In case there was any confusion about his status, Texans defensive end Jadeveon Clowney cleared it up.

Clowney is slated to start Sunday despite an elbow injury that has limited him in practice this week and has him questionable on the injury report.

"I'm good," Clowney said. "I'll be ready to go Sunday."

Clowney is tied for fourth in the NFL with a career-high eight tackles for losses. The former top overall pick from South Carolina has remained healthy for the most part this year after experiencing a myriad of injuries during his first two NFL seasons. He has 27 tackles, two sacks, nine quarterback hits and one pass defended.

"It's great," Clowney said. "I'm getting better each week. I feel like I'm coming along better. [Teammates] talk to me about it. They say, 'Keep coming, you got to keep bringing it.' Week by week, I got to keep bringing it."

Despite being undersized for a 3-4 defensive end, the converted outside linebacker has made a smooth adjustment to playing in a three-point stance and regularly grappling with offensive linemen who outweigh him by 70 to 80 pounds.

"I just play ball, get off, disruption, anything," Clowney said with a smile. "I just try to get penetration on the offensive line as much as possible. Since I'm lacking in weight, I try to get off, penetrate. That's my thing."

Clowney emphasized the importance of making Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford speed up his delivery by applying some heat to the prolific passer. And it's a similar approach to how the Texans strategized against Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.

"He's a good quarterback, he makes all the throws across the field," Clowney said. "We've got to contain him. We have to do kind of the same thing: keep him in the pocket and try to win our one-on-ones, get pressure on him as much as possible so he can make some bad decisions with the ball, hopefully."