–The Texans activated the 21-day window of practice for safety Andre Hal. Hal has been out of action due to battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma since training camp but now with it in remission, he is back practicing with the team.
“We activated the 21-day window on him, so he’ll be able to practice with the team,” head coach Bill O’Brien said Wednesday. “At any point in time over the 21-day window we can decide to activate him to the 53-man roster, so we’ll see where he’s at and go from there. That’s great news for Dre and for us.”
–Defensive lineman Brandon Dunn has helped on the interior of the defense and helped hold up against the run to free up the inside linebackers.
“Dunn’s done a really good job,” O’Brien explained of the veteran presence in Dunn. “I don’t know what it was, maybe a couple of years ago, he really flipped the script. He lost some weight, got in great shape, was better in the weight room, practiced better. He’s really one of the most improved players on our team over the last couple years.”
Dunn has appeared in all six games and has posted 10 total tackles with two tackles for loss.
–Former Titans draft pick Angelo Blackson has found his way with the Texans after being signed last season due to multiple injuries. Blackson’s emergence has pushed Christian Covington to the game-day inactive list due to his strong play this season.
“(Angelo) Blackson was a good pickup for us, a guy we brought in, put him on the 53 and he’s a big, big tough guy and he just does his job,” O’Brien explained. “Very big guy, very tough guy like I said. He’s improved, so they just need to keep it going.”
Blackson has 11 total tackles with a quarterback sack in six games.
–Inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney recorded 11 total tackles, one sack, two QB Hits and a tackle for loss Sunday. That was the fourth time in McKinney’s career he has accomplished that stat line, which is a franchise record.
–Safety Kareem Jackson, who is expected to start, is set to pass former Texans offensive lineman Chester Pitts (114) for the second-most starts in franchise history.
–Safety Tyrann Mathieu needs one tackle for loss on Sunday to become the fastest active defensive back in the NFL to reach 30 career tackles for loss in just 73 games.
BY THE NUMBERS: 277 — The amount of yards Deshaun Watson needs to pass Matt Schaub (2,074) for the most passing yards through the first seven weeks of a season in franchise history.