Thursday’s tilt with the Indianapolis Colts represented a first for outside linebacker Jacob Martin. In the win, the second-year pass-rusher recorded his first sack as a member of the Houston Texans.
The Colorado native tackled Jacoby Brissett for an eight-yard loss in the first quarter.
“He did a good job on that rush,” said Texans coach Bill O’Brien on Friday. “He got a good takeoff, which is the key. If you can get a good takeoff, that’s half the battle and then he was able to get low to the ground and turn the edge.”
The Texans brought in Martin in the Jadeveon Clowney trade on Aug. 31. Since then, he has acted as a rotational pass-rusher, tallying three quarterback hits before hitting on his first sack in Houston.
“He’s been very active for us. He plays with great effort, and yeah, he’s had a couple of important pressures,” said O’Brien. “Like in the Kansas City game, he had a pressure on (Patrick) Mahomes, and then yesterday it was good to – or last night it was good to see him finally get home on the sack. He did a nice job on that. It was a good play.”
Martin measures in at a slightly undersized 6-2, 242-pounds. While not the biggest pass-rusher, he has found success in his 138 defensive snaps, particularly as a speed-rusher off the edge.
For the Texans, the hope for Martin moving forward is that he can build on his first sack donning steel blue and battle red. The team desperately needs help at pass-rusher with J.J. Watt out for the season (torn pectoral), Clowney residing in Seattle and the rest of the unit not creating consistent pressure.
Perhaps Martin will be that pass-rusher the Texans so desperately need. An uptick in snaps will dictate that notion heading into Week 13 versus the New England Patriots.
