Jimmie Ward delivers game-clinching interception as Texans beat Broncos: ‘It’s not the same Houston Texans’

HOUSTON – Russell Wilson evidently saw something that didn’t actually exist Sunday in the Texans’ secondary: vulnerability.

Why else would the Denver Broncos’ quarterback keep challenging the Texans’ defense with a series of deep balls?

The Super Bowl-winning passer was ultimately unsuccessful and off his mark, especially in the second half Sunday at NRG Stadium, as he was intercepted three times.

When Wilson was pressured by defensive end Jonathan Greenard and tried in vain to throw the football to tight end Lucas Krull in the end zone, veteran safety and team captain Jimmie Ward leaped to intercept the pass and clinched a 22-17 victory. The win boosted the Texans’ record to 7-5 and improved their probability of making the playoffs to 50 percent, per analytics sites. Snapping the Broncos’ five-game winning streak marked the Texans’ fifth win versus three losses in the past eight games, all one-score contests.

“Great pressure, that’s what forced him to make that throw,” Ward said inside the Texans’ locker room following his first game back from a hamstring injury. “Sometimes when that pressure gets on you, you make bad decisions and that’s what he did. It means more just to help my team. I’ve been on the shelf for three weeks. To come back as a captain and talk to the guys and get them going and make plays for this team, it’s phenomenal.”

“We all feed off each others’ energy. We knew this game was going to come down to the back end. You saw how Russell kept trying us, throwing deep balls. He felt like our defensive backs were somebody who wasn’t good as a collective. I felt like we showed up.”

Wilson entered Sunday with the top touchdown-to-interception ratio in the NFL with 20 touchdowns and four interceptions. He hadn’t been intercepted during the Broncos’ five-game streak, but was picked off twice by Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and once by Ward to seal a tight game with nine seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Wilson finished 15 of 26 for 186 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions and a 53.2 passer rating.

“I saw Krull one-on-one, and tried to put it high for him, they made a play,” Wilson said. “We’ve got to score a touchdown, obviously, to win the game, and it didn’t go our way.”

Ward’s play in the red zone was pivotal. A loss would have dropped the Texans to 6-6 and complicated their playoff outlook greatly. The fact that the Texans are now a legitimate playoff contender represents and extraordinary turnaround and marks Ryans as a legitimate NFL Coach of the Year candidate.

”The last few years have been rough,” tight end Brevin Jordan said. “For us to kill all doubt, everybody saying we would win three or four games or whatever, it’s not the same Houston Texans. To be in this position, we worked for it. We expected this.’

The Broncos went 0 for 11 on third downs. Their final third down try was picked off by Ward.

“What a play by Jimmie there at the end of the game,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We sent the call in. Our guys have been battling in the red zone all week. Friday is our red zone day. Guys, they put the work in, right, and we needed it. It showed up.

“First it starts with JG and his pressure to get that on Russell at that point in time, and then Jimmie to go and up secure the ball. Once he let it go, Jimmie was underneath, and he went up with both hands and pulled it down. It was a big-time play. It’s great having Jimmie back, and you see his impact instantly on our entire team.”

The Texans have more than doubled their victory total from last season’s 3-13-1 campaign under former coach Lovie Smith.

“We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs,” Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil said. “Having said that, there’s more work to do.”

They rank eighth in the AFC playoff standings and still need to finish strong to qualify for the postseason.

“I don’t worry about what happened in the past here with the Texans,” Ryans said. “This is 2023. This is our team. This is our brand of football. Our guys are a resilient group, a resilient group of men who show up every single week. They put the work in every week, and they show up on Sundays and they execute, and they play for each other.”

Between NFL Rookie of the Year frontrunner C.J. Stroud passing for 274 yards and one touchdown and wide receiver Nico Collins catching nine passes for a career-high 191 yards to go with a stout defense that held Wilson to 44 passing yards in the first half as kicker Matt Ammendola made all three field goals, it was a winning formula.

Rookie defensive end Will Anderson Jr., the third overall pick of the draft, had two sacks, four quarterback hits, a deflection on a Stingley interception and partially blocked a punt.

“Will wreaked havoc today,” Ryans said. “That’s what we envisioned when we selected Will, appy for Will. He had a big-time game for us.”

Veteran nickel Desmond King led the Texans with 10 tackles. He nearly scored a touchdown on a tackle and forced fumble, but it was ruled that the runner’s forward progress had been stopped. That call was controversial and the Texans vehemently disagreed with the decision.

“Not the explanation I would’ve liked to hear, but they did give me an explanation,” Ryans said. “Oh, man, credit to Des Des stepped up for us. Played meaningful snaps for us.

“He showed up and made some big-time third-down stops and big-time tackles, so really proud of Des and him being ready to go and make impact plays for us. Wish he would’ve got that touchdown, but it was a great play by him.”

The Texans had no turnovers against a Broncos defense that had forced five turnovers during their winning streak.

“We win the turnover battle and we won the game,” Ryans said. “That was the difference.”

The Texans have made a ton of progress since an 0-2 start. The Texans have won four of their last five games.

“It’s a long season,” Ward said. “It’s all about playing great ball in November and December. We’re playing meaningful football games. These are like playoff games. Everybody is fighting to get into the big dance.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.