Jadeveon Clowney and the Houston Texans were expected to be one of the top teams in the AFC this season if they could stay healthy. Unfortunately, while they have been able to stay healthy, they have had some issues with consistency. Despite the issues, Houston is 3-3 on the season and have a lot of young talent to work with.

Defensively, the Texans have been playing solid football. According to ESPN statistics, the Texans are ranked No. 13 in overall defense through the first six weeks of the season.

Houston head coach Bill O'Brien loves the aggressiveness that Clowney has brought to the field, but there is one thing that he wants his star to clean up. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, O'Brien shared that he wants Clowney to clean up his game from a penalty perspective.

“Guys that play like he does – he plays the game in a really attacking way, and so people are going to use their cadence against him and he’s just got to be really focused on that. Then, the taunting call, like somebody asked me if I’m going to – yeah, I’ll talk to him about it, but I’m not going to go down the road of what. I think he just was just kind of messing around with the guy, but you can’t do that. You can’t do that, and that’s what they called and we’ll make sure that he knows not to do that anymore.”

Related NewsArticle continues below
Houston Texans 2 best trade targets to round out 2025 roster
Houston Texans 2 best trade targets to round out 2025 roster
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud attends game six of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs between the Denver Nuggets and the LA Clippers at Intuit Dome.
Texans rumors: Mike Florio makes C.J. Stroud prediction after Brock Purdy contract
Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans reacts during the third quarter of a 2025 AFC divisional round game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Texans make history with $11.7 million rookie contract

The article shared that Clowney has been flagged on eight different occasions in six games. He has been hit with a couple of taunting penalties, which are a major concern.

Throughout the first five games of the season that he has played, Clowney has racked up 13 total tackles to go along with 2.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.

Clowney was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Texans. It has taken him some time to live up to the hype that he received, but last season he did come through with 9.5 sacks.

Expect to see Clowney take his head coach's quote to heart and work on cleaning his game up. Houston wants him to continue attacking, but he has to be a bit smarter and avoid getting avoidable penalties.