Shortly after Kamu Grugier-Hill played one of the best games of his career, the weary Texans linebacker made a proclamation.
"Lactic acid is one hell of a drug."
Grugier-Hill was all over the field at Nissan Stadium during Houston's 22-13 victory, as he led the team with 12 tackles, a pair of quarterback hits and two passes defensed, but it was his first-quarter interception of Ryan Tannehill and return of 82 yards that had his teammates and head coach a day later, talking. It was also the play that amped up the lactic acid production more than any of the other 75 snaps he played Sunday.
"I was excited I made the play, but I've got to score that," Grugier-Hill said. "I've got to score that. I'm not going to be able to live that one out for a while."
Grugier-Hill took some grief for ultimately running out of gas and getting tackled at the Titans' six-yard line. On Monday, Head Coach David Culley piled on a little more in a good-natured fashion.
"When he started running, the first thing he started doing was looking back to see who was chasing him," Culley said. "Offensive guys don't do that. We already know on offense that when you're running with the ball that there's somebody chasing you."
Jokes aside, Culley is thankful Grugier-Hill's in the middle of the Texans defense. The six-year veteran rarely comes off the field and in just nine games this season, he's racked up career highs in tackles (61), tackles for loss (six), forced fumbles (two) and quarterback hits (three). Culley went so far as comparing Grugier-Hill's impact to that of QB Tyrod Taylor's.
"He's kind of like our Tyrod on defense," Culley said. "With Christian Kirksey not being out (there), he stepped up in kind of taking that role, and he's done a heck of a job with it. Again, playing as much as he's playing and his leadership, like I said before, he does a great job."
Grugier-Hill is happy to be contributing, but he was happier the Texans picked up their first win since early September.
"We haven't felt that feeling in a long time, so it was good," Grugier-Hill said. "It was really good."
Grugier-Hill and the Texans look to continue the good times this Sunday at NRG Stadium when they host the New York Jets.
Kickoff is set for noon CT. Click here for tickets.
