With a 0-3 start and being under .500 for the majority of the season, the Houston Texans appeared to be in a hole that they could not dig themselves out of after Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud went down with a concussion that put him out for weeks.
Davis Mills, however, managed respectably since Stroud went down, and the Texans have won their last 3 games in large part as a result of the defensive culture that Coach DeMeco Ryans has established with the franchise.
So far, the 2025-26 Texans defense is ranked number one in the NFL for points per game (16.3) and yards per game (258.1).
And with their Texans’ biggest challenge of the year coming in town for a Thursday Night matchup, many believed the Buffalo Bills’ second-ranked offense that averaged 387.4 yards and over 28 points a game would outshine the Texans. Especially after Bills 2024 Most Valuable Player (MVP) quarterback Josh Allen just came off a six-touchdown performance versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week.
However, football is a game of inches, and the Texans’ defense scrapped and clawed for every inch in their 23-19 victory over the Bills on Thursday Night on Amazon Prime. The Texans sacked Allen a career high eight times, surpassing Allen’s previous record of seven sacks in a 2023 wild card game against the Miami Dolphins.
“When they hit our quarterback 12 times, I don’t like that.” Bills coach Sean McDermott remarked after the game.
When Bills quarterback Josh Allen was asked at the postgame press conference what the Texans did to disrupt him today, he replied, “They were doing a few different stunts, they had a good plan, and we got to play better…They wanted it today. We had a chance to win it there at the end and we got to find a way.”
Allen also talked about dealing with the Texans’ pass rush and allowing eight sacks in a single game, the most sacks he has ever had in his career, when Allen stated, “It’s not fun. I ran into a couple myself. I have to be better with throwing the ball away, living to see another down, letting us play some situational football, and pinning them deep. Too many times, I was going backwards, and I have to be better on that.” Allen continued.
The Texans’ pass-rushing pressure made Allen give up two interceptions to ballhawk playmaker safety Calen Bullock, one of which clinched the game with less than a minute to go in the fourth quarter. Bullock also forced a fumble in the game.
Texan cornerback Kamari Lassiter told the press, while Bullock stood nearby, “Oh my God. I mean two picks and a forced fumble. I promise you the only people that were more happy for him is his family. I am so proud of him.”
“Our d-line was getting to him and made him make that bad decision at the end, and he threw the ball right to me,” Texans safety Bullock stated later.
Ryans spoke about the Texans’ playing as one of the best defenses of all-time when Ryans noted, “We’ve had some favorable field positions collectively as a team, everybody working together. Our guys are doing a good job getting off on third down, which limits the number of plays that you’re playing. Then credit goes to, first and foremost, our defensive line for the way they go out, the way those guys relentlessly rush the passer, and everybody on the back end is playing sound and playing together. When we do that, we’re tough to move the ball against. So, our players are doing an outstanding job.”
The Defender spoke with the Texans defenders in the locker room after the game to discuss what makes this group so special and how they would describe the unit’s dominant defense against the Bills.
What makes this group so special?
Will Anderson Jr.
“Yeah, it’s the culture that Coach DeMeco has set here. We always talk about when things go bad what we lean on, and I think we lean on our ‘Swarm Mentality,’ and that is what I love about this group is that everybody perseveres, everybody is persistent, and everybody is still chasing the goal that is the playoffs and the Super Bowl, and we are not losing sight of that.”
Calen Bullock
“Everybody just trusts our bond. We know the guys to our right and to our left. Everybody is going to do their job because we just have that swarm mentality, and we will go out there and do what we need to do.”
Henry To’To’o
“It’s just that swarm mentality where all 11 guys get to the ball. That is who we are, and that is our identity. That’s how we approach practice, that’s how we approach meetings. That’s just all we do. We all have an attack mindset. And it shows what we do in practice.”
Azeez Al-Shaair
“Just playing together. 11 guys playing together, having each other’s backs, going as hard as we can. And when the next guy goes in, they have the same mentality as the starters.” 0:46
EJ Speed
“Accountability. Everybody around here know what is at stake and know how much of a force and how much talent we have on our defensive side. And everybody holds each other accountable to play up to the level and the standard that they are and I feel it just plays off that a lot of guys that can play just ball and playing to the standard they are capable of.”
Describe the #1 defense vs. Bills
Kamari Lassiter
“I got 3 words. Group of Savages.”
Henry To’To’o
“Dawgs”
Azeez Al-Shaair
“Awe man resilient playing together with the whole swarm mentality putting that on tape every single play, and that doesn’t mean you are going to always win the play, but it is just about being resilient and keep fighting, and that is what we did.”
Will Anderson Jr.
“It’s not getting frustrated. Where everybody keeps going, keeps hunting, and does their job to the best of their ability.”
