While the Houston Texans’ Week 9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was a downer for fans who just want to see the team win a game after a 1-6-1 start, not all was lost for one member of the defense who recorded his first career sack in the Thursday night matchup.
Defensive lineman Kurt Hinish got in the backfield to pressure Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in the fourth quarter, marking the initial sack of what looks to be a promising career for the first-year pass rusher. The play may not have changed the outcome of the game, but given the Texans’ situation, any production and improvement is positive momentum heading into the team’s looming rebuild in 2023.
Hinish signed with Houston after going undrafted back in April and has made an impact for the Texans in the seven games he has been active for. The Week 9 matchup against the Eagles marked the most action he has seen for the team so far, as he notched 40 defensive downs played and combined for three tackles to go along with the big sack.
His success should not come as a surprise to anyone who watched him play for his alma mater at Notre Dame, where he was a standout for the Fighting Irish since the 2017 season. Hinish was an underrated part of the program’s success, and while he may not have been the most well-known contributor to their defense, he certainly showed that he could hold his own against the top-level talent on the Irish’s schedules over the years.
Whether he will turn into a defensive star for Houston like he did for Notre Dame is unclear at this juncture, but the pieces certainly seem to be there for him to become one of the team’s most impactful linemen as a hard-nosed run stuffer that has the flexibility to get after the quarterback. Time will tell just how high his ceiling is, but for a team that needs any spark they can get, Hinish is in an enviable position on the Texans’ defense heading into Week 10.
