Texans Defense Has Been Lights Out In Previous Two Wins

The Texans defense was supposed to be good. Some even said they had the potential to be legendary. Well they were wrong.

They were wrong after week one, after week two and pretty much through the first half of the season.

Good news, Texans fans, things have changed!

After being embarrassed by the Miami Dolphins, DC Romeo Crennel and company had to make changes. Free agent signing Rahim Moore wasn’t doing anything positive and Whitney Mercilus was playing out of position. Those were just two of the several changes that have brought a new spunk on the defensive side of the ball.

With Moore inactive over the last two games, safeties Eddie Pleasant and Andre Hal have been manning centerfield and have done a much better job taking angles to make tackles. The big plays have been eliminated over the last two weeks against the Titans and Bengals.

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With Jadeveon Clowney hurt, Mercilus has been inserted back into his normal position, rushing the passer from the edge. He’s excelled there (not shockingly), racking up 3.5 sacks and 7 tackles for a loss in the last two games. It will be up to Crennel to figure out ways to get Mercilus, Clowney, and J.J. Watt rushing the passer when all three are healthy and on the field.

The Texans cornerbacks have also played much better, even without Kareem Jackson seeing the field. The front office brought back Charles James, the Hard Knocks star, and James has looked good on the field, making plays both in the running and passing game. Johnathan Joseph and Kevin Johnson have also limited the big plays and continue to have key pass-breakups.

The two inside linebackers have also upped their performances. Brian Cushing has improved his tackling and is pursuing on every play. Benardrick McKinney appears to be improving on a weekly basis and led the team with nine tackles against the Bengals.

Like Rahim Moore, free agent signing Vince Wilfork had also done little through the first seven games of the season. Since then, the Texans have been using Wilfork much less, keeping him in the game on running situations and giving Brandon Dunn and Christian Covington more snaps on other downs.