Jalen Pitre Injury Hurts Texans Tremendously

The Houston Texans defense took a massive hit in their Week 12 loss to the Tennessee Titans when star defensive back Jalen Pitre partially tore his pectoral muscle.

While the injury isn't season-ending, it could keep Pitre out for some critical games down the stretch, including this weekend against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans lamented on the loss of Pitre and what it means for the defense.

“He’s been a true impact player for us," Ryans said of Pitre. "Just being around the ball. Just causing interceptions, forcing fumbles, he’s just been really active, very instinctive player for us, he’s been all over the field. And he’s made a lot of plays for us. And just miss his instincts, miss his playmaking ability, we’re going to miss that. So, we’ve got to pick it up and we’ve got to go. We’ve got to move forward. We’ve got to press forward. Whoever else steps in, we’ve got to hit the ground running."

The Texans also lost Ka'dar Hollman to a torn ACL, which means the secondary is thin. Look for M.J. Stewart and Eric Murray to see more playing time on defense in the coming weeks.