Clowney Is Back. Now the Pass Rush Has to Win a Close Game.

Jadeveon Clowney signed with Houston on August 2, returning to the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2014 — twelve years later, a full circle. Paired with Anderson's record-setting extension from June, the Texans now have two of the more imposing edge presences in the conference anchoring their defensive front. The pass rush looks the part.

The question that keeps nagging, though, is the one I've been circling all offseason: Houston went 6-4 in games decided by a touchdown or less last year. That's the number. A defense that dominates in open play still has to hold a lead in the fourth quarter, still has to get a stop when the game is on the line and the margin is three points. Danielle Hunter posted 18 sacks last season. The unit was not soft. And yet the Texans still lost to New England in the wild card. The close-game execution gap was real, and adding Clowney doesn't automatically close it.

What it does do is give the coaching staff more options late in games — more ways to manufacture pressure without tipping the call, more bodies to rotate so the starters aren't gassed when it matters most. That's a legitimate structural improvement. Whether it translates to winning the 7-point games is still an open question, and one that won't get answered until September.