Heated rush
Fourth-down blitz brings win home for Texans.
Barreling off the edge Sunday on a double blitz on a pivotal fourth down, Texans safeties Lonnie Johnson Jr. and Justin Reid applied enough heat to make Patriots quarterback Cam Newton uncomfortable late in the fourth quarter.
With Johnson giving chase from one side and flushing Newton to Reid, the relentless pressure forced him to rush his throw for an incompletion as the Patriots turned it over on downs.
The Texans closed out a 27-20 victory at NRG Stadium behind a resurgent performance from one of the worst defenses (based on stats) in the league.
“Same double-edged pressure. Beware of the evil twins, man,” Reid said. “They were really focusing on blocking me or Lonnie, and one of us was coming free every time. Lonnie initially came free, was able to get him off the mark. I had got off my block off a chip release, and then we both came together and made the tackle on him. So it’s definitely one of our favorite pressures from the safety position. Evil twins coming on both edges is something to watch out for.”
Between defensive end J. J. Watt disrupting passing lanes with a career-high four pass deflections and some aggressive blitz packages dialed up by coordinator Anthony Weaver, the Texans’ defense improved dramatically.
Oneweek after Reid whiffed on an open-field tackle on Cleveland running back Nick Chubb’s gameclinching run, he sacked Newton earlier in the fourth quarter to hold New England to a field goal and finished with a team-high nine tackles (three for losses) and two quarterback hits.
Newton was sacked twice and hit eight times overall.
“We all had a chip on our shoulder,” said Reid, who recorded the first sack of his career. “That Cleveland game got away from us at the end. Felt like we could have won it. Me myself, I felt like I had a lot to prove.
“The defense as a whole, we really banded together, and we came together and really believed in the systemand the scheme that coach Weave had put up.”
The Texans, who entered Sunday ranked last in the NFL in run defense, surrendered a pair of 100-yard rushers against the Browns. They limited the Patriots’ third-ranked rushing attack to 86 rushing yards and one touchdown on 24 carries.
“It’s no secret that our defense hasn’t been playing at the level that we expect to play at or that we want to play at, so we’re obviously trying to turn that around,” Watt said. “With the rushing attack, obviously, we’ve taken our fair share of lumps — rightfully so — for how we’ve been against the run this year. (Sunday) is a day that the guys deserve a lot of credit.”
Newton was under a lot of duress as rookie outside linebacker Jon Greenard, who beat left offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn, and Reid notched their first career sacks. Johnson had two quarterback hits and five tackles.
“When you bring pressure, you’re hoping that it works or planning that itworks,” Texans interim coach Romeo Crennel said. “It was working, and so we kept calling it a little bit. Because itwas effective, sometimes that doubleedged pressure you bring it, and the quarterback has nowhere to go, and so now he gets a little antsy and doesn’t know exactly where hewants to throw the ball.”
A leaping Watt kept getting his hands in the way of Newton’s throws. At 6-foot-5, 245 pounds, Newton is a big, strong, mobile former NFL Most Valuable Player. He had trouble getting his throws off, though, against a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
“He’s J. J. Watt. What do you expect?” Newton said. “He’s an All-Pro, perennial All-Pro. He’s a Defensive Player of the Year, one of the best players in this generation. They get paid, too. I’m not saying we fold up the tent, but at the same time, they’re going to make plays just like we’re going to make plays. We just can’t get bent out of shape when that happens.”
Newton passed for 365 yards and one touchdown, including 50 yards on a desperation heave in the final seconds on the Patriots’ final possession of the game after the Texans’ clutch fourth-down stop. Newton entered Sunday with nine touchdown runs but didn’t score Sunday and rushed for only 6 yards on three carries.
“I enjoy seeing that from J. J., and probably the most impact was to the opposing quarterback, because when J. J. is on, they know he’s coming,” Crennel said. “He gets the quarterback off the spot and makes it tough for the quarterback to get his feet set and throw the ball down the field.”
The Texans were allowing 167.4 rushing yards per game heading into Sunday. The rushing yardage total by the Patriots and average of 3.5 yards per carry were the second lowest the Texans have given up this season.
Weaver was emotional this past week in publicly defending his frequently derided defense.
“One thing about coach Weave is he has the respect of the entire team, especially the defensive side of the ball,” Reid said. “We all really believe in what he coaches and preaches, and he has our back the same way we have his back. We believe in what he says, and he’s done a great job.”
After excelling in his first two NFL seasons since being drafted in the third round out of Stanford, Reid has had a rough year, struggling with his tackling and having yet to intercept a pass. He got angry after the Browns game and expressed that frustration on social media.
“I’ve been hard on myself because I care a lot,” Reid said. “I’m an emotional player. I feed off my emotions when I play on the field, so I took it as a challenge, the criticism, and stepped up to it and plan to continue to use that as fuel for the future.”