Houston Texans coach Lovie Smith has preached two fundamentals on the defensive side of the ball since the day he arrived at NRG Stadium that will lead to success.
One is taking the ball away from the opponents to give the offense extra possessions, and the other is putting consistent pressure on the quarterback to force him into bad decisions that will lead to takeaways. If the preseason indicates how the regular season will look, then the Texans’ defense has the second fundamental mastered.
Buy Texans TicketsHouston led the NFL in sacks with 14 during their three preseason games, according to the NFL communications department’s final statistics released Monday.
“We’re a four-man front,” Smith said after the 17-0 win over the San Francisco 49ers. “The defensive line is the engine of our defense. It starts there. In an ideal world, yeah, we have every manageable blitz. We want to be able to get pressure with four guys. It’s an insult to our defensive line if we do blitz. They’ve been rushing the passer like that throughout camp, and in all the preseason games, we’ve liked the pressure we’ve been able to get.”
Injured defensive lineman Derek Rivers (torn iceps) led the team with three sacks, resulting in a loss of 24 yards. Houston had a preseason high six sacks in their second game against the Los Angeles Rams.
“We”re a four-man front. The defensive line is the engine of our defense,” said Texans HC Lovie Smith after the victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
Houston led the NFL this preseason with 14 sacks. #WeAreTexans #Sarge @TheTexansWire pic.twitter.com/b6yUhGhxdh— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) August 29, 2022
The Texans open their season at home against the Indianapolis Colts, who added veteran quarterback Matt Ryan to their roster this past offseason. Houston will have to rely on that preseason pressure to get to him early and often.
