The Houston Texans clinched the AFC South with a 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday afternoon at Raymond James Stadium. In the Texans’ 10th win of the season, the six-time division champs had a few notable statistics occur that are worth mentioning.
1. watt’s up with angelo blackson?
With a blocked field goal against the Buccaneers, defensive end Angelo Blackson joined J.J. Watt as the only player in Texans history to record multiple field goal blocks in a single season.
2. the alternate
inside linebacker Zach Cunningham leads the AFC with 134 tackles, which is no doubt a new single-season career high for the former 2017 second-round pick from Vanderbilt. Cunningham is also the only player this season with 100-plus tackles on defense and five or more on special teams (five).
3. still streaking
Receiver DeAndre Hopkins extended his streak to 110 straight games with a reception to start his career, the longest in franchise history, the longest active streak in the NFL, and the seventh-longest streaks to start a career in the Super Bowl era.
Also, that 110-game streak is the second-longest in team history behind Andre Johnson’s 133 (2005-14).
4. j-jo on top
Cornerback Johnathan Joseph’s interception of Jameis Winston gave him 17 interceptions with the Texans, surpassing Kareem Jackson for the most in club history.
5. have mercilus
Outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus produced 2.0 sacks on the afternoon, making his 12th career game with 2.0-plus sacks, tying Mario Williams for the second-most career games with multiple sacks in team history (12). Only J.J. Watt has more with 25.
Mercilus now has a team-high 7.5 sacks on the season.
6. reid-ing the quarterback’s eyes
Safety Justin Reid recorded an interception and a fumble recovery against the Buccaneers, becoming the ninth player in Texans history to have such a game and the first since safety Tyrann Mathieu during Week 1 of 2018.
7. carr is still better than watson
With seven carries for 37 yards, quarterback Deshaun Watson has 1,233 career rushing yards, second-most by a quarterback in club history. Only David Carr has more with 1,235.
