Houston Texans: Is this the NFL’s best defense?
Don’t look now, but the Houston Texans are leading the AFC South. And the club’s defensive unit is once again wreaking havoc around the league.
The last time an NFL team overcame a 0-3 start to reach the playoffs was 20 years ago. In 1998, the Buffalo Bills stumbled out of the blocks but rebounded to win 10 of their final 13 games and grabbed a wild card berth. Their stay in the postseason was short lived but nevertheless the club bounced back when all appeared lost.
The Houston Texans opened 2018 with road losses at Foxborough and at Nashville to the Patriots and Titans, respectively. A week later at home, Bill O’Brien’s club fell to the New York Giants, 27-22. To date, it’s the only win for Big Blue in seven outings this year. A trip to Indianapolis to face the Colts didn’t look very promising.
But the Texans outlasted Andrew Luck and company in overtime. It was the start of four straight wins. And the team looks to continue their current stretch of success on Thursday night at home against the Miami Dolphins.
It would be easy to give a lot of the credit to quarterback Deshaun Watson and his offensive counterparts for the reversal of fortunes. But it’s the Houston defense that has really come into its own as of late, this after some struggles in the early going. In their first four games, the Texans allowed 12 offensive touchdowns, managed only five takeaways and allowed at least 20 points in each contest.
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In their last three outings, coordinator Romeo Crennel’s unit has surrendered a total of three offensive touchdowns while forcing eight turnovers. The pass rush has been fairly steady all season but Houston has totaled at least four sacks in three of their last five games.
Defensive end J.J. Watt is healthy and looks like J.J. Watt again. He has more than one third (7) of the team’s sacks, ahead of Jadeveon Clowney (4.5). After surrendering 478 total yards in the overtime win at Indianapolis, Crennel’s group has limited three straight opponents to fewer than 300 yards.
After giving up four touchdown passes to Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck four weeks ago, the Houston defense has allowed a total of three scores through the air in their last three games. That steady pass rush has helped cornerbacks Kareem Jackson and Johnathan Joseph. Via Pro Football Focus (subscription required), they are currently the second and 12th ranked players at their position, respectively, in the league. And the Texans have allowed just one rushing touchdown in seven games this year.
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There are eight teams in the league that are allowing fewer total yards per game. There are seven clubs that are surrendering fewer points per game and seven teams with more sacks. And the Cleveland Browns (20) have seven more takeaways than the Houston Texans (13). No one is handing them the AFC South title yet. But a very strong case can be made that no defense is the NFL is playing better at the moment.
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