Defensive end J.J. Watt is two games into his ninth NFL season, and the 30-year-old is having fun thanks to the youth on defense.
The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year recorded two tackles, a quarterback hit, and a fumble recovery in the team’s 13-12 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium Sunday, but Watt was far from the only playmaker on the defense.
“We’ve got players all over the place,” Watt told the media. “It’s a lot of fun. You never know where the play is going to come from. You have guys you can see their confidence growing and see their impact on the game.”
Third-year middle linebacker Zach Cunningham blitzed rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew and dropped him for an 8-yard loss on the second play of the game. To end the first quarter, rookie defensive end Charles Omenihu from Texas sacked Minshew within a yard behind the line of scrimmage and forced a fumble. On the goal line when the Jaguars went for two with 30 seconds left in the game, second-year safety Justin Reid stopped running back Leonard Fournette short of the plane and preserved Houston’s 13-12 lead.
“It’s fun to play in a defense with so many playmakers,” Watt said.
Houston has produced five sacks and two takeaways through the first two games. While three of the sacks have come from outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus, who is 29 years old, having other pass rushers enter the fray and ease the burden of Mercilus and Watt helps the Texans defense stay ferocious.
