STEPPING UP:
MERCILUS’ PICK FLIPS FIELD.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Texans safety Justin Reid instinctively uncoiled his right shoulder into the midsection of Titans tight end Anthony Firkser on Sunday, reacting as fast as the football arrived.
With a bone-rattling collision at the goal line, Reid popped the football out of Firkser’s grasp and into the hands of alert Texans veteran outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus.
Mercilus, a 6-4, 258-pounder who might still be looking for an oxygen tank, was off to the races as he eluded pursuit on an 86-yard interception return. He finally was forced out of bounds by hustling tight end Jonnu Smith as inside linebacker Zach Cunningham was unable to block him.
The momentum-grabbing turnover shut down a first-and-goal situation and prevented a touchdown. Flipping the field led to the Texans’ first touchdown during the second quarter of a pivotal 2421 victory at Nissan Stadium that propelled them into sole possession of first place in the AFC South.
“That changed the whole landscape of the game,” Reid said afterward in the Texans’ locker room. “We saw that play on film. I saw the way he skipped off the line of scrimmage. I knew he was running a little rub route. I was going to meet him at the point at the goal line, and I knew it was either going to be him or me, and I knew he wasn’t going to score on me.
“I put my shoulder on the ball and ended up popping it up. Whitney almost took it to the house. That was a hell of a play by him, the awareness. It was a turning point in the game and really gave the team a lot of juice and momentum.”
The Texans badly needed that kind of eye-popping play from their defense. They were facing a talented Titans offense that entered Sunday on a four-game winning streak and averaged 37 points per contest during those games.
“It was cool; it was exciting,” Mercilus said after his second interception of the season. “I ran out of gas. I should have scored. No doubt, I was rolling. If only Zach could have blocked that guy. We made enough plays. We just wanted it more.”
The defense was far from perfect. There was an early 60-yard pass to rookie wide receiver A.J. Brown given up by veteran corner Johnathan Joseph. Brown finished with eight receptions for 114 yards and one touchdown.
The Texans allowed Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who was 6-1 before Sunday as Marcus Mariota’s replacement, to pass for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Tannehill was sacked twice and hit six times, including a sack split by Zach Cunningham and Benardrick McKinney and a late sack by rookie defensive end Charles Omenihu.
And powerful Titans running back Derrick Henry gained 86 yards on 21 carries despite being hampered by a strained hamstring.
For a while, though, the Titans played as if they were in shock after Reid’s hit and Mercilus’ return.
“You’ve got to overcome plays like that. Whitney made a great play,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “The guy drove on the ball, hit him as he got there. Looked like Whitney was turning and hustling, and the ball popped into his hand.”
The Texans, reeling after a flat, head-scratching 38-24 loss to the Denver Broncos a week ago, practiced in full pads Thursday. It set the tenor for the week and a physical game.
“We are both very physical on both sides of the football,” Reid said. “That’s how the AFC South is. It’s going be a hard-nosed football game. We knew that the tougher and more physical team would come out on top, and we said we were going to be that team.”
The Titans finished with 432 yards of total offense and converted three of four red-zone opportunities. The Texans did a solid job against Henry, who entered Sunday
as the second-leading rusher in the NFL.
“I think it just comes down to setting the edge, playing good gap control on the inside and tackling,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “He’s a hard guy to tackle once he gets going. Once he gets into the teeth of the defense, he’s rolling down the tracks. It’s not easy.
“You have to try to do the best you can to stop him at the line of scrimmage. I thought our guys did a really good job of that.”
Cunningham led the defense with 14 tackles and leads the AFC with 128 tackles.
Now, the Texans can clinch their second consecutive division title if they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday.
“We know what we have in this room,” Reid said. “Not a ton of our people have our back. They predicted us to lose this game. We had the right mindset and came out with a lot of juice from the get-go.
“With the talent we have on this roster, if we come out and play our brand of football, we shouldn’t lose any games. Some people gave up on us after last week, and we came out and showed who we are.”
Mercilus’ sprint, although it stopped shy of the end zone, made a big impression on his teammates.
“That was big-time. That’s the type of player Whit is,” Joseph said. “That was an unbelievable, momentum-changing play. That took points off the board. I was shocked he got that far, but that shows the type of athlete he is.”
The Texans have grander ambitions than simply making the playoffs but are aware they will have to keep improving on both sides of the football to reach them.
In win-now mode after a series of aggressive decisions engineered by O’Brien and the personnel department, the Texans hope to aim higher this year. That means the defense will need to contribute more big plays like Sunday’s highlight created by Reid and Mercilus.
“It’s not the end-all, be-all,” Reid said of Sunday’s clutch win. “The last couple of years the Texans have dominated the AFC South, and now our goal is past that.”