Look at the smile plastered across the face of Houston Texans edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. in the cover photo above, and you'll see the smile of a man who understands just how impactful he can be on a football field. The photo, taken not long after the Texans closed out a 23-19 win over the Buffalo Bills, captures the joy with which the 24-year-old approaches his craft.
Now don't get it twisted... behind that million dollar smile is a man who is an absolute terror when he steps foot on the gridiron. A pass-rushing, game-wrecking menace. You can't be as dominant as Anderson has become in his third NFL season without absolutely loving what you do. You have to appreciate the work just as much as you do the payoff.
If it weren't abundantly clear that this is the case for Will Anderson Jr. when you watch him play with relentless energy and passion, Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke explained on Friday that this is the daily experience with one of the brightest young stars in the NFL.
“I’ve told people this before, the standard in my career is always Kyle Vanden Bosch, the way he trained and played and practiced. I always put his picture up when I talk about effort. And I’m like, 'Until someone does it better, this guy is going to be my flag bearer,'" Burke explained. “Don’t tell Kyle this, but Will’s picture is going to be up there someday, if I'm fortunate enough to keep coaching long enough.”
Burke's stay in the NFL will likely be a lengthy one, especially if this Texans defense continues to perform at the level they have throughout the 2025 season. Houston ranks near the top of the league in most defensive categories, and even more now after Thursday night's win over Buffalo in which Anderson and co. sacked Josh Allen 8 times, the most in Allen's career and tied for the most in Texans franchise history.
But even before that impressive showing against the reigning league MVP, nobody in Houston was shying away from the expecations of being the best defensive unit in the NFL. Players have talked openly about it throughout the season, and it's a mission that started way back in July.
“I remember in training camp, just having a conversation, like, 'Hey, you guys say you want to be the best defense in the league—well, this is what that looks like,” Burke said. “Since then, the buy-in of what our standard is, what we have to play to and how they have to prepare to do that, I mean, it just pervades the whole unit. We have leaders at every level of the defense, and guys that you can point to and, 'Hey, that’s the way to do it,' at every spot."
Having not only leaders, but also stars -- Anderson, Danielle Hunter, Derek Stingley Jr. and Jalen Pitre just to name a few -- at various positions defensively raises a a ceiling that's already much higher than most other teams. Getting universal buy-in, including from someone like Will Anderson Jr., establishes a standard and expectation of greatness on a level that supersedes what an ordinary great defense is capable of.
“The guys are receptive—we win a game and, even when we’re playing decent, it’s like, 'Hey, take these six plays, man, we’ve got to be better at this, that’s not our standard. Because of their focus on what they want to be and what their standard is and how they want to be remembered, how they want to play, all that stuff, you can coach those guys hard," Burke said. “And they don’t bristle back at it because they want to be great.”