Lovie Smith still not satisfied with Texans’ run defense

The Houston Texans finally snapped Derrick Henry’s streak of 200-yard rushing games against the Tennessee Titans.

The two-time NFL rushing champion had his streak snapped at four games as the Titans running back generated 126 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries in the Texans’ 19-14 win on Christmas Eve at Nissan Stadium.

However, the reality is Houston’s run defense gave up over 100 yards, which is hardly a recipe for success in the NFL.

“A lot of times you look at the stats,” Smith said. “I got out of this yard, just terrible on run defense. No, we missed tackles and some critical moments is what has happened. And if you miss certain tackles in critical moments, it can be a breakout. Explosive.”

The run defense was able to tag Henry with three tackles for loss, indicating there were moments Houston’s run defense improved.

Said Smith: “That’s what has happened. We’ve limited that. That’s what we’ve done here lately.”

Smith credited rookie linebacker Jake Hansen for stripping Henry and fellow rookie linebacker Christian Harris for getting an interception. Rookie safety Jalen Litre got a pick to end the game.

“The three takeaways we had, those are rookies,” said Smith. “So it just takes a little bit of time to get it right. And I’m going to say this, again, but if you’re looking at that football team right now, they’ve gotten some things right from run defense to needing a drive.”

The Texans improve to 2-12-1 and have a 2-1-1 record in the AFC South.