Houston Texans' Dominant Defense Can Hang With AFC's Best Playoff Teams

Things could have gone much differently for the Texans if their defense hadn't stepped up. That's been the case all year, as Ryans has helped build up one of the league's most elite defensive units heading into the divisional round.

Houston's Regular Season Defense

For anyone paying attention to the Texans this season, such a dominant defensive performance shouldn't have been a surprise.

According to FTN Fantasy, the Texans finished the season third in defensive DVOA and third against the run and pass. They were also fifth in yards allowed per game and total takeaways with 29 forced turnovers.

While Houston was in the middle of the road as far as points allowed, a lot of that was due to an offense that struggled to put them in advantageous positions, ranking 26th in offensive DVOA.

However, on a per-play basis, the Texans' defense was one of the most explosive in football. According to TruMedia, it led the NFL in havoc rate but was also second in defensive success rate.

The Texans were so efficient despite playing a much different style of football from the rest of the league, at least from a personnel standpoint. Houston was in nickel personnel on over 80 percent of its defensive snaps this season, the second-highest rate in the league.

However, that personnel leaned into Houston's biggest defensive strength, which is its young and talented secondary. Even without slot defender Jalen Pitre, the Texans have talented defensive backs like Derek Stingley Jr., Kamari Lassiter, Calen Bullock, and others who have been ball-hawking playmakers.

Along with a playmaking secondary, the Texans also have a dominant and aggressive defensive front. Pass rushers Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. can collapse the pocket, while linebackers Henry To'oTo'o and Azeez Al-Shaair form one of the best linebacker duos in the league.

Talent, scheme, and mentality had the Texans dominate the regular season, carrying that into the playoffs.

A Shutdown Performance

Early on, it looked like the Texans might be in trouble.

Because Houston primarily uses nickel packages, the Chargers opened up in heavy personnel packages while utilizing gap-scheme runs like trap, counter, and power. While the opening drive sputtered with just a field goal, it looked like the Chargers had a formula to gash Houston's defense.

That quickly disappeared, however. The Texans' defense adjusted to the Chargers' run game, completely bottling it up for the rest of the game. Los Angeles finished the game with just 50 rushing yards on 18 carries, averaging 2.8 yards per rushing attempt, and their longest run was only eight yards.

The passing game wasn't any better for the Chargers. Justin Herbert was pressured on 50 percent of his dropbacks, the second-highest pressure rate of the season for the talented QB. According to Pro Football Focus, Herbert completed just 2-of-12 passes for a touchdown and two interceptions (a 48.6 passer rating) when under duress on Saturday.

Even when Herbert could throw from a clean pocket, he was rarely able to find open receivers. ESPN's Ben Solak shared that while Herbert had 3.12 seconds to throw on average, he faced the second-highest tight window rate of the season, passing into a tight window on 28.1 percent of his passes.

A huge credit goes to Houston's two young cornerbacks, Stingley and Lassiter. When targeted, the two allowed catches on just 7-of-14 targets for 87 yards and three interceptions, for a passer rating of just 30.06. Even when they weren't coming away with interceptions, the two were making impactful plays, including this crucial fourth-down stop from Stingley.

The pass rush was just stifling for the Texans. Four different players generated at least three pressures in the game, combining for 21 pressures and four sacks as a team. Will Anderson Jr. led the way with 1.5 sacks but also had a pair of pass breakups when he wasn't able to get home.

Few teams have the horses to pair an imposing pass rush with a ball-hawking secondary, but the Texans have that defensive balance that could help them make a deep playoff run.

Can the Texans Keep it Going?

This season should be viewed as a success after sputtering late in the regular season, regardless of how that next round goes. That being said, the matchups in the Divisional Round could be a bit more favorable than expected, depending on how things turn out.

If the rest of the AFC playoff picture goes "chalk," then the Texans would face the No. 1 seed in the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. That's not an easy matchup for any team, especially with the home-field advantage, but the Chiefs offense looks a bit more vulnerable than it's been in previous seasons.

Specifically, Kansas City's offensive line has been an issue. Things got so bad that the Chiefs picked up veteran D.J. Humphries as a late-season free agent to try to fix them. That hasn't exactly fixed things, however, with Mahomes facing the sixth-most pressures in the league this season.

The Chiefs receivers have looked better, but Houston's talented secondary could make things much more difficult for them than in recent weeks.

Other potential games include the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens, but both of those offenses would present much more difficult matchups for their defense. The Ravens and Bills rank No. 1 and No. 2 in offensive DVOA, featuring the two best quarterbacks in football who are the top MVP frontrunners.

A lot of their postseason success going forward will also have to rely on C.J. Stroud and the offense. A unit that looked helpless at times this year woke up in the second quarter against Los Angeles to flip the script on Saturday, but they need more consistent success and a balanced attack to help the defense going forward.

The playoffs aren't easy for anyone, but regardless of the outcome, Houston's defense has had an impressive season.