Steven Nelson reacted instinctively in the final seconds, positioning his body between New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas and an incoming pass from quarterback Derek Carr to snag the football.
After a day of some frustrating moments for the defense, one week after being unable to close out the Atlanta Falcons in allowing a game-winning drive in a two-point defeat, the Texans delivered in the clutch.
Between Nelson intercepting his third pass of the season on fourth down with 21 seconds remaining to seal the game, a 20-13 win at NRG Stadium that evened the Texans’ record at 3-3 and matched last year’s victory total, and a key stop on star running back Alvin Kamara earlier in the fourth quarter by cornerback Shaq Griffin and linebacker Blake Cashman, the defense made plenty of timely plays to contain a dangerous offense.
Nelson didn’t dwell on the frustration of allowing a 34-yard touchdown pass to speedy Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed in the first half following a squandered opportunity of a potential pick-six or mistiming his leap and allowing a 51-yard catch to Shaheed earlier in the fourth quarter.
“Made the last play of the game, a big-time play, helped the defense get off the field when we needed it,” Nelson said. “You hit it on the head. That’s the NFL. It’s all about ups and downs. You’ve got to keep competing.
“Being 3-3, that’s a big deal for us. We preached that all week to try to win this game going into the bye. It gives us a little more spunk coming back from the bye.”
When Carr connected on a 51-yard throw to Shaheed to get down to the Texans’ 35-yard line, the Saints ran the football five consecutive times with Kamara. On 4th-and-4 at the Texans’ 15-yard line, Griffin and Cashman got Kamara out of bounds shy of the first-down marker.
One week ago, Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud delivered a go-ahead touchdown pass to tight end Dalton Schultz only for the defense to yield a game-winning drive in a 21-19 loss in Atlanta.
“I’m really proud of the defense and how we stepped up and made a play,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “When the game was on the line, when we needed it most, guys stepped up. It’s tough to win in this league, but it was awesome to see the way our guys grinded it out, the way they stepped up right there at the end with Nelson making a big-time interception there.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the defense from the growth from last week to this week. That’s what I continue to see in our team is just growth, being resilient. These moments we were in the same situation last week, but to see the growth and see us finish it out, it was awesome.”
The Texans allowed 24 first downs and 430 yard of offense, but just 13 points. They were stout in the red zone, giving up no touchdowns in three situations near their goal line. Cashman led the defense with 15 tackles. And defensive ends Jerry Hughes, Jonathan Greenard and Will Anderson Jr. had seven pressures apiece as defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins had a sack and two tackles for losses while Greenard had three quarterback hits and split a sack with Collins.
Veteran safety Jimmie Ward shifted to nickel and had some difficult moments in single coverage against wide receiver Chris Olave, who finished with seven catches for 96 yards on 10 targets. He never scored, though.
“I earned it today,” Ward said. “It feels great. It’s never easy. I gave up some plays, Olave made some plays on me for sure. Played a lot of man coverage reps. Me playing nickel, it shows you how versatile I am. I wish I had made more plays.”
And Nelson made the biggest play at the end of the game.
“Got to have a short memory,” Ward said. “We just kept talking to each other. Steve is a ballhawk. He’s CB1, if you don’t know that by now, now you know. Steve gave up a catch, but he had so much poise.
“Carr kept throwing the ball up. At the end of the day when we needed a play, he stood up, I stood up, Shaq stood up and the rest of the defense did, too.”
Playing more than one position isn’t easy. And Ward hadn’t practiced much at nickel, which he didn’t love playing last season for the San Francisco 49ers for Ryans.
“Oh yeah, I earned it today,” Ward said. “It feels great. We gave up some plays. We made some plays. At the end of the day, we made some plays to win the game. It’s never easy.
The Texans had two sacks on Carr and eight hits. They have the second-highest pressure rate in the league, 41.9 percent, while ranking second-lowest in sack rate, a 3.8 percent clip, per Next Gen Stats.
“We had a couple of shots on us, we had our opportunities to make plays,” Ryans said. “I thought Steven played a really great game. It’s all tied together, rush and coverage. We have to rush better. I thought the coverage was really good. When we needed a play the most, Steven stepped up made a big-time play for us.”
Cashman recorded a career-high 15 tackles with nine solos and a career-best two passes defensed and two tackles for losses with one quarterback hit. He’s the fourth player in NFL history dating back to the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to have this statistical line, including former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher.
“Cashman has done a great job for us, he had a lot of tackles today, flying around all over the field,” said Ryans, a former Pro Bowl linebacker with the Texans. “Really great in the passing game. He’s done a really good job showing up, making big-time plays for us when we need it most. I’m proud of Cash and his development. What he provides is confidence. When we’re out there in passing situations, we know he plays really well in coverage. He’s done a great job of tackling and just playing sideline to sideline.”
Griffin and Cashman made a huge play to stop Kamara. And then Nelson made an even bigger play to put the game away for good.
“It was awesome,” Griffin said. “Our main goal was no team should score over 17 points on us. Guys made some good plays, they made some contested catches, but they didn’t get in the end zone. To hold a team under 17 points, we’re going to be just fine. Victory formation is the best formation and the only way we get to it and Steve gave us the opportunity by making the pick and sending them boys home.”
This marks the Texans’ best record since the 2019 season when they made the playoffs under former coach Bill O’Brien. They have a week off now before playing the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 29 on the road. The season is off to an encouraging start.
“Shoutout to the coaching staff,” Ward said. “DeMeco came in here and he’s changing the culture. I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to Sports Talk 790