On a recent episode of Texans All Access featuring “Voice of the Texans” Marc Vandermeer, new Houston Texans running back David Montgomery gave his assessment of the defense ahead of his 2026 on-field arrival.
Marc Vandermeer: What do you remember about the joint practices with the Houston Texans? (speaking of last season)
David Montgomery: “A lot of hitting. A lot of hitting. The boys can fly around too. That’s the best defense I’ve played. We snuck away with a win a couple years ago. It’s super cool knowing that I’m playing this defense everyday.”
Montgomery continued the parade of admiration that has showered the defense throughout all of last season. As the league’s best unit, they were the catalyst of one of the longest regular season winning streaks in franchise history (nine games), which resulted in an overall 12-5 record and a third consecutive AFC playoff berth.
His words were also a painful reminder of why this offseason has been so important for the club, as he took the time to address a disaster of a game from 2024 between the Texans and Detroit Lions that helped to encapsulate the struggles of both that year and this past season. A defense can play spectacular football, but it will ultimately not be enough if the other two phases of the team don’t compliment the output with their own high-quality production.
Texans’ defense dismantled Lions in 2024, but offensive misfires cost them
In a week 10 home matchup between two of Montgomery's most recent playing destinations, the Texans’ defense was in the midst of a masterpiece of a performance against quarterback Jared Goff and the Lions offense.
During the contest, Houston’s secondary generated five interceptions of Goff, while also stifling the league’s sixth-best run game, which included Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, to the tune of 103 yards and one touchdown on 31 carries (3.3 YPC).
It helped provide the team with a 23-7 lead heading into halftime, and a pathway to one of the largest signature wins of head coach DeMeco Ryans’ tenure. Unfortunately, the good times lasted for just the first half, as Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud and the offense sputtered down the stretch to cough up the game late.
For the contest, Stroud was responsible for two interceptions of his own, took four sacks, threw for only one touchdown and finished with a 64.2 passer rating. The rushing attack did him no favors, as former starter Joe Mixon and Dare Ogunbowale combined for 57 yards and one touchdown on 26 carries (2.19 YPC).
They officially snatched defeat from the jaws of victory after kicker Jake Bates made a clutch 52-yard field goal at the buzzer to cap off the Lions’ 16-point comeback for a 26-23 victory.
This would come to define the entirety of 2024 for Houston, as turnovers, injuries, blown leads and a perceived lack of offensive adjustments on the part of former offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik doomed their chances at legitimate Super Bowl contention. There was even a month-long stretch where the offense scored zero total touchdowns in the second halves of games. For as great as their defense was, their offense was equally as inconsistent.
This is all too familiar sounding, as the 2025 Texans just endured much of the same.
Texans’ offense floundered in 2025, poised to dominate in 2026?
Montgomery is joining the team at a time where the offensive side of the football has been the primary focus of general manager Nick Caserio’s retooling priorities.
They might’ve finished with a top-13 scoring offense (18th overall) on paper, but those who followed the team knew that the product was nowhere near as effective as the numbers suggested.
A bottom-five rushing attack, a bottom-five red zone offense and a mediocre offensive line dominated the discourse of fans and local media throughout the course of the grind-filled season.
Those three factors led to an 0-3 start, a catastrophic AFC Divisional round implosion and helped to contribute to the team’s urgency to revamp the roster as quickly as possible, including the trade that landed Montgomery in Deep Steel Blue.
It’s been a frustrating continuation of prior transgressions for the team, but Caserio and Ryans both understood the need for impactful change if they wanted to make a serious run at the franchise’s first Lombardi trophy in 2026.
Montgomery’s statement is a reminder of how much work there is to still do, but his presence is a declaration that the Texans are more than prepared to put in the effort to get it done.