The Houston Texans pass rush was anemic in Week 1, save for outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus’ lone sack.
In their 13-12 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday at NRG Stadium, Mercilus was the leading pass rusher once more for the Texans, but he had some help.
On the Jaguars’ first drive of the game, inside linebacker Zach Cunningham came on a blitz and dropped rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew for an 8-yard loss. Rookie defensive end Charles Omenihu from Texas managed to get a sack and a forced fumble on the final play of the first quarter.
Then, it was the Mercilus show.
With first-and-10 from the Houston 28-yard line, Mercilus dropped Minshew for a 9-yard loss and pushed Jacksonville out of field goal range. While they did manage to produce enough yards to give kicker Josh Lambo a shot at a 40-yard field goal, Mercilus’ sack effectively killed Jacksonville’s drive, and he notched a forced fumble on the sack.
The Texans were up by three points 6-3 against the Jaguars with 13:06 to go in the fourth quarter. Houston needed a play to separate from the Jaguars, and Mercilus provided it on first-and-20 from Jacksonville’s own 20 after a holding call. The former 2012 first-round pick from Illinois sacked Minshew again, forced another fumble, but this time defensive end J.J. Watt was there to scoop it up and give the Texans first-and-10 from the Jaguars’ 11-yard line. It took the Texans four tries, but they managed to punch it in with a 2-yard Deshaun Watson rush.
It wouldn’t have happened without Mercilus’ pass rush. The Texans would not have had the key play to separate them from the Jaguars. Instead, it could have been a tight game and Jacksonville is the side that makes the big play to outpace the Texans.
Mercilus’ 3.0 sacks to start the season are a career high through his first two games, and the two forced fumbles against the Jaguars are the most he has produced since Oct. 21, 2018, which was against the Jaguars in a 20-7 win.
