HOUSTON – Last year.
That phrase came off like a dirty word when it was mentioned to Will Anderson Jr. as he indulged a curious visitor at his locker this week. Of all the things that could go wrong for the Houston Texans in stumbling to an 0-4 start, it is rather stunning that the once-dominant defense led by Anderson has suddenly lost its way. Or worse.
I mean, the Texans had the NFL’s top-ranked defense last year, when only the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks allowed fewer points. And pretty much everybody’s back.
But hey, that was so 2025. This is clearly a new year.
“This is the thing with football: I try to tell the guys this. Nobody gives a (flip) about what you did last year,” Anderson told USA TODAY Sports. “Nobody cares what you did last year.
They don’t care about what Pro Bowl you made, what All-Pro team you made, they don’t care that you were the No. 1 defense.
“What are we going to do this year? We have to come out and prove it every year, we have to show it every day, put it on their mind for what type of player you are and want to be that day. That’s the thing. We’ve got to forget about last year and focus on who we are right now.”
Right now, the Texans defense is in crisis mode. It is ranked 20th for yards allowed, is giving up 27.25 points per game (tied for sixth-worst in the NFL) and has produced just three turnovers.
Whatever happened to the vaunted unit fit to lay the tracks for a serious Super Bowl run?
During the 34-30 loss against the Cowboys on Sunday, Houston was not only victimized by Cee Dee Lamb for his career-high 17 catches, 189 yards and the winning touchdown, it allowed Dallas to twice rally from a 10-point deficit and gave up four passing plays of at least 20 yards during the second half – including the 53-yarder that George Pickens hauled in over Kamari Lassiter – and blew a lead in crunch time.
That’s become some kind of pattern. In three of Houston’s losses this season, it surrendered the lead late in the fourth quarter. That’s like a Cardinal sin for any given championship defense. The Cowboys used an 11-play, 74-yard drive, which included a fourth-down conversion, in the final two minutes. A week earlier, the Texans took the lead at Indianapolis with 1:48 remaining, then lost on a 53-yard field goal. In Week 1 against Buffalo, Houston couldn’t stop a 96-yard drive accented by a 35-yard completion and a 34-yard TD throw with 96 seconds left.
“We’ve got to find a way to finish these games,” said Anderson, 25, the relentless edge rusher who earned first-team all-pro honors for the first time in 2025.
In the three come-from-behind cases, the Texans lost by four, two and five points.
“It’s frustrating,” Anderson added. “I know we’re a really great football team. It really just comes down to finishing. It’s about every man doing their job for four quarters, not letting up. That’s kind of been the case these last few games.”
C.J. Stroud doing his part for Texans
This was supposed to be a season when Houston, guided by defensive-credentialed coach DeMeco Ryans and building around quarterback C.J. Stroud and Anderson (drafted second and third overall in 2023) was poised to take the next step toward becoming a legitimate Super Bowl contender – if the quarterback could raise his game. If there was anything to bank on in that equation, it was a defense that brought back 10 starters. Or so we thought.
As it turns out, Stroud, who threw four interceptions during the loss at New England in the divisional playoffs in January, is not the issue. Not now. His growth has come with better decision-making. He hasn’t thrown an interception all season and despite No. 1 receiver Nico Collins missing two games due to a hamstring injury, Stroud has put up two 300-yard games.
So, no, this rocky start can’t be pinned on the quarterback once cast as a weak link.
The latest loss was such an embarrassment – if it wasn’t Lamb running wide open repeatedly to expose coverage breakdowns, it was the shabby tackling – that Ryans won’t rule out significant changes. That includes the possibility that Ryans, previously the 49ers defensive coordinator, could take over play-calling duties from coordinator Matt Burke, who came here with the coach in 2023.
“We’ll see how all that goes,” Ryans responded on Monday when asked specifically about the play-calling role.
What's going wrong for Texans' defense?
It’s striking that communication was an issue on Sunday, given all of the returning pieces. Lassiter, a third-year pro who starts opposite first-team all-pro Derek Stingley Jr., acknowledged some of the problems for the 28th-ranked pass defense when he met with reporters. Especially when it came to trying to contain Lamb, who moved around to align at different spots across the formation.
“It’s like ‘Where’s Waldo?’ ” Lassiter said. “You’ve got to find him. Then you’ve got to find out, ‘OK, what’s the plan for this play?’ Every play has a call, so obviously you have to execute the call.”
And obviously, while missing injured linebackers Azeez Al-Shaair and Henry To’oTo’o, the calls and execution didn’t cut it.
Ryans seemed urgent as he pondered how to fix such issues.
“Just take a deep dive, take a look at everything to see how we can help,” he said. “How can I help everybody just be a little bit better? That’s my role, that’s my job. Of course, we don’t want to be where we are but this is it, we’re here.”
The Texans started 0-3 in 2025 (last year, if you will) and earned a wildcard playoff berth. Yet this rises a few notches on the challenge scale. The 1992 San Diego Chargers are the only team in NFL history to start 0-4 and make the playoffs.
“I’m not concerned about it right now,” Ryans said, referring to a playoff mission. “I’m concerned about finding a way to play better, coach better and go beat the Tennessee Titans.”
Yes, there’s hope. Houston’s next opponent is in even worse shape. The teams meet Sunday in Nashville.
Yet if you listen to Anderson, the team’s pulse, the more formidable opponent comes from within. Anderson insists the defense’s confidence remains high, knowing the deep pool of talent and the high standards they have established. Part of the process involves “not letting the outside noise slip into the building,” he said.
“We’ve just got to do our jobs. And it starts with us up front,” Anderson added. “We’ve got to be able to keep getting more pressure on the quarterback, guys have to continue to cover and plaster. We have to play as one group, not as individuals. That’s the big thing. We always talk about it. We’re a really great defense when all 11 guys are on the same page.
“But if I don’t set the edge or a D-tackle doesn’t do this, or a linebacker misses a fit, or a safety or cornerback is not in the right leverage, the defense gets picked part.”
In other words, there’s a thin line between last year and now.
Follow Bell on X: @JarrettBell
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: It’s not the QB, silly. Winless Texans stung by unexpected culprit | Opinion
