The Houston Texans head coach and defensive coordinator have been telling anyone who would listen that there was just something special about rookie safety Jalen Pitre. From the time he was drafted until he played in his first NFL regular season game, coach Smith has raved about the potential of the second-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Baylor University.

You got a glimpse of his ball awareness skills against the Indianapolis Colts where he almost had his first interception. He was a very intricate part of stopping the run game of the Denver Broncos in Week 2, but on Sunday against the Chicago Bears, Pitre displayed his talents that made him the 2021 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and a Consensus First-Team All-American.

Pitre’s first interception came in the first quarter after the Texans had scored on a four-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Davis Mills to tight end Jordan Akins and cut the Bears lead to three points. Chicago quarterback Jordan Fields dropped back to pass and had a significant amount of time in the pocket to find his tight end Cole Kemet cutting across the middle of the field. The ball sailed over the head of Kmet and into the arms of Pitre as he secured his first NFL interception of his career.

“Big shout out to my coaches,” said Pitre when asked about his game plan preparations. “They do a great job throughout the week of putting me in great spots and helping me the things I am going to see when game time comes.”

“So, I give a big shout out to them and my teammates. We put in a lot of work on first down, second down and third down. Looking at everything we need to see and come into the game prepared. I give a big shout out to the older guys in the locker room and my coaches for helping me with that.”

The 23-year-old rookie came up with another spectacular grab for his second interception of the game on third down early in the fourth quarter with the game tied to give his offense another possession.

“We were in Cover-2, and I understood the weak part of the defense in the middle part of the field,” Pitre said after the game to reporters. “Kirko (Christian Kirskey) did a great job of making him put some air on the ball and with that that allowed me to make a play.”

With his two interceptions on the day, Pitre became one of only four rookies since 2020 to record multiple interceptions in a single game. He is just the second rookie in Texans history to record two interceptions in the same game since CB Dunta Robinson did it vs. the Oakland Raiders in 2004. The former two-time All-Big 12 First-Team selection also added eight total tackles and a sack which made him the fourth rookie in NFL history and first rookie in franchise history to record two interceptions and a sack in the same game.

“He was phenomenal,” said Texans defensive lineman Jerry Hughes about Pitre’s play on Sunday. “Young guy, he's making great plays for us. I know he wanted to get up and score, but two big picks to kind of keep our offense in scoring territory, that's what you want as a secondary.”