On Sunday, Johnathan Joseph played his 50th career NFL game where he finished with multiple passes defensed, passing Ronde Barber for the most career games with multiple passes defensed in NFL history.
"Just playing a lot of man-to-man coverage," Joseph said, laughing, when asked about setting the new record.
The 14-year veteran leads the NFL in passes defensed since joining the Texans in 2011. His franchise-record now totals 116 after Sunday's 28-22 win against the New England Patriots. Joseph finished with four total tackles (four solo) and two passes defensed and now leads the Texans with 11 on the season.
"He's just a good pro," head coach Bill O'Brien said. "He's been the way since the day I walked in the door here. He's been a captain every year. He's very smart, he prepares, he helps the younger players, he's good in the locker room. He practices every day, you try to give him a day off, he doesn't want to take a day off. I mean, there's a lot of good examples that he sets for younger players, and I think that those types of stats, I don't think he probably even care about that. He just wants to win, and I think he does whatever it takes to help the team win."
O'Brien is right. For Joseph, the stats don't matter as much as the names he is passing. He grew up watching guys like Barber play in the league.
"Just all those guys before me means a lot," Joseph said. "Just to continue to have this longevity and to be able to come out and help my team and do those things, it means a lot. Obviously, I can't take it in right now but, at the end of the day, when I go back and look on it, it's something I can tell my kids."
Through his 10 games this season, Joseph has recorded 45 tackles (39 solo) and leads all active cornerbacks in the NFL in career total tackles with 744.
