The Texans defense shined on Sunday afternoon in the 57-14 pasting of the Titans.
They forced five turnovers. They allowed just nine first downs. They gave up just 109 passing yards. They got off the field on five 3-and-outs. And they were only on the field for 20:19, basically half the amount of time the Texans offense was on the field.
"Man, it was kind of crazy," outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney said. "We usually play in a lot of snaps on defense, but this game we didn't get to play too many snaps. I think I was on the sidelines like hollering at the coach one time like, 'Man I'm not on the field enough.' He was like 'J.D., nobody's on the field right now.'"
But when they were on the field, the Texans harrassed the Titans' quarterbacks, picking off Marcus Mariota and Matt Cassel two times each. Safety Andre Hal snared two, safety Marcus Gilchrist intercepted another, and rookie linebacker Dylan Cole picked one off and returned it 25 yards for a score.
"The defense has to do our part by stopping the run and playing great, sound defense, and give the ball back to the offense," Cole, who finished with a team-high five tackles, as well as a sack, said. "I think we did a great job at complementing each other today. That's how it's supposed to be. That was Houston Texans football right there."
Hal, who had four tackles in addition to the two picks, expanded on Cole's idea.
"It's complimentary football," Hal said. "We go out there and make a play then Deshaun (Watson) goes out there and scores the football. It makes you want to play. It's fun when the offense is scoring and the defense is playing well, it's great."
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