Houston Texans’ rookie safety Jalen Pitre knows how hard he and his teammates have been working to finally get that second win, and he wasn’t about to curb his enthusiasm:
“It means the world. You know, we put in a lot of work throughout the year and to see us get a win today, it really meant a lot.”
Houston’s 19-14 win over the Titans in Nashville is the team’s first win since Week 5, when they won in Jacksonville. The defense has struggled with its run defense, in pass protection, with communication, with late failures, and with injury. However, the last several weeks have seen the defense start to turn the corner. Getting a win against Derrick Henry, a running back that had absolutely owned Houston’s souls with four-straight 200+ yard games, had the defense feeling good after the game:
“Yeah, we were just turnt, like just happy to get a win and see that our work finally paid off. We understand that we did some good and bad things. But we’re looking to continue to build off of what we did and continue to improve.”
Pitre, who leads the team with 126 tackles, seven passes defended, and four interceptions, knew that his unit had to be ready for one of the most physical teams in the NFL:
“That was, we knew that was what time it was when we showed up. We knew it was going to be a cold game and we knew it was going to be – the tougher team was going to win it. So from a defensive standpoint, I feel like the D-linemen and the linebackers did a good job from the running game and then the DBs did a good job at containing the receivers. So it was a great game and I enjoyed it.”
Knowing the Titans were facing a desperate situation at the end of the game, Pitre was prepared to make the play that would ultimately seal the game:
“Oh yeah, I just seen, I know Treylon Burks was on my side and I know that he was a deep threat, so I kind of figured that I had a chance. And then once the ball was in the air, you know, I knew I had to attack it. So, you know, that’s kind of what went into that last play.”
It’s a veteran mentality expressed by a rookie player who has shown maturity beyond his years.