Will Anderson Jr. gives props to Josh Allen after Texans go big game hunting on TNF

When DeMeco Ryans became the head coach of the Houston Texans in February 2023, he introduced the acronym S.W.A.R.M. -- Special Work Ethic and Relentless Mindset -- as a motto that the Texans would be expected to bring to the field with them each week. Since then, it's become a rallying cry for the roster and the organization as a whole, and on Thursday night, it was on full display against the Buffalo Bills.

In front of primetime audience to kick off Week 12, the Houston Texans defense swarmed Bills quarterback Josh Allen from start to finish, putting and keeping the reigning NFL MVP under duress all night long in what ended up being a 23-19 Texans win. The Texans turned the Bills over three times, surrendered just one offensive touchdown all game, and sacked Allen a franchise record 8 times just one week after the superstar QB avoided being sacked even once against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After the game, Josh Allen put the defeat squarely on his own shoulders, saying, "Too many times, I was going backwards, and I’ve got to be better.” But in fairness to the MVP, even Superman has kryptonite, and for even the greatest quarterbacks to ever step on the gridiron, a pass rush as relentless as this one qualifies as such.

“When they hit the quarterback 12 times, I don’t like that,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said after the game. “I don’t like that stat at all. It’s not a healthy way to play or a healthy way to keep our quarterback healthy through the remainder of the season. So that’s just not a good formula right there.”

That is a formula for success for the Texans, and it's one that they haven't been able to unlock too often this season. Despite having two of the best edge rushers in the game in Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, the Texans ranked just 15th in the league in sacks heading into this week's game. Coming out, Houston is now ranked 3rd, trailing only the Denver Broncos -- who lead the league in this category by a mile -- and the Atlanta Falcons.

"We have a ton of respect for him. He's a great player. He's the MVP for a reason. He can get it done with his feet, he can get it done with his hands, he can get it done down the field with handing the ball off. That's what makes him great," Texans edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. said postgame. “We just had the energy all week long, like, ‘Man, we’ve got to go hunt. We’ve got be relentless.' No matter what you got going on, no matter how you feeling, bro, there’s no weak links out there on the field. 'You want a piece of the gazelle? You’ve got to go hunt for the gazelle.'"

No gazelles were harmed, but Texans celebrate with buffalo wings after win over Bills

After the Texans put the finishing touches on their 4-point home win, holding on late thanks to Calen Bullock's 2nd interception of the game, this pack of hunting dogs that had been relentlessly pursuing and swarming Josh Allen all night long were ready to actually eat. And while gazelle was never going to be on the menu, the Texans got something a whole lot tastier to feast on as a postgame meal.

Goodness gracious those wings look delicious.