“My message is there’s a solid young football team that’s kind of finding their way,” Rivera said. “They’re scrappy, they’re tough, they’re underdogs. They’re guys that are striving to be the best.”
The defensive line as a whole was exceptional against the Texans, but Payne and Allen seemed nearly unstoppable at times against a Texans interior offensive line that has struggled all season.
Given the dominant performance of this defensive line, propelling this team to its run of success of late, my money is on the day Rivera announced he was firing Sam Mills III and replacing him with assistant defensive line coach Jeff Zgonina.