Nearly eight years have passed since the last time a defensive player scored off a fumble by Tom Brady.
On Sunday, Jadeveon Clowney scored the first touchdown of his NFL career when he recovered Brady fumble caused by Whitney Mercilus and returned it 22 yards in the second quarter against the New England Patriots. The last time a defensive player did that was Oct. 4, 2009 when the Ravens did it.
"He had a really good game," head coach Bill O'Brien said Monday. "He played hard. We moved him around a lot. He plays very, very hard on Sundays. He's an instinctive player, he makes a lot of plays on the ball. He's got a knack for going for the ball. He's just a very, very explosive player."
Clowney had one of the best games of his career, despite the Texans loss. He recorded six total tackles (six solo), 2.0 sacks for a loss of 15 total yards, one fumble recovery for a touchdown, three quarterback hits and four tackles for loss. Clowney and the defense sacked Brady 5.0 times for a total loss of 41 yards.
"Those are four of the best rushers that we're going to see," Bill Belichick said, referring to Clowney, Mercilus, J.J. Watt, and Benardrick McKinney. "They run games well. It's not just their individual rush but the way they force you to block one-on-one and then pull out late and then run pass rush games."
The Texans defense recorded five sacks, eight quarterback hits, seven tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in Sunday's 36-33 loss at New England.
The (1-2) Texans return to NRG Stadium in Week 4 to host the (2-1) Titans on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 12 noon on CBS and SportsRadio 610.
The Texans faced the Patriots in Week 3 at Gillette Stadium.
