Surging defense faces old nemesis at QB
HOUSTON — The return of cornerbacks Johnathan Joseph and Aaron Colvin should strengthen a Texans defense that has been outstanding over the last five games.
Since Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck passed for 464 yards and four touchdowns in the Texans’ 37-34 overtime victory that began a sixgame winning streak, the defense has suffocated opponents.
Joseph (ankle/knee) and Colvin (ankle) join a wellrested and refreshed defense that overcame their absence and has allowed an average of 15.6 points in their last five victories. Over that five-game stretch, the Texans have surrendered seven touchdowns.
Romeo Crennel’s defense ranks ninth overall in the NFL, including sixth against the run and 16th against the pass.
On Sunday, the Texans play Washington quarterback Alex Smith, who tormented them when he played for Kansas City.
Counting the playoffs, Smith is 4-1 against the Texans, including 3-1 since Bill O’Brien was hired in 2014.
Smith was traded to Washington after Kirk Cousins left for Minnesota, and the Chiefs wanted to promote Patrick Mahomes. So far, it’s working well for everybody.
Last season was an example of what Smith is capable of doing to the Texans’ defense. In a 42-34 victory at NRG Stadium, Smith completed 78.4 percent of his passes, throwing for 324 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
Smith’s performance enabled the Chiefs to withstand five touchdown passes by Deshaun Watson. His hallmark is efficiency — don’t turn it over, move the chains, amass first downs and come through in the clutch to win.
Washington is 6-3 and leading the NFC East.
“These players understand every week is a challenging opponent,” O’Brien said. “Washington is in first place. We’re playing them on the road. They have 18 takeaways and only seven giveaways.”
Credit Smith, who has thrown only three interceptions to go with 10 touchdown passes. Playing against O’Brien’s teams, Smith has seven TD passes and one pick.
In Smith’s lone loss to the Texans — 19-12 in 2016 at NRG Stadium — they limited him to 186 yards, a 54.1 completion percentage, no touchdowns and a 68.1 rating. And he was sacked four times.
Led by J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney, who have combined for 14½ sacks this season, the defense has to pressure Smith after it has contained running back Adrian Peterson, who leads the Redskins with 672 yards rushing, a 4.3 average per carry and four touchdown runs.
If the Texans can shut down Peterson like they did last season when he was limited to 26 yards on 14 carries in their victory over Arizona, they’ll force Smith to pass.
That’s where Crennel’s much-improved secondary takes over. Joseph and Colvin, who were starting when they were injured, join Shareece Wright at cornerback to go with safeties Kareem Jackson, Tyrann Mathieu and Justin Reid.
Jackson, who’s enjoying the best season of his nineyear career, has been a terrific swing man, effortlessly moving back and forth between safety and cornerback.
One of the strengths of the secondary has been the players’ ability to excel despite losing seven cornerbacks in the first seven games. All are back except for Kevin Johnson and Kayvon Webster.
Mathieu, who has played a major role in the improvement of the secondary this season, is excited to see Joseph and Colvin return.
“It’s important to constantly build that chemistry, that continuity,” Mathieu said. “Bad things (injuries) happen in this league (and) guys have to step up. I think (the defensive backs) in our room have seen some snaps on defense minus a couple guys. I thought we did a great job of getting everybody prepared to play.”
The Texans, who are 3-1 following the open date under O’Brien, have a three-game winning streak on the road, their longest since 2014.
The improvement of the defense can be found in some key statistics. The Texans allow 3.6 yards per rush, tying them for best in the league. They allow 5.16 yards per play (fourth). They’ve surrendered 28 plays of at least 20 yards (second).
The Texans are one of seven teams, including Washington, that hasn’t allowed a running back to rush for at least 100 yards.
But there’s a glaring deficiency the defense needs to improve, beginning Sunday, or their winning streak could end. The Texans are 29th in red-zone defense, allowing 17 touchdowns (73.9 percent).
“Obviously, winning those six games felt great, but there were a lot of things that could’ve gotten us beat,” he said. “Things we’re trying to harp on and fix.”