After dealing with a preseason injury and occupying a spot lower on the depth chart through the first couple of months of his NFL career, Jaylen Reed finally got his opportunity Thursday night. And the former All-Big Ten second-team selection for Penn State took advantage.

Reed played significant defensive snaps for the first time of his career for the Houston Texans in their 23-19 win over the Buffalo Bills at NRG Stadium, and he delivered a team-high 11 tackles (eight solo) and a fumble recovery on defense, plus a special teams tackle.

Reed didn’t start in the secondary for the Texans, but he played 55 of 66 defensive snaps (83%) in the game. He also played 17 special teams snaps. Entering Thursday, Reed had played one defensive snaps and 96 special teams snaps, but he hadn’t recorded any statistics.

“Jaylen Reed, first time he saw a lot of action for us,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said during his postgame news conference. “I thought, his first game playing a lot, I thought he stepped up and played big for us as well.”

Houston drafted Reed with the No. 187 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft in April. He suffered a preseason injury and began the season on injured reserve, which caused him to miss the first five games of the season. Thursday night was his sixth career appearance.

Reed’s fumble recovery set up a field goal to push Houston’s lead to 23-16 in the final seconds of the third quarter. On the play, Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen completed a 13-yard pass to wide receiver Khalil Shakir, but Houston safety Calen Bullock knocked the ball out of Shakir’s hands.

Reed scooped up the ball and returned it nine yards to give the Texans the ball deep in Bills territory with 4:09 left in the third quarter.

It’s a catch and FUMBLE! The @HoustonTexans defense comes up big once again.

BUFvsHOU on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/35yBvin0oP

— NFL (@NFL) November 21, 2025

“I was just prepared to go in at any moment,” Reed told KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson after the game. “That’s something I’ve been prepared to do since a couple weeks ago, so I’ve just been prepared to go in at any moment, just when my number is called, go out and show out.”

PENN STATE COACHING SEARCH HOT BOARD

Former Nittany Lions offensive lineman Juice Scruggs is also on the Texans roster. He played five special teams snaps in the game. Houston is 6-5 overall, and the Texans will next face Tyler Warren and the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 30.

Reed was one of five members of Penn State’s 2025 rookie class, along with Warren, New York Giants linebacker Abdul Carter, Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Winston Jr. and New York Jets linebacker Kobe King (who was originally drafted by the Minnesota Vikings).

Reed was an All-Big Ten second-team selection in 2024 after he posted a team-leading 98 tackles (51 solo), 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, three interceptions, three pass breakups, one quarterback hurry, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.

During his four-year career, Reed appeared in 50 games and made 29 starts. He finished with 181 tackles (110 solo), 12.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, five interceptions — one returned for a touchdown — and seven pass breakups.

A key theme of Reed’s career, which began as a four-star recruit from Detroit in the Class of 2021, was his search for respect.

“It drives me a lot, man,” Reed said last November. “I’ve always been the type of person that get everything out of the mud, so it don’t affect me that much. But I’m the type of person that when I do deserve my recognition, I want to get it recognized.”

Thursday could have been a step toward making a name for himself at the next level.

TRENDING LIONS247 VIP SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS:

1. $AVE ON ANNUAL: 30% off our regular price during coaching search

2. AWESOME PERK: Free Paramount+ Premium w/ full-priced monthly

Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for Lions247 and 247Sports. He can be reached at daniel.gallen@cbsinteractive.com. Follow Daniel on X at @danieljtgallen, Instagram at @bydanieljtgallen and Bluesky at @danieljtgallen.bsky.social.