Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett has had the bye week to watch six games’ worth of tape of the Houston Texans defense, and his takeaway is that the unit is one that is very disciplined.
Brissett, who faced the Texans in Week 3 of 2016 with the New England Patriots as a rookie, knows it isn’t the same unit that it was three years ago.
“You can go through the film and you can point out so many guys that are playing well for them, they’re always in the right spot, making it very tough to beat them,” Brissett told reporters Wednesday. “The games you’ve seen have been really tough games and they’re playing very disciplined right now. They’re playing at a really high level right now and that’s a reason why they’re winning.”
The Texans defense in their Week 6 win didn’t hold the Kansas City Chiefs near the 13-point total the Colts defense did in Week 5, but the Texans did forced quarterback Patrick Mahomes to commit two turnovers, a sack-fumble from rookie defensive end Charles Omenihu and an interception from safety Tashaun Gipson.
Houston’s defense is still led by three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, defensive end J.J. Watt, and, even though Brissett technically has a 1-0 record against him, the fourth-year quarterback knows not to doubt the abilities of the 30-year-old.
“He’s been at the top of the league since he’s got in the league and hasn’t slowed down yet,” Brissett said of Watt, who has 4.0 sacks, three tackles for loss, 14 quarterback hits, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup in his six starts. “He’s definitely a player that you have to (keep) your eye on and understand where he is on the field at all times.”
Locating Watt will be Brissett’s main priority “so to stay,” according to the Colts’ quarterback.
The Texans and Colts kickoff their season series Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in a winner-take-all for first place in the division. The Colts would improve to 4-2 and drop Houston to 4-3 with a win, while the Texans would climb to 5-2 and kick Indianapolis down to 3-3 on the year.
