HOUSTON — Houston Texans cornerback Bradley Roby played with a heavy heart Sunday night in the team’s 28-22 win over the New England Patriots at NRG Stadium.
The 27-year-old buried his 85-year-old grandfather in Mississippi the day before making his return to the gridiron after being sidelined with a hamstring injury since the Week 6 win at the Kansas City Chiefs.
“This game was special to me because my grandfather just passed and I went to the funeral yesterday and I promised him and I promised him that I would make some plays,” Roby said. “He was blind, so he never saw me play. But maybe he could see me now. That’s what I wanted to do was honor him and rest in peace for my granddad.”
Roby collected three tackles and was arguably the best thing the Texans had going defensively. The former 2014 Denver Broncos first-round pick intercepted Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on a third-and-4 from the New England 25-yard line and returned the takeaway up to the Patriots’ 6-yard line.
Even though an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Roby pushed the Texans’ starting position to the 21-yard line instead, the interception was the catalyst for Houston’s first score of the game, a 14-yard touchdown pass from from quarterback Deshaun Watson to running back Duke Johnson to take a 7-3 lead with 45 seconds to go in the first quarter.
“That’s something that I like to take pride in, being a game changer and making plays,” said Roby. “I was telling the guys earlier in the week I was going to make a play. I don’t know what it was, but I was going to make a play. So, I’m happy that I was able to.”
Roby added 1.0 sack, a quarterback hit, a tackle for loss, and a pass breakup. The Fort Worth native would have collected his second interception of the night, one that would have gone for a touchdown, but it was called back due to defensive holding on Roby.
Nonetheless, Roby picked up on the emotion.
Said Roby: “When I scored, I felt that energy, the whole crowd just went crazy. That’s why I took my helmet off. I just wanted him to feel me. I felt so good. I felt so great.”
Huge sentiments often lead to big performances, and the Texans benefited from Roby’s play to improve to 8-4 on the season and prove their worth against the best team in the conference.
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