The Houston Texans are coming off their second straight victory, and this game may have been closer than it should’ve been. The Texans succeeded in their passing attack, with CJ Stroud passing for 260 yards, and their secondary creating multiple turnovers. It’s still early in the season, but Houston may be in for a very good season from a new and improved secondary, headlined by their first-round pick, Kamari Lassiter. With the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars next up on their schedule, wins like this are needed to keep momentum going forward.
Texans fans might’ve had a feeling this season would be special for the team, but the way they’ve been playing in these last two games, there isn’t a limit on what they can do. If the Texans' offense can score more points and leave Kai’imi Fairbairn on the sideline, their defense will have a much easier time. On Sunday night, Fairbairn saw four field goal attempts, and the offense scored one touchdown. Once the offense completely figures this out, this team will go very far. And we saw glimpses in Week 2 of just how special they can be. Let’s take a look at several of their standout performances.
Kamari Lassiter
Lassiter displayed tremendous ball skills on Sunday Night, racking up one interception, a pass defended, and another interception that was called back by a penalty. The Texans had high hopes for the Georgia corner after being drafted, and Lassiter has been nothing but great for this secondary. Lassiter proved that he and Derek Stingley, who’s due for a contract extension in the off-season, will be the top duo in the league for a long time. The duo combined for two interceptions and two pass breakups on the night.
Nico Collins
Collins was great in 2023 and hasn’t slowed down since then, even with the addition of Stefon Diggs. He finished the game with 135 yards and one touchdown on eight receptions, bringing his season total as of late to 14 receptions for 252 yards and one touchdown. The Texans gave Collins a massive three-year/$72M extension in the off-season, and he’s lived up to the money so far. The Texans are making Collins a big part of their offense, and having Stefon Diggs take attention away from Collins has generated some explosive plays.
The defensive line
The Texans are reaping the benefits of their tremendous pass rush. They found success last year with Will Anderson and Jerry Hughes, and they went out and signed Danielle Hunter. Now, both Anderson and Hunter have combined for three sacks and four hits on the quarterback. With both of them combining for three sacks out of the team's seven sacks on the night, they forced Caleb Williams into some bad throws, and their secondary took advantage of it.
With the addition of Hunter to this front seven, the Texans had big hopes for the unit going into the season. Now with nine sacks to begin the year, the Texans are getting their money’s worth out of the unit.