Of all the things that happened on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, being, playing good defense wasn't one of them. The Houston Texans' defense got picked apart on just nine passes, exposing some serious concerns within the secondary on the team. The Colts didn't get lucky, they took advantage of a terrible secondary. Maybe they were just terrible for one game, but they were still terrible. That's why they need to do better. There's no reason to give a pass to anyone in that secondary, let alone your supposed best player.
So we're looking at four of the better players on the team that need to step up against the Chicago Bears and the first name we're looking at is Derek Stingley Jr.
CB Derek Stingley Jr.
Some tried to defend Stingley and rookie Kamari Lassiter on Sunday by throwing Jimmie Ward and others under the bus, and while Ward played awfully, so did Stingley. He played too far off of the Colts' wide receivers, and Anthony Richardson was able to make the most of that. Considering he only completed nine passes, seemingly all for huge gains, it's hard to look at the Texans' secondary and be anything but miffed.
There was no reason the Colts should've torn up the defense the way they did. Stingley is supposed to be a top-tier corner, and yet he gave up a third of the completions on his own. Now, he wasn't the one getting dog-walked, that was Lassiter. Still, Stingley is supposed to be the team's best player secondary player, dare we say one of the three best defensive players overall and he was a total non-factor.
Who knows if Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams looks as good as Richardson come Sunday Night, but if he does, he's throwing to a much better talent in D.J. Moore and Stingley will have to step up if the Texans want to win.
LT Laremy Tunsil
The Houston Texans offensive line was a wreck in 2023 but a lot of people wanted to lie to themselves about the quality of the unit coming into 2024. We all thought that if they were good at anything, it'd be pass-blocking. After one week, that appears to not be the case. The Texans' o-line was abused by a Colts team that few people expected to see much pass-rushing aptitude out of. We knew they'd be hard to move, but that dynamic?
Against C.J. Stroud? Who would've thought, certainly not us? Tunsil was one of the worst, failing fairly often to keep his guy in front of him to the tune of a PFF pass-blocking score of 47.1. He's one of the five best players on the whole team or is supposed to be, so no excuses. He's now going to have a tougher task to deal with as the Chicago Bears defense is being seen as a unit that's either on par with the Colts or better. If that's the case, then Tunsil has a lot to worry about come Sunday.
Especially if a repeat performance is expected.
DE's Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter
We're counting this one as a single entry, as both men struggled against the Colts. They just both struggled in different ways. Anderson's strength is his run-stopping prowess, while Hunter's is his pass-rushing attitude. Both men did well in that regard, with PFF scores of 67.3 and 68.6 respectively. Yet, neither man could go to the left, to borrow a basketball term.
Anderson's pass rush was non-existent, which is part of the reason why the Colts were able to torch the Texans' defense on just nine passes. He couldn't lay a hand on the Colts' quarterback, which is a problem when you look at the fact he's going to demand a major payday sooner rather than later. If he can't stop opposing quarterbacks, who are slipping all over the place, from throwing the ball, he won't be worth that or any contract he gets.
Hunter, on the other hand, was swallowed hole against the run. This is a shame, as the Colts didn't really get much traction at all running the ball. At least against anyone other than Hunter. Posting just a 29.7 on PFF against the run, the Texans prized offseason signing can't afford to keep looking so bad against the run. Especially against better teams. Now, the Bears aren't those "better" teams, but they do intend to run a lot. So this could be an issue.
S Jimmie Ward
Jimmie Ward is supposed to be better than this. He had a few good years in San Francisco where he played his best ball with the 49ers, but in his first year with the Texans in 2023, he declined. He was still good enough, but he certainly wasn't the All-Pro caliber player he showed he was capable of being in 2019. As a safety, he's been one heck of a tackler and a very good run defender. Yet, in pass coverage, he's only ever shown to be very average.
The Colts should've been an easy win for the Texans, especially with how inaccurate their quarterback was and is. The fact that just nine passes nearly sunk the Texans is borderline disgusting. Especially with how "talented" the secondary in Houston is supposed to be. Kamari Lassiter looked bad, that's true. So did Derek Stingley Jr. Yet, Ward, may have looked the worst of them all.
He was out of position, he couldn't catch up to wide receivers, and he wasn't in a position to succeed. This against of all teams, the Colts. A team that saw the national broadcasters trying politely on several instances to describe the wide receivers as average players. So it wasn't like the Texans were playing against 2007 Randy Moss.
This secondary can ill afford a repeat outing.
