Texans rookie cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. saw the football coming, adeptly reading the eyes and intentions of Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
When the towering former top overall pick forced a pass in the end zone as he stared at wide receiver Zay Jones, Stingley capitalized with his first NFL interception Sunday during a 13-6 victory at TIAA Bank Field to help boost the Texans to their first win of the season.
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The third overall pick of the draft, Stingley isn’t the only member of his family with foresight.
His father, Derek Stingley Sr., celebrating the win outside the stadium with his wife and other family members after the game, had predicted the interception was coming in a conversation with his son before kickoff. He also told a reporter Saturday that the Texans would snap their string of three consecutive losses.
“We talked about it before the game,” Stingley Sr. said. “I said, ‘Hey, I think this is the day when you’re going to get you one and I want you to bring it to me.’ We basically talked it into existence.”
After the #Texans win today, @KPRC2Chancellor caught up with @DerekStingJr who had his first INT and gave the football to his dad who was there. Here is reaction from both in J'ville.@kprc2 @HoustonTexans pic.twitter.com/ETG9nYnuF6
— Randy McIlvoy (@KPRC2RandyMc) October 10, 2022
Stingley Jr. made a beeline for his parents in the stands after the interceptin, handing them the football to commemorate the moment for the former consensus LSU All-American selection.
“I needed to get the first one,” Stingley Jr. said. “I might give them all to him. Without him and my mom, I wouldn’t be here. It was good. I just gave him the ball. I was like, ‘Here.’
Stingley’s alert presence paid dividends for the Texans during a narrow win.
The Jaguars were well-positioned to take the lead after driving to the Texans’ 7-yard line on the opening drive of the third quarter.
Lawrence was looking for Jones, but Stingley jumped the pass and attempted to return the football before he was tackled two yards out of the end zone.
“I seen the ball,” Stingley Jr. said. “I said, ‘I gotta get it,’ and I got it.”
Lawrence lamented his poor decision to throw in Stingley’s direction.
“Honestly, I just forced it,” he said. “The field shrunk down there. I thought I might have had a shot at the back baseline and just Stingley fell off the corner there. It was just a bad decision. That’s one you just throw away, maybe try to run it in, live to play another down. Just bad, just forced it and tried to do too much there. Just a bad decision.”
The takeaway allowed the Texans to remain tied with the Jaguars, who went 0 for 3 in the red zone.
“The first thing I thought was that could be a pick-six, and then I was like, ‘No, he needs to kneel it down and give us better field position,” Stingley Sr. said. “I was so ecstatic that he caught the interception. That ball is going into his shrine in his room at our home where we’ve got everything else. That ball is going to go up there and it’s going to be there forever.
“No doubt, extremely proud. For him to get an interception off a good quarterback like Trevor Lawrence and this being a division game and to stop that score, I was so happy. I just looked at him and said, ‘Dude, I told you, I told you, I told you. As parents, we’re really happy about that. This is his first time getting one and, hopefully, it’s the first of many.”
Stingley played through an injury to his elbow and shoulder that coach Lovie Smith characterized as a bruise. Stingley wore a protective brace on his left arm after getting hurt against the Los Angeles Chargers. The injury didn’t appear to hold him back at all. He finished the game with seven tackles. He also batted away a deep Lawrence pass in the fourth quarter intended for Marvin Jones during an unsuccessful comeback attempt.
“We knew they had to get the ball down the field and out of bounds,” Stingley Jr. said. “I was just staying deep and down the sideline.”
At 6-foot, 190 pounds, with a recorded 4.37 40-yard dash, Stingley has speed to burn. The Texans identified him as the top cornerback on their draft board and thus, selected him one pick before the New York Jets drafted Cincinnati All-American corner Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. Then, Stingley signed a fully guaranteed, four-year, $34.6 million contract that includes a $22.3 million signing bonus and a fifth-year club option.
A two-time All-SEC selection, Stingley is a former blue-chip who finished his college career with 73 tackles, seven tackles for loss, six interceptions, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
“Absolute, Stingley is going to be a great player,” Texans coach Lovie Smith said. “I’ve talked about how smart he is knowing the game. He learns something every snap.”
Aaron Wilson is a Pro Football Network reporter and a contributor to KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.