Jalen PItre played his finest game yet as a professional, but it came in the Texans 23-20 loss to the Bears at Soldier Field.
With two interceptions, two tackles for loss, a sack and eight total tackles, Pitre was a bright spot in Houston's second defeat of 2022. Despite the individual success, Pitre wasn't pleased.
"I think it's a stepping stone," Pitre said. "But I'm definitely not satisfied. I want to win. I'm definitely not satisfied and I'm looking to improve next week and do a lot more."
The rookie, who was chosen in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Texans, snared a pair of Justin Fields passes that were deep balls meant for the middle of the field. One came at the end of the first quarter, and Pitre returned it for two yards to set the Houston offense up with a 1st-and-10 at the Bears' 41-yard line.
The second came on the first play of the fourth quarter when Pitre returned that pick 20 yards to the Houston 39-yard line.
"I understood the defense we were in and the weak spots of the defense," Pitre said. "So I tried to play a little bit fast on that."
The Texans were unable to muster points off either takeaway.
Pitre also sacked Fields on the final play before the 2-minute warning in the fourth quarter.
"Coach Lovie kind of threw an alley-oop on that one," Pitre said. "He called a great blitz and I just executed and did what the defense told me to do."
The high-impact game was no surprise to veteran DB Desmond King, II.
"He did what he was expected to do," King said. "That's why he's here. He's in our secondary for a reason. We preach about taking the ball away and he did really good at that today, getting two of them."
DL Jerry Hughes, who sacked Fields twice, was extremely impressed by Pitre's contributions Sunday.
"He was phenomenal," Hughes said. "A young guy, he's making great plays for us. I know he wanted to get up and score but still, (he had) two big picks to keep our offense in scoring territory, that's what you want out of the secondary."
Pitre now has 23 tackles on the season.
