There’s no denying the Houston Texans field one of the better defenses in the league. But with so much youth, there’s at least one more step toward the defense becoming elite.
One aspect head coach DeMeco Ryans seems intent on implementing is creating more turnovers, particularly with the talented pass-rushing duo of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter.
Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter Tasked With Raising the Bar
“They obviously had a lot of success last year, but how can they even improve year two with Danielle and Will,” Ryans said at his press conference on Thursday. “They just have to continue to be themselves, right? Really improve on the small things, and that's really finishing at the top of the rush.”
Anderson and Hunter combined for 23 sacks in 2024, but the duo only forced two fumbles. The Texans finished fifth in the NFL with 29 turnovers last year, but that was backed up by 19 interceptions. Their 10 fumble recoveries tied with five other teams for fifth-best in the league.
“When I talk about finishing, I'm talking about finishing on the football,” Ryans said. “Like, how many fumbles can we force as opposed to just sacks? We want to take the football away to put our offense in a good spot. So, can we improve in that manner with the rushing? Not just Will and Danielle, but it's all of our rushers.”
Houston’s Defense Embraces the Takeaway Mentality
Anderson recently spoke about his improvement efforts this offseason as he heads into his third season with Defensive Player of the Year-type expectations. Ryans' message seems to have resonated with the former No. 3 overall pick, as he echoed his coach’s desire for the defense in his own quest to become an elite pass rusher.
“Like, gotta get the ball out more when you’re sacking the quarterback,” Anderson said recently. “That’s one of my offseason things that I want to work on is like, reaching with precision, really turning the corner tight, and really going for the ball.”Of course, the benefit for the pass rush in Houston is the talented defensive backfield. When asked whether the backend coverage or the front-end pass rush was more valuable to the defense, Ryans leaned on the symbiotic relationship of the defense to affect the quarterback and cause turnovers.
“I think when it comes to when you're looking at a defensive unit, right, you want to apply pressure as much as possible, right,” Ryans said. “To truly change the game, like if you turn those pressures, not only into sacks, but the sack fumble, that's the big play that changes the game for us. A lot of people have the sack stat rated very highly, but if you're pressuring the quarterback and the coverage is right and you're forcing him to throw errant throws, forcing the quarterback to make bad decisions, to me that that pressure can turn into interceptions.”
The Texans’ defense has a clear path to being elite, and it starts with forcing even more turnovers in 2025. Last year, the Texans had a +10 turnover differential, but an elite team like the Buffalo Bills had a +24 to lead the league. The closer the Texans are to that margin, the closer they’ll be to where they want to be at the end of the season.
