The Houston Texans defense does have a positive stat for the 2021 season.
One positive that slides under the radar for the Houston Texans defense is their ability to intercept passes in 2021. This season, entering week 18, the defense of the Texans has amassed 12 interceptions, and they have a chance to add to that number one last time in ’22 when they face the Tennessee Titans this Sunday.
Lonnie Johnson Jr. (who is no longer on the roster) and Desmond King are the leaders for the Houston Texans this season with three interceptions each.
Next are Tavierre Thomas and Justin Reid with two interceptions, while Kamu Grugier-Hill, Terrance Mitchell, Eric Wilson, Jonathan Owens, Christian Kirksey, Eric Murray, and Maliek Collins each have one interception while wearing a Houston uniform this year.
Below, the stat provided by the official Texans PR Twitter page speaks volumes on how well the Texans can make interceptions, as the following stat shows the Texans have had some positives on offense this season:
The #Texans are intercepting 3.3 percent of opponent pass attempts this season, the fifth-highest rate in the NFL.
— Houston Texans PR (@TexansPR) January 6, 2022
The mark also ranks second in franchise history behind 2004 (4.2 percent).#WeAreTexans pic.twitter.com/nNkWIuh4kd
Sure, the 3.3-percent interception-to-pass attempt ratio hasn’t won the Texans many games this year, as they are 4-12 with one game left in the regular season, but a positive is just that. To rank in the Top 5 in the entire NFL in any category for the defense needs to be celebrated to a certain degree.
Going into the Week 18 game with the Titans, Houston will face an offense with Ryan Tannehill as their starting quarterback, and he’s thrown 14 interceptions as his interception percentage this season is 2.81-percent.
In Week 11 when Tannehill faced the Houston Texans in Nashville, the Titans quarterback threw four interceptions, his season high. Gaining those interceptions in that game – which was a 22-13 Texans win – were King with two, and with one interception each were Grugier-Hill and Mitchell.
As this game nears, the defense of the Texans have a chance to knock out the Titans as the top overall seed in the AFC Playoffs, and if that even has a chance to happen, the defense of the Houston Texans will need another big-time performance when it comes to forcing Tannehill into interceptions.