Jerry Hughes believes the Houston Texans are battle tested.
“We understand that we’re going to come in here for any game for four quarters, and we’re going to fight,” the 34-year-old defensive end told reporters following Houston’s 23-20 loss to the Chicago Bears Sunday at Soldier Field.
The Texans held fourth quarter leads through Weeks 1-2, but came away with a tie and a loss. Against the Bears, Houston was tied 20-20 in the fourth quarter, but ultimately gave away the game.
“It’s just about finishing, especially in the later quarters, second half,” said Hughes.
The former Indianapolis Colts 2010 first-round pick spent the previous nine seasons with the Buffalo Bills as a veteran presence in their locker room that spanned three coaching staffs and a rebuilding or two. Hughes knows precisely what the challenge is for the Texans.
Said Hughes: “We’re a very young team, but you’ve got to kind of have some sense of how teams are attacking you and really listening to what our coaches are saying at halftime because they’re just gathering information from the first half so we can go out there and play faster. I think once we understand how to use our tools, especially at halftime so we can make the right adjustments and come out, we’ll be able to finish games a lot better.”
The former Fort Bend Stephen F. Austin High School product has revitalized his career coming home playing for the hometown team. Hughes has tallied 4.0 sacks through the first three weeks of the season. A year ago, Hughes had 2.0 sacks through 17 games for the Bills.
The younger Texans will have a chance to apply their coaches’ halftime adjustments when they take on the Los Angeles Chargers for Week 4 on Oct. 2 at NRG Stadium.
