Texans DE Jerry Hughes: Rookie Safety Jalen Pitre Was 'Phenomenal' Against Bears
Nobody expected much from the Houston Texans entering this season. But even still, for the team to have this kind of start is disappointing.
In the way a lot of losing teams do, the Texans have found new areas to fail on a weekly basis.
This has led to a winless start, and their 'best game' of the year coming in a Week 1 tie with the Indianapolis Colts that featured a blown 17-point fourth-quarter lead.
But if there are signs that Houston could eventually put a competitive and successful team on the field sooner rather than later, one of them is a rookie defensive back, Jalen Pitre.
"Pitre did a good job, big sack, a couple of interceptions, which was, of course, good for him," coach Lovie Smith said following the team's most recent loss, this time to the Chicago Bears. "(Jerry) Hughes I think had a couple of sacks, but just up front we didn't play well."
Pitre was involved in a lot of the action on Sunday. As Smith said, the rookie came up with two interceptions against Bears quarterback Justin Fields.
But he was also third on the team with 10 combined tackles and was one of five Texans defenders to play every snap for his unit.
"He was phenomenal," defensive lineman Jerry Hughes said of Pitre following the game. "He's making great plays for us...two big picks to kind of keep our offense in scoring territory, that's what you want as a secondary."
With those two interceptions, Pitre gave quarterback Davis Mills and the Texans offense their two-best drives in terms of starting field position.
The first put Houston at the Chicago 41-yard line and ended when Mills threw an interception himself.
Pitre's second interception gave the Texans the ball at the Bears' 39-yard line, and after losing nine yards, the offense punted the ball back.
It's why Mills placed the blame for the loss on himself and also why some will find it hard to argue with him.
With the two interceptions, Pitre now leads the team in that statistic and also ranks third in tackles with 23.
Can Pitre continue to make early strides in his already promising career? Time will tell.
But for now, it seems the Texans have an up-and-coming start on their hands in the secondary.
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