- The Texans’ defense ranked among the league’s best during the regular season in yards allowed, points allowed, and takeaways.
- Players credit their success to a close-knit, ‘college-esque’ camaraderie and the ‘swarm culture’ instilled by head coach DeMeco Ryans.
PITTSBURGH – Will Anderson Jr. had a dream.
“I said ‘Look, I’m not Martin Luther King,’” Anderson said about his interaction with teammate Sheldon Rankins before the Houston Texans departed for Pittsburgh to face the Steelers in the wild-card round. “But, ‘I had a dream that you had a scoop. But I don’t know what’s going to happen.’ The dream went blank after that.”
Lost to Anderson’s REM cycle was something that played out perfectly for the Texans. In the fourth quarter of their eventual 30-6 thrashing of the Steelers, Anderson Jr. and Rankins combined to sack Aaron Rodgers, who lost the ball (Anderson received credit for the forced fumble). Rankins picked up the pigskin and scampered 33 yards for a touchdown that took a 10-6 game to a 17-6 difference with 11:23 remaining. Houston’s defense wasn’t done scoring – Calen Bullock iced the game, and potentially Rodgers’ career, by picking off a pass and returning it 50 yards for the game’s final score.
The Texans’ defense, led by head coach DeMeco Ryans and defensive coordinator Matt Burke, has been dominant for an entire season. The Seattle Seahawks are the lone Super Bowl contender with a claim as legitimate as the Texans’ for best defense in the league. Houston finished the regular season first in yards allowed per game (277.2) and then surrendered 175 net yards to the Steelers. They allowed the second-fewest points per game (17.4, while the Seahawks were 17.2). The Texans were third in total takeaways (29) and finished tied for seventh in sacks. No team allowed fewer first downs per game than them (16.2).
“The biggest thing that we were talking about – like, OK what we did in the regular season, it ain’t going to matter when we get into the playoffs” Anderson said.
He wanted his teammates to keep the same energy while raising the bar and got just that. According to Next Gen Stats, he and Danielle Hunter combined for 15 pressures. The Texans, as a team, generated a 45.9% pressure rate (17 total times). Rodgers had been pressured a league-low 21.5% of his dropbacks during the regular season. The minus-33.4 expected points added (EPA) is the lowest mark by any playoff defense in the last decade. They haven’t allowed a positive EPA-per-dropback since a Week 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I thought everybody was dialed in,” Anderson, the former Alabama standout, said. “You talking about popping it off, big plays, taking the ball – doing whatever it takes to win the game.”
With a divisional-round matchup on the road against the New England Patriots on deck, the Texans’ defense has designs on something more than recognition.
“We’re here for it all,” Rankins said. “I won’t sugarcoat or dance around that topic. We’re here for the whole thing. This is just a stepping stone for where we want to go.”
Texans’ defense being the best ‘for each other’
A 10-year veteran, Rankins would like to think he’s been a part of defenses in which he’s been able to trust the other 10 guys on the field as he has done with the 2025 Texans. But this group takes the cake, he said.
“I also think we have a special, close group,” he said. “I think I’ve been a part of some special groups, but the closeness hasn’t always been to this level. It almost, to a degree – especially with how many younger playmakers we have, it almost has a college-esque feel.”
The inside jokes and light-hearded ribbing. That not only breeds camaraderie in the locker room, Rankins said, but spills over onto the field.
“How we play for each other,” he said, “not just with each other.”
Coaches can use that to their advantage. Because guys know one another so well, communication is easier.
“Instead of a guy having to shout something, it can be a look, it can be a hand signal, a wink here, a wink there, or just even if it’s getting a guy’s attention, a guy can know exactly what that means and go out there and execute it fast,” Rankins explained. “I think that camaraderie, that togetherness that we have throughout the building, throughout the locker room, definitely spills over. It allows us to just go out there and play for each other, but play fast while doing it.”
Houston safety Jalen Pitre said having guys who think of themselves as offensive players has made the Texans’ other unit lethal.
“These are offensive players that play defense,” he said.
Pitre said they’ll let those outside the locker room determine whether they are the best unit in the NFL.
“I never really think about that,” he said. “I know we have a talented group. But I never really think about ‘Who is the best?’ and all that stuff. Like, we just show up ready to execute and let the numbers speak for themselves.”
“We take pride in that,” said Rankins, who gave the offense props for controlling the clock and converting third downs to stay on the field against Pittsburgh.
Any defense would sign up for that type of performance from the other side of the ball, Rankins said.
“That allows us to really pin our ears back and put pressure on teams,” he said. “Because if our offense is doing that, the pressure is on their offense to match it.”
Ryans tells his team they can shut any offense down. The confidence flows from the coaching staff to the players, who keep a chip on their shoulder every time they show up for work.
“That’s our mindset: we’re the best defense,” Bullock said. “So we got to show it and work throughout the week to prove that we’re a great defense. So when we go out there, we got that confidence, nothing can hold us back.”
Texans surge from 0-3 to earn opponents’ respect
Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter knew the unit had the potential to dominate based on offseason workouts.
“Seeing guys doing what they’re doing now,” he said. “Seeing the d-line go hunt. Seeing the (linebackers) do what they do. Communicate, lead, seeing the back end play sticky, play physical, play fast. We knew we had something special.”
A lot of people counted out the Texans after their 0-3 start, Bullock said.
“We set a goal. We knew we had the guys,” he said. “We worked every single day to be the best defense.
“We just kept our head down, and we kept pushing.”
When they were 0-3, and Andreson saw how the team kept responding, “everybody rallying together, that’s when I knew what our foundation was.” He tipped his hat to Ryans and “what he’s instilled.” The coach wanted a ‘swarm culture. “
“That’s what’s been built here,” Anderson said.
It’s something Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel noticed.
“They’re not only talented,” Vrabel said Wednesday, “but they have a play demeanor that I can appreciate.”
What does that mean? Houston chases the football, Vrabel said. Having two demons on the edge in Anderson and Hunter – both of whom also are effective against the run – also helps.
“If they get blocked,” Vrabel said, “they don’t stay blocked long.”
“All the hype is deserving from what I’ve seen,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to stay ahead of the chains. We’ve got a tough task. We’ll have our hands full.”
Patriots center Garrett Bradbury said he sees the San Francisco 49ers and Robert Saleh’s influence on Ryans’ scheme. Houston will dare New England to run the ball. So the Patriots must do so efficiently. That’s a challenge every offensive lineman wants, Bradbury said.
“I think what you see is who they are,” Bradbury told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s what DeMeco prides that team on. They’re a really good defense.
“They want to rush the passer every single play, and they’re gonna rush the passer on the way to stopping the run.”
“It’ll be a great matchup,” Bradbury added. “I’m excited for the game.”