Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans praised cornerback Derek Stingley in the locker room on Sunday after his second interception in the fourth quarter helped seal a win over Miami.
“That’s probably the best play I’ve ever seen,” Ryans told the team before giving Stingley a game ball after the 20-12 victory.
With just under two minutes left, Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami offense got the ball back, hoping to tie the game. On the first play of their drive, Tagovailoa tried a deep pass to Tyreek Hill, but Stingley stretched out to intercept the ball between Hill’s hands.
Tagovailoa slowly took off his chin strap and shook his head as he watched Stingley and the Houston defense celebrate their fourth turnover of the game. Stingley and his teammates ran to the end zone, where several players pretended to place a crown on his head while he held the ball.
“It’s very impressive,” Ryans said. “It’s very rare you see a player make a play that way to end the game. That was an All-Pro-type play.
That’s what it looks like when you’re one of the top guys at your position in the league going up, matching it up against one of the best wideouts in the league.”
Earlier in the quarter, Stingley made another key play, intercepting a pass meant for Hill inside the 10-yard line with about 10 1/2 minutes left in the game.
Stingley has played well all season but has really stepped up in the last month, with four of his five interceptions coming in the past four games. He also recorded two tackles for loss on Sunday, becoming the first cornerback in NFL history to have two interceptions and two tackles for loss in a single game.
His strong performance earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
“Can’t say enough about how impactful Stingley has been throughout not only those plays (Sunday), but Stingley has been impactful throughout the entire year,” Ryans said. “I think for the past three wins, he’s been our defensive player of the game. So, when he’s making impact plays, it’s putting us in position to win football games.”
Houston’s win over Miami, along with a loss by Indianapolis, gave the Texans (9-5) their second straight AFC South title. Next, they will travel to Kansas City on Saturday to play the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
Stingley, the third overall pick in the 2022 draft, faced criticism for not living up to expectations in his first two seasons due to injuries. He missed 13 games while his fellow cornerback, Sauce Gardner, was selected a pick after him by the New York Jets and won AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, as well as earning All-Pro honors twice.
This season, Stingley has started every game and set career highs with 17 defended passes, 46 tackles, and four tackles for loss.
The former LSU standout was asked if he feels like he’s proven his critics wrong with his play this season. He says that’s not something he thinks about.
“My teammates, they know who I am,” he said. “So, really it’s just showing my teammates that they can trust me.”
It’s easy for teammates and coaches to praise Stingley for his performance this season, but it’s much harder to get him to talk about it himself. He’s not just shy around reporters; he doesn’t seem to talk much to anyone.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud shared how their conversations go when he jokes that Stingley should play offense because of his great hands.
“He doesn’t really talk much … he’s just like mm-hmm,” Stroud said, laughing. “He doesn’t say nothing. Not too many words out of Sting.”
For now, Stingley is letting his play do the talking. While others predict that he will make his first Pro Bowl and possibly even earn All-Pro honors, he’s staying focused on the team.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m trying to get to the Super Bowl. If it happens, it happens. If it don’t, it’s cool.”
