I'm not sure if it's because they don't get much national TV love, or if it's because they've spent the majority of the 2025 NFL season under .500, but up until Thursday night's win over the Buffalo Bills, it's felt like the Houston Texans defense wasn't getting nearly enough love for how great the unit has been since a new season began back in September.
Even in each one of their defeats this year, it has been Houston's D keeping the the game within striking distance in five one-possession losses, almost single-handedly winning games that the Texans otherwise would've been blown out in.
For the record, Davis Mills and the Texans offense did their job in the 23-19 win over the Bills. Mills threw two touchdowns, rookie running back Woody Marks had his most productive game, and the Texans offense didn't turn the ball over once. But why spend time touting Houston's offense when we could expend that energy lavishing praise onto a defense that was nothing short of extraordinary?
If you take away Ray Davis' kickoff return for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter, Buffalo was limited to just 13 points on Thursday night, a massive depature from their average of over 29 points per game heading into the contest. The Bills turned the ball over 3 times and Josh Allen was sacked a career-high 8 times for a loss of 70 yards.
Considering the stakes, the opponent and the setting, It was the kind of performance you expect from named defenses that have ended up going down in history as some of the best we've ever seen. The '85 Bears, the Steel Curtain, the Legion of Boom.
And speaking of the Legion of Boom -- a group that Derek Stingley Jr. cited as an inspiration for Houston's defensive approach -- on the Thursday Night Football postgame show, former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman gave this team-wide performance a blessing that carries an incredible amount of weight considering who it was coming from.
"It just was physicality. This is one of the most physical games I think we've seen," Sherman said after the Texans' win. "This was a dominating performance, and this was a great stage to show the Houston Texans defense and what they're about. They were hustling, they were flying around; eight sacks on the game. Then, you saw their big hitters, Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter giving Josh Allen fits all game."
"It was the secondary. It was Stingley, Calen Bullock, who finally gets to showcase his ability as a playmaker on this defense, he was all over the place," Sherman continued. "DeMeco Ryans talked about him before, he's always around the ball, and you saw it in this game. Big time playmakers will close out the game right there."
In truth, the Texans have all of the elements of one of those historically great defenses. Bonafide superstars on multiple levels, no weak links, a well-established identity, and a legitimate desire to be among the best 11-man units to ever step on a football field.