The Houston Texans Defense is For Real

Nobody really expected the Houston Texans to hand the Cincinnati Bengals their first loss of the season, but they managed to do so in Week 10 on Monday Night Football, holding Andy Dalton and the Bengals offense to just two field goals.

The Bengals were held without a touchdown for the first time in over a year, and it was due to the excellent play of the Houston defense.

ALSO ON SPIN ZONE: The Best Player Born in Every State

Houston’s defense was expected to be one of the best in the league this season after a 2014 which saw them ranked as one of the best units in the league. With a few key offseason additions and the development of some young players, Houston had very high hopes for their defensive squad.

More from Houston Texans

• Texans: Positive vibe still emanating from Houston
• CJ Stroud, DeMeco Ryans expected to establish a new culture with Texans
• NFL Schedule: 5 Franchises that will benefit from a weak strength of schedule
• The Houston Texans are going to be better than you think in 2023
• NFL 2023: Ranking the 5 worst wide receiver groups in the league

Instead, Houston opened the season giving up 27 points to the Kansas City Chiefs and proceeded to allow at least 20 points to teams in five of the next six games, including 48 to Atlanta and 44 to Miami. With so many issues at quarterback and with Arian Foster going down for the season, Houston needed its defense to step up if they hoped to salvage anything out of their 2015 season.

The defense did just that in Week 8 against the Tennessee Titans.

No, the Titans don’t have one of the league’s top offenses, but Houston’s defense managed to gain some excellent confidence in this game. They held Tennessee to just 211 total yards in this game, their lowest total of the season. The Texans also forced three turnovers in the form of two fumble recoveries and an interception. Houston had forced only 6 turnovers through the team’s first seven games.

Houston carried this momentum into into the BYE week, and emerged in Week 10 to put an end to Cincinnati’s chances at a perfect season. The Texans held the Bengals to only 256 yards of offense and 6 points, much lower than their previous season averages of 391 yards and 29 points. The Houston D has finally found its rhythm.

Sure, J.J. Watt has been good, second in the league with 9.5 sacks, but its those around him stepping up that has been the biggest difference. Christian Covington and Jon Simon both recorded a sack against the Bengals, and against the Titans Jared Crick had one, while Whitney Mercilus had a career high of 3.5.

Now that offenses have to key on several players during pass protection, it should open up room for Watt to make even more big plays. Jadeveon Clowney has been a pretty big disappointment so far, but if he can figure out how to stay healthy he could help create some impossible matchups along the defensive fronts.

Possibly the biggest improvement in the last several weeks has been in Houston’s secondary. The Texans absolutely locked down their opponents receivers in the last two weeks, even with Kareem Jackson out due to an ankle injury. Jonathan Joseph has been playing at his highest level, and rookie Kevin Johnson is showing why the Texans made him a first round draft pick this year.

Nov 16, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green (18) fumbles the ball as he is tackled by Houston Texans strong safety Kevin Johnson (30) in the second half at Paul Brown Stadium. The Texans won 10-6. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

A.J. Green was held to 5 catches for 67 yards last week, and it was clear that Houston had Cincinnati’s receivers blanketed for most of the game. Andy Dalton was able to complete just 57% of his passes, his lowest completion percentage in over a year.

More from NFL Spin Zone

• Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
• Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
• Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
• Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
• Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens

It’s easy to see this as a fluke game that cannot be reproduced, but I think it is in fact simply a team playing their best for the first time all year. There were rarely any big running lanes open, receivers were blanketed, and the Bengals were only allowed to convert 4 of 14 third downs.

Jonathan Joseph and Kevin Johnson are two very talented corners, with Charles James filling in well as the nickel corner, and when Kareem Jackson returns he will give a boost to the secondary at both corner and saftey.

Rahim Moore, one of Houston’s biggest free-agent signings has been a bit disappointment, but Quentin Demps and Andre Hall have emerged as more-than-capable players at the position.

In the linebacking corps, nobody is surprised that Brian Cushing has been playing well, but Whitney Mercilus, John Simon, and Benardrick McKinney have all stepped up in big ways. As noted above, Mercilus has emerged as a solid pass rusher, and he’s also improved as a run-stopper.

John Simon has already more than doubled his previous career tackle total, and rookie Bernardick McKinney has lead the team in tackles the last two complete games he has played.

Next: Houston Texans Don't Need a 'Name' at Quarterback

Houston has to be excited about this team, with several core veterans leading the way, followed by some extremely promising young guys who are playing great football. We’ll get to compare the Texans to one of the league’s top defensive units in the New York Jets, but I have faith that Houston will match up well. This Houston defense is playing some great football, and they should do nothing but improve as the season progresses.