Jalen Pitre and the Texans defense wasted little time starting up their takeaway bonanza in Saturday afternoon's 28-10 preseason romp over the Giants.
On New York's second play from scrimmage, the third-year defensive back stepped in front of a Daniel Jones pass at the 5-yard line, corralled it in and took a few steps untouched into end zone. The Ka'imi Fairbairn extra point gave Houston a 7-0 advantage with 7:24 left in the first quarter.
Pitre said his eyes were wide open when he saw the ball headed his way.
"Oh, they were huge, man," Pitre said. "I was so happy that he threw it. Made the play, got in the end zone and turned up with my teammates. "Great play but thankful to just be out here with my teammates."
In a quarter of work, Pitre also logged a pair of tackles, one of which was for a loss. It was a productive day of work, and Head Coach DeMeco Ryans wasn't surprised by the heroics.
"Jalen has done a great job," Ryans said. "That's who Jalen has been since I first got here. Jalen brings great energy. He's one of our smartest football players on our team. He's a leader. He's everything you want in a in a player."
Cornerback Derek Stingley, Jr. ended the next Giants' possession with a pick at the Texans' 1-yard line.
In the fourth quarter, the Houston defense came up with three more fumble recoveries in the runaway win.
"Just great execution," Pitre said. "A lot of guys playing with their hair on fire and just having fun. That's the mentality that we have to have as a team, and we're going to just keep striving to do that."
The Texans defense also held the Giants to just 3.4 yards per carry on the afternoon, and limited Jones and Tommy DeVito to a combined passer rating of 50.8. Pitre's excited about the day of work as a unit, and bullish on the 2024 defensive outlook.
"Extremely optimistic," Pitre said. "There's no limit for us as long as we continue to play with our hair on fire and execute."
Pitre and the Texans will practice again on Monday and Wednesday, and then practice with the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday. They'll play the Rams at NRG Stadium in the preseason finale next Saturday at noon CT.
