee Titans at Reliant Stadium. The Houston Texans beat the Tennessee Titans 30-24 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Defense

Now to the defense of the Texans … again, they stepped up when their teammate needed them the most. We saw Brian Cushing lead the Texans’ defense with a 11 tackles and two sacks vs. the Titans, who are now 1-1 overall.

J.J. Watt also came alive with five tackles and two sacks. I wrote earlier in the week there was no way Watt was leaving his second straight game to start the season without a sack, and he made up for a zero on the board last Monday with two sacks this past Sunday.

Though the Texans didn’t force any turnovers, they played well by holding the Titans to 248 yards, and here is a nice stat for everyone … they kept the Titans to a third down efficiency of 25-percent (4-for-16) and 0-1 on fourth downs.

Houston’s defense kept Titans quarterback Jake Locker (17-for-30) in check with 129 yards passing (a big improvement from the previous week) and to 119 yards of rushing, as the Texans held Chris Johnson to under 100 yards (96 total on 25 carries) for the game.

One last thought on this defense … I’d really like to see how improved the defense will be with the arrival of free safety Ed Reed, hopefully this coming Sunday when the Texans play his old team, in Baltimore. How fun would that be to see?