Justin Reid was all over the place, and in all the right spots on Sunday.
The Texans safety helped stymie the Patriots offense in Houston's 27-20 victory at NRG Stadium, and his stat line told quite a tale.
Reid picked up his first career sack. He tallied a trio of tackles for loss. He finished with nine total tackles, and picked the perfect time to lodge the second of his two quarterback hits on the afternoon: on a Patriots' fourth-down pass late in the game.
Trailing by a touchdown with 1:18 on the game clock, Reid and fellow safety Lonnie Johnson, Jr. popped Cam Newton as he was throwing, and the ball fell harmlessly to the turf. The Texans took over at their own 25-yard line, forced the Patriots to burn the rest of their timeouts, and punted the ball away with just nine seconds remaining. The final hit was sweet for Reid.
"Beware of the evil twins, man," Reid said. "They were really focusing on blocking me or Lonnie and one of us was coming free every time. Lonnie initially came free, was able to get him off the mark, and then I had got off my block off a chip release, and then we both came together and made the tackle on him. So it's definitely one of our favorite pressures from the safety position."
Interim head coach Romeo Crennel appreciated Reid's standout performance.
"He wants to make plays all the time," Crennel said. "And I tell him just make the plays you're supposed to make, and he was making plays today. He was down around the line of scrimmage and in the intermediate throwing areas, he was there tackling. He made a good contribution to the victory."
Reid was the first defensive back since Glover Quin in late December of 2012 to notch three tackles for loss in a game.
Reid's fourth-quarter sack of Newton helped stall a New England drive, and the Patriots eventually settled for a field goal.
"That was awesome," Reid said. "It took three years in the making for me to finally get it, but it was an incredible feeling to finally get it, and it was at a crucial point in the game, so it felt really good to do that for my team, help us get a win."
Reid and the Texans will face the Lions in Detroit on Thanskgiving Day.
