Houston Texans: Vernon Hargreaves and the secondary impressed against Colts

The underhanded Houston Texans’ secondary held their own against the Indianapolis Colts and were vital in their seventh win of the season.

The Houston Texans injury-stricken secondary held their ground against the Indianapolis Colts and quarterback Jacoby Brissett. The Colts offense thrived in their first encounter against the Texans with Brissett going 26 of 39 for 326 yards, four touchdowns, and winning the game 30-23.

The Texans were 0-4 against Brissett before their 20-17 win against the Colts in Week 12. Houston’s secondary was going into the game without Lonnie Johnson Jr., Bradley Roby, Justin Reid, and Mike Adams.

Texans leaned heavily on Johnathan Joseph, Gareon Conley, Vernon Hargreaves, Jahleel Addae, and Tashaun Gipson in their rotation to play against the Colts. Conley, Addae, and Gipson played all 67 snaps on defense while Joseph appeared in 66 snaps, and Hargreaves played of his 55 snaps in the slot.

That rotation didn’t disappoint, allowing Brissett to only complete 16 of his 25 passes attempted for 129 passing yards. The 129 yards Brissett has thrown through the air is the lowest amount of yards this season besides the Pittsburgh Steelers game in Week 10 in which he exited the game early with 59 yards due to an MCL injury.

Hargreaves had an impressive game manning the slot after being claimed off waivers a little more than a week ago. Some of the blemishes in his game were on display when he missed the opportunity to bring down the ball carrier a couple of times, but he showed the quickness in coverage to recover and stay with T.Y. Hilton after being beaten to break up the pass to lead to a fourth down.

The former 2016 first-round selection tossed his hat in the ring to be considered as the slot cornerback moving forward as he continues to learn the Texans’ defense. Hargreaves got the nod for playing time over Keion Crossen and Cornell Armstrong, who both have been in the defense longer.

It will be interesting to see how the secondary plays out when it gets back to full strength. The Texans secondary will tested when the New England Patriots come to town in Week 13.