Breaking down the Texans Defense
HOUSTON (PSF) - The Texans just played their first game of the NFL season this past Sunday. The team was defeated by the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 25-9. Interesting detail to point out, this score was a scorigami. Regardless, the Texans did lose but their fans have a few positives to take away from the game, one of them being the team’s defensive performance.
Photo Credit: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle
Expecting the Texans defense to improve this season should be no shock. At the start of the offseason, the team hired new head coach DeMeco Ryans. Ryans was previously a member of the San Francisco 49ers staff dating back to 2017. He first was hired as a coaching assistant, he then was promoted to coach inside linebackers from 2018-2020. Finally, he got his big break and was again promoted, this time to defensive coordinator. Ryans held this position for two years from 2021-2023, under him the 49ers continued to dominate like they always do. The former linebacker led San Francisco to the No. 9 ranked defense in 2021 and the number one defense in 2022. Ryans knew there was lots to improve in his first year with Houston, thankfully we have been able to see the subtle changes made so far.
Photo Credit: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle
Heading into Week One, the Ravens were heavy favorites against the Texans. Rightfully so as well, the Ravens are just a better team on paper, and they are also playing against a rookie head coach and quarterback so that gives them a great advantage. If you just look at the scoreboard, it looks like the Ravens blew out the Texans, but that was not the case. Houston limited the Ravens to only 155 passing yards, this comes as a shock due to Baltimore adding two wide receivers this offseason. Not only did they limit Lamar Jackson, but they also forced him into throwing a pick as well. His pass was intercepted by cornerback Steven Nelson, this came early in the first quarter. Continuing to analyze the pass defense, the Texans also produced 4 sacks. That amount of sacks is already a positive, but seeing one come from the third-overall pick in Will Anderson Jr. should put a smile on every Texans fan’s face. Houston did allow 110 yards on the ground, not a great stat but I will give the team a pass for this. They played against a top-five rushing unit when healthy in the Ravens, this has been Baltimore’s bread and butter for the last few seasons. For now, I don’t think there is a reason to be concerned, if this continues then we can cycle back to this. One last positive is the team also forced a fumble when Jackson was trying to scramble. The ball was stripped and Houston recovered. Overall, a great performance for the young defense. They have a lot to improve on, but they showed a lot of positives against a potential playoff team early in the season.
