Had Jadeveon Clowney not worn a Texans Battle Red jersey, nobody would've been faulted for thinking he was a member of the Jacksonville backfield. The Texans defensive end dominated the Jaguars on Sunday, finishing with a sack, a batted pass, three tackles for loss, a pair of quarterback hits and five total tackles on the day.
"That's about as good as I've seen him play this year," defensive end Antonio Smith said. "As confident as I've seen him play. Just having fun, because most of the plays he made were big plays."
On the Jaguars' second possession of the game, Clowney dropped Blake Bortles on 3rd-and-3 for a loss of eight yards. Jacksonville had to punt from its own 9-yard line, and it was just the first of many big plays the defensive end would make on the afternoon.
"I'm just trying to fit in where I fit on the defense," Clowney said. "I'm just trying to go out there and make as many plays as possible."
Clowney played in a multitude of spots on the defensive front Sunday at NRG Stadium, and against the Jaguars, he flourished.
"I've been doing it all season," Clowney said of his movement throughout the defense. "We've been mixing it up, trying to isolate me one-on-one with inside guys and outside guys. It was just a great gameplan by the coaches."
Bill O'Brien said Clowney's 2016 has been a good one.
"He's played very well this season," O'Brien said. "He plays the game very hard. He plays at a fast pace. He's a very physical football player. He's a hell of a football player, especially on Sundays."
According to cornerback A.J. Bouye, Clowney was a "presence", and his impact is profound.
"In my opinion, he's the best player on the defense and he shows that week in, week out," Bouye said. "You all don't know how hurt he is, and how much he's sacrificing for our team, so in this locker room, we've got a lot of respect for him."
Clowney now has five sacks and an NFL-best 15 tackles for loss on the season.
Check out the best fan photos from the Texans Jaguars game.
