The Houston Texans offense may still be somewhat of a mystery, but the defense is starting to gain an identity as an opportunistic unit that can cultivate extra possessions.
In the past two games, the Texans have generated 10 total takeaways — five against the lowly 1-7 Miami Dolphins and another five against the cream of the AFC, the 8-2 Tennessee Titans.
Defensive end Derek Rivers knows what is happening on the defense that is allowing them to gather an abundance of takeaways.
“Chemistry — I feel like chemistry is with everything,” said Rivers, who has two combined tackles. “When you ask any Super Bowl team what was the biggest thing, it was that everything was together.”
Rivers played on a Super Bowl team in 2018 with the New England Patriots. However, he saw how Mark Ingram was able to help the running backs band together, and is seeing a similar result with the defensive line.
“The D-line has gotten a lot closer and the defense got a lot closer,” Rivers said. “The offense got a lot closer and then obviously, what’s next? The whole team. So that’s been the biggest thing, everybody starting to buy in and starting to do the things that a winning culture is supposed to do. Step by step, brick by brick, that’s been going on here.”
Rivers saw his first activation of 2021 against the Titans. With defensive end Jordan Jenkins out for Week 12 with a knee injury and defensive end Jonathan Greenard questionable with a foot injury, Rivers could see another activation Sunday against the 2-8 New York Jets at NRG Stadium.
Said Rivers: “I feel like guys are just starting to realize you won’t go nowhere if you’re not together. Marshawn Lynch has a great quote that I use with my family. ‘You want to go there quicker, go alone. You want to go farther, you go together.’ That’s the simple things in life.”
