If the Houston Texans’ defense played in Week 1 how they played in Week 2, they might be sitting at 1-1 instead of 0-2.
Their Week 1 outing against the Buffalo Bills disappointed head coach DeMeco Ryans, a defensive-minded guy who has been known for his ability to scout defensive talent. Still, he saw increased effort and a better mindset from the defense in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
"The defense improved in Week 2 to start with their mindset. I saw the effort was there, how guys were sworn into the football, it showed up,” Ryans said. “Our defensive line affected the quarterback. That's something we did not do the first week. When our defensive line is affecting the quarterback and our coverages are tied in together with how the defensive line is affecting the quarterback,
then we play good defense. So overall, it was a solid performance, but you want to not give up the points. That's the main thing, yards are yards, but this league is about points. We have to keep points off the board and we had opportunities to keep points off the board if we play some third downs better."
The Texans allowed fewer points in Week 2 by a significant amount. After the Bills put up 36 points on Houston’s defense, which marked the most in a game since 2023's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Texans held the Bengals to just 20.
They also allowed Cincinnati to have over 100 fewer yards than Buffalo did. Joe Burrow found the end zone twice, but one of the plays was just a highlight grab from Ja'Marr Chase doing Chase things in coverage.
Houston’s defense will have a little less of a challenge in its Week 3 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. Like the Texans, Indianapolis is also sitting at 0-2.
The Colts only had 251 total yards in Week 1 but had 329 yards in their overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2.
The Texans’ offense should also have an easier time helping their defense than they did against Cincinnati, as the Colts have allowed over 30 points and over 500 total yards to their opponents in each of their first two games.
This is a game that Houston should win to avoid going to 0-3 for the second year in a row.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans HC DeMeco Ryans saw improved mindset, effort by defense in Week 2
