With safety Justin Reid (concussion/shoulder), cornerback Bradley Roby (hamstring) and cornerback Lonnie Johnson (concussion) out, the Houston Texans entered Thursday night’s match with the Indianapolis Colts carrying a secondary missing integral pieces across the board.
That didn’t seem to matter.
The Texans defense held quarterback Jacoby Brissett to 129 passing yards and no touchdowns en route to a 20-17 win. The secondary — after allowing 326 yards and four touchdowns to Brissett in Week 7 — held their own.
Brissett finished with a 76.9 passer rating while completing 16 of his 25 attempts for an average of 5.2 yards per. Most of those yards did not come while attacking the secondary. 12 completions and 99 yards came by way of tight ends and running backs.
“They gave up some yards here and there, but at the end of the day they got lined up and they played the next play,” said coach Bill O’Brien after the game while emphasizing the “next-play mentality” and communication as reasons for the secondary’s good play.
While limiting Brissett to a game to forget, the Texans also accomplished the rare feat of containing wide-out T.Y. Hilton. Hilton, otherwise known as “Texans-killer,” brought in three of his six targets for 18 yards.
The difference between Week 7 and 12 secondaries (other than injuries)? Fresh faces. Former first-round picks Gareon Conley and Vernon Hargreaves are now in the mix in Houston, with both seeing snaps on the aforementioned Hilton.
Conley was invisible on Thursday — a compliment. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were unable to call his name, as he did not allow lapses in coverage worth noting. Like offensive linemen, if a cornerback isn’t drawing attention, that’s a good thing. Conley did not draw attention.
“His play has been speaking volumes for us,” said cornerback Johnathan Joseph while comparing Conley to former second-team All-Pro Leon Hall postgame, via SportsRadio 610.
Meanwhile, Hargreaves showed promise in his debut with the Texans, tallying five combined tackles and a pass breakup. He did so all while starting in the slot, a relatively new position for the former Tampa Bay Buccaneer.
“We added Vernon Hargreaves a couple weeks ago,” said O’Brien. “He was able to come in and do some things tonight.”
The Texans’ secondary stepped up amid injuries across the board. Next week, against the New England Patriots, they can build momentum with Reid, Roby and Johnson in-line to return to action.
