Houston Texans edge rusher Danielle Hunter has played 145 career regular season the games. The 31-year-old is a former All-Pro, a five-time Pro Bowler and is one of just 46 players in league history with at least 100 career quarterback sacks. We start with this biographical breakdown because it provides perspective for the relatively bold statement I'm about to make... Hunter's 145th career regular season game may have been the best he's ever played.
Consider: there have been six instances in the career of Danielle Hunter when he's finished a game with at least 3 sacks. In just two of those games, Hunter had at least 4 QB hits. And just once -- Week 10 against the Jacksonville Jaguars -- has Hunter reached those statistical milestones while also registering at least 4 tackles for loss.
Add it all up, and we have one of the most dominant games you'll ever see from an edge rusher, and again, Hunter is 31 years old and nearly 150 games into his NFL career. Having a peak performance at this juncture of his career is abnormal to say the least. You could say, it's nearly as abnormal as a UFO sighting, but according to Texans center Jake Andrews, that's practically what Hunter's teammates were seeing from the sideline on Sunday afternoon.
“Did you expect anything less? I mean, the guys a monster! Have you seen him? He’s a mutant, man," Andrews told reporters after the game. "He's obviously played this long for a good reason, and he still produces like he's a young buck. He's awesome. He's awesome to have in the locker room, he's a great guy. Really happy for him."
Danielle Hunter, Will Anderson Jr. combine to provide Texans with 'scary force'
If the presence of Danielle Hunter on one side of the defense isn't frightening enough, having Will Anderson Jr. on the opposite side is certainly enough to send a shiver down the spine of any opposing quarterback. Hunter paced the Texans last Sunday with 3.5 sacks, but Anderson was the one who came in for the game-clinching strip sack, knocking the ball loose from the hands of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on the final play of the contest.
Together, Hunter and Anderson have gotten to opposing quarterbacks 14.5 times this season. They've forced 4 combined fumbles and stopped 18 plays behind the line of scrimmage. It's a duo that has been as good as advertised, and is well on their way to matching their production from the 2024 season, when they combined for 23 sacks and 33 tackles for loss.
"Will and Danielle, they're definitely a scary force on the edge and two of the best edge rushers in the league," Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said this week, per Jared Koch. "We're blessed to have both of those guys as rushers on our team."