After an up-and-down first seven games on the season, the Houston Texans' defense finally looked closer to their elite form in Week 9 against the LA Chargers en route to their dominating 44-22 victory in SoFi Stadium.

Everything was clicking for the Texans' defense compared to some of their recent performances. They got to Justin Herbert for a season-high eight sacks, which led to him completing just 50% of his passes, forced two turnovers, and held the Chargers' offense to less than 325 total yards on the day.

So what changed for the Texans this week? Why was their defense finally able to turn a corner for a solid day of production when stacked up against some of their latest disappointments?

In DeMeco Ryans' mind, a lot of the credit falls on the shoulders of Jalen Pitre.

Was Jalen Pitre the Key to Houston's Defensive Success?

Pitre, who had been out of the Texans' lineup since suffering an AC joint sprain in Week 5 against the Tennessee Titans, had finally made a return to the defensive side of the ball as Houston's versatile nickelback against the Chargers.

And Pitre really wasted no time making his regular impact. He ranked second on the team for combined tackles on the day with six, with two of those coming as tackles for loss.

DeMeco Ryans spoke the day after the win over the Chargers about the defense's overall performance from the weekend, and unpromptedly spoke about why Pitre's return to the Texans' defense was so valuable on Sunday.

"The defense definitely executed much better when it came down to, specifically, the tackling piece of it," Ryans said. "I thought our guys really tackled well. I thought having Pitre back was really the highlight for me."

"The plays that he's able to make; it really energizes our entire team. Like, the physicality he plays with. Him blitzing off of the edge, making plays in the backfield, really making it hard on opponents, because of his playstyle and where he's aligning all over the field."

It's hard to argue with Ryans. A lot of what the Texans had been missing on their defense over the past several weeks are traits that Pitre himself brings to the table: tackling, consistency, and versatility in the secondary, and hard-hitting bravado.

And that's exactly what he was able to chip in for on Sunday, turning out to be one of the bigger stars on the Texans' defense entirely, and helping Houston's stock on that side of the ball take a much-needed turn in the right direction.

When Pitre is on the field with this Texans' secondary, while the likes of Derek Stingley and Kamari Lassiter are also playing up to their All-Pro and Pro Bowl standards, paired with a commanding pass rush, it quickly becomes tough to attack this defense altogether.

That was exactly the case for the Texans this Sunday, and helped them get back on track with their third victory on the season. And if Pitre is able to lead the way for similar success from this talented Houston defense moving forward, there are due to be a few more wins to follow.