When the Dallas Cowboys traded Micah Parsons less than a week before the start of the season, they justified the decision because of the confidence they had in the pass rushers in Dallas aside from him.
In the news conference hours after the decision was made, owner Jerry Jones said that their new addition in the Parsons trade, defensive tackle Kenny Clark, would help other interior guys like Osa Odighizuwa get home. Brian Schottenheimer mentioned Dante Fowler, Sam Williams, rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku and Marshawn Kneeland.
He also snuck in one more name.
“James Houston is a guy that’s come out of nowhere,” he said.
While Houston’s mention was more of an epilogue than a dissertation on the state of the room, the preseason star is firmly part of the pass rush story through five weeks.
Dallas Cowboys defensive end James Houston (53) reacts after a sack against the New York Jets during the first half Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Vincent Carchietta Imagn Images
After a performance in Week 5 that saw him total 1.5 sacks on New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields, Houston moved his team-leading total on the season to 3.5 sacks, more than Parsons has in Green Bay (2.5).
“It just shows you that he’s got those kinds of skills,” Jones said about Houston. “We know that he needs to work on the run. Guess what? We had a pass rusher around here [Parsons], the way to box him in was to run at him, but he could really rush the passer. This guy really is rushing the passer beyond my expectation.”
Aside from just getting home to the quarterback, Houston, a fourth-year pro out of Florida and Jackson State, has generated pressure on a team-best 14.8 percent of his pass rush snaps.
It’s a reality that couldn’t have been imagined just over two months ago when Houston was one of four pass rushers to arrive to Oxnard, California, for a free agent workout. That is, for everybody aside from him.
“Always,” Houston said when asked if he expected the success. “I know the type of player I am. I just needed the opportunity.”
Not only did he get the training camp opportunity, Houston made the final roster. Then, he started earning more snaps. Then, more sacks. Then, respect from around the locker room.
While Houston was showing humility for his big start in an interview in the locker room Sunday, he was cut off by Williams, one of his defensive line teammates.
“He’s trying to be humble, but he like that,” Williams said. “He like that, for real. Stop playing with him.”
A smile cracked on Houston’s face from ear to ear. Is he really “like that?”
“You know that,” Houston said. “You can pop on the film and see that. I don’t have to talk too much about it. I’m happy to be in a groove like that. I’m feeling way more comfortable. My body is good, my mind is good. It’s really about staying in for 18 weeks.”
Dallas Cowboys defensive end James Houston (53) sacks New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields during the first half Sunday. Vincent Carchietta Imagn Images
When quarterbacks or running backs are playing at a high level, it’s about them seeing the field well. For a wide receiver, it’s about feeling free and fluid. But for a pass rusher to be in a groove like Houston, it comes across differently.
“I feel like you see it in the [offensive] tackle’s eyes more than yourself,” he said. “You can be like, ‘I got them. I can hit any move I want and win.’ When you get in that groove, that’s when you have a game-wrecker.”
While Dallas would like to see more from Houston in the run game before giving him a large amount of snaps, he has earned a consistently increasing workload.
Houston may have been at the bottom of the totem pole at the start of the year, but that reality has already left itself in the past.