Texans: How well did Derek Stingley Jr. play against the Broncos in Week 2?

A Houston Texans first round pick got his “Welcome to the NFL moment”

Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr is already dealing with the ups-and-downs that come with playing in the NFL. After showcasing a pretty dominant performance in Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts, Stingley quickly came back down to earth in Week 2 in the loss to the Denver Broncos.

Fresh off of ranking fourth in rookie debuts per NFL.com, Stingley found a new challenge against Denver wide receiver Courtland Sutton and the Broncos. This one proved to be far more difficult.

Stingley struggled early on against the big-bodied Sutton, and according to Next Gen Stats, in the first half Stingley was matched up on Sutton 95-percent of the time. During that time Sutton had already totaled 55 yards receiving.

Catches and yardage allowed wasn’t the only problem for Stingley in Week 2. Penalties were also an issue for the Houston rookie. Stingley had two pass interference calls on him, one of which was for 42 yards, giving the Broncos the ball on the goal line.

Texans: Derek Stingley Jr. also had positives in Week 2 for Houston

Now it wasn’t all disastrous for Stingley. After the long pass interference call, the rookie had a pass breakup on a would be touchdown on Sutton in the end zone. This was one of two total pass defenses for Stingley. He also finished second on the team with eight total tackles.

However, in the NFL the bad usually outweighs the good. Sutton finished with 122 yards total, and while all of that didn’t come against Stingley, a good chunk of it did, but it was just his second game in the NFL.

There shouldn’t be cries of concern yet. Stingley showed major promise in Week 1. A bad game against a good receiver will happen to the best of players and especially a rookie in his second career game. The rookie corner will look to rebound next Sunday in against the Chicago Bears in Week 3.