The Texans' defense already looks like it has made vast improvements from last year.
With a new coaching staff under defensive coordinator Lovie Smith mixed with new players, they have been obsessing over taking the ball away since offseason training in the spring.
The emphasis on takeaways came to life for the Texans in preseason action, when in just three games they forced more turnovers (10) than all of last season (nine).
They intercepted Jaguars rookie quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence three times in Sunday's 37-21 season-opening win at NRG Stadium. That tied their total number of interceptions for the entire 2020 season.
"It was good to see where we’re at," said Texans linebacker Christian Kirskey, who intercepted Lawrence at the Houston 24-yard line in the fourth quarter. "Just seeing guys flying around, everybody making plays, it’s definitely something that’s good to see. But we’re still not where we want to be. It’s Week 1. We’ve got a lot of stuff that we can learn from and improve from, so right now we’re just trying to move forward."
Only the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints matched the Texans' +3 turnover differential through Sunday.
Texans safety Justin Reid and cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III picked off Lawrence on back-to-back possessions Sunday.
The Texans' improved defensive front created pressure and forced Lawrence into poor, inaccurate throws.
"We didn’t get the sacks we would like to have, but what we did do was rush him," Culley said. "Our upfront people made him get out of the pocket and made him throw some balls that he wasn’t really ready to throw, which has to do with some of those interceptions that he threw. I felt like we didn’t actually get the sack totals that we are normally looking for, but we got the pressure from the standpoint of getting him off his timing and him making some throws that allowed us to get some interceptions and missed some throws too."
Kirksey said the defense still has plenty to work on, but credited his teammates for playing fast, physical and relentless.
"I mean, it’s a starting step for us," Kirskey said. "Obviously, it’s week one, so we don’t want to get too high or too low. No matter what opponent we’re going against, we always want to be our best. So there are some things we left out there on the field, and we know within our goals of where we want to go. We’ve got to keep chopping the wood and keep moving forward, whether it’s going against Cleveland or anybody else, we’re just focusing on us. Each and every week, we’re just trying to build off of what we can do."
Brandon Scott manages digital content for SportsRadio 610. Follow him on Twitter @brandonkscott.
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