HOUSTON – – As time ticked off the clock in the Houston Texans 24-21 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, one Texans defender walked toward the middle of the field, pulled his helmet off, and reflected on what had slipped through the fingers of a franchise so desperately in need of that win to help restore full faith from the fans.
The Texans would have controlled their destiny and been in sole possession of first place in the AFC South with a victory over the Jaguars, owning the tiebreaker after defeating Jacksonville earlier in the season. But when backup kicker Matt Ammendola missed a game-tying 58-yard field goal, defensive end Jonathan Greenard began to reflect on what was lost and how his play affected that.
“I was very upset with myself because I felt I could have done more,” Greenard said on Wednesday at his locker. “I did my job, but it definitely was not good enough, and I feel like I let my teammates down. That is why I was standing on the field and not headed to the locker room, because I needed to stand there and reflect on what had just happened and how I could start improving on it right then.”
Greenard did not have one of his typical games where he impacted what the opponent’s offense did by forcefully coming off the edge to be a disruptive force. He finished the game with two tackles and two quarterback pressures. The defense allowed Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence to operate in a clean pocket as he orchestrated the victory by finishing the game with 364 yards passing.
With one of the hottest teams in the league, the Denver Broncos, who currently have the longest winning streak with five games, headed to NRG on Sunday, Greenard knows that the Russell Wilson-led offense will try to duplicate what Lawrence did.
“Playing better ball and letting the game come to him a lot more,” said Greenard about Wilson over the last five games. “He just looks more comfortable in that system now, and they [Broncos] are not overdoing it.”
“This is playoff ball, honestly, now,” said Texans DE Jonathan Greenard. “Denver is a team that is definitely on the same pace that we are, same record and everything. We are fighting for that spot for a chance to get into the dance [Playoffs].” #Texans #Sarge @TheTexansWire pic.twitter.com/q5p3OzvW0n
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) November 30, 2023
Although the Texans lost the game that would have propelled them to the top of the AFC South, the attitude in the locker room was not somber on Sunday. No one held their head down, and most players took accountability for what had transpired on the field. The mood was the same when the locker room opened on Wednesday.
Houston knows that they have an opportunity to bounce back and put themselves right back in the playoff hunt. They see the task at hand and are aware that with the game being flexed from a 3 pm start to noon so that most of the country can watch the matchup, they will be able to show what they are capable of doing despite how hot the Broncos have been over the last month.
“They are coming to our house, so they have to match us, honestly,” Greenard said, when asked about the energy that Denver will bring on Sunday. “We have to bring it. It is going to be a tough one. No knock to them at all; they are playing some good ball… Y’all know what it is going to be; it is going to be one of those games for sure.”
“This is playoff ball, honestly, now. Denver is a team that is definitely on the same pace that we are, same record and everything. We are fighting for that spot for a chance to get into the dance [Playoffs].”