All season long, the story of the Houston Texans defense has remained the same. Heading into each week's matchup, we hear quotes from that week's opponent talking about how much of a challenge Houston's defense represents. It's typically a soliloquy in which you hear buzzwords like 'disciplined,' 'talented,' or an H-Town favorite, 'swarming.'
Then, after 60 minutes, regardless of the result of the game, that very same team departs the stadium with an even healthier respect for the Texans defense than they had going in, because until you step on the field against this bunch of savages and try to move the ball and put points on the board, typically with subpar results, you don't really know what you're getting yourself into.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, much like many other Texans opponents this year, learned this the hard way this past Monday night. Despite trailing by just 1 point going into the 4th quarter of their Wild Card Round matchup with Houston, the Steelers saw their season end in tragic fashion by the final score of 30-6, thanks in large part to two opportunistic touchdowns in the final frame and a complete game of dominance on the part of the Texans defense.
Now it's the New England Patriots, looking to earn their first Divisional Round win since Tom Brady was still under center, who will need to contend with the technically-sound nastiness of Houston's D, and neither head coach Mike Vrabel or quarterback Drake Maye are lacking in respect or understanding of just how much of a challenge the Texans defense will present on Sunday afternoon.
Vrabel, who spent one season as Houston's defensive coordinator in 2017 before moving on to become the head coach for the Tennessee Titans, even went as far as acknowledging that he believes this is the best defense in the National Football League.
"Yeah, of course," Vrabel said when asked if Houston's defense is the best that New England will have faced this year, according to Jared Koch of Sports Illustrated. "I mean, they have great talent, great scheme, they play hard and I respect how hard they play. They're not only talented, but they have a play demeanor that I can appreciate."
Specifically, Vrabel noted that Houston's duo of All-Pros on the edge -- Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter -- will be X-factors not just in putting pressure on Drake Maye, but in the running game as well.
"I think there's talent, length and effort. If they get blocked, they don't stay blocked long. Can power – different moves on the edge. So, they play hard against the run. It's not just if you run the ball that they're taking plays off. So, two really good bookends," Vrabel noted.
“They fly around. They’re relentless. They’re great up front, they’re great in the back end. They have great linebackers, they’re great all around. They got great coaching," Maye added, per Karen Guregian of Mass Live. "We’ve got our hands full. We know it’s going to be a tough game. All the hype is deserving from what I’ve seen on film. So we have to be able to stay ahead of the chains."
Thus far this season, New England has done an exceptional job of doing just that. The Pats are 2nd in scoring, 3rd in total yards and they boast the league's 2nd-best offense on 3rd and 4th down conversions combined, a testament to their ability to, as Drake Maye said, stay ahead of the chains.
But on the flip side, Houston's defense is among the league leaders at getting opponents off the field on those very same crucial downs, so it will be a strength on strength battle this Sunday at Gillette Stadium.