The defense of the Houston Texans has had its ups and downs this season, but at times during 2021 they’ve been able to put pressure on the quarterback and collect some sacks along the way.
Though the Texans are 2-9 overall entering Week 13 of the NFL season as they get set to play the Indianapolis Colts, they still have six games left on the schedule to improve on their season, and one part to watch is the sacks leader thus far this season.
Who leads Houston in sacks through 11 games played this season? That player is Jonathan Greenard, who has collected eight sacks which have cost their opponents 50 yards.
Next for the Texans on the sacks list this season is Jacob Martin with four sacks, and Whitney Mercilus is third on the sacks list with three. The sad part about Mercilus is he’s no longer with Houston and joined the Green Bay Packers and hasn’t played a game with the Texans since Oct. 17.
Ross Blacklock, Kamu Grugier-Hill and DeMarcus Walker each have two sacks this season with Houston, and the rest of the sacks list for this season includes Jordan Jenkins and Maliek Collins each having 1.5 sacks. Having one sack is Roy Lopez.
Houston Texans: Who will step up vs. Colts in Week 13?
Greenard has two sacks against the Colts this season on Oct. 17, a game where he totaled six tackles, and five of those tackles were solo. Greenard will probably be blocked often and more this game, so someone else has to step up.
Maybe that player is Martin, who didn’t play against Indianapolis earlier this season. Martin’s most recent sack came against the New York Jets last Sunday, and he has one sack in each of the past three games he’s played in, all coming in November.
There is also Blacklock, the former second-round pick for Houston. His two sacks this season came in two of his past five games played, as his most recent sack was on Nov. 21 against the Tennessee Titans, which was one of the two games the Texans have won this year.
With Greenard being the Texans’ sack leader entering Week 13, time will tell if he adds to that total against the Colts, but it should be fun watching him trying to have a repeat performance from the earlier meeting this season.