The Houston Texans’ defense has become the NFL’s most effective counterargument to modern defensive philosophy. While coordinators across the league pile on disguises, overload their pre-snap movement, and blitz at historic rates, DeMeco Ryans and Matt Burke have built something stubborn and violent: a unit that tells you exactly what it’s going to do and dares you to beat it.
Why Houston’s Schematic Simplicity Becomes a Weapon Against New England
The numbers validate the approach. Per PFSN’s Defense Impact metric, the Texans had the second-best defense in the NFL this season with a grade of 89.4.
The advanced metrics reveal why: Houston ranks second in yards per play allowed (1.52), second in turnover percentage (22.9%), and third in sack percentage (38.4%). Against the spread of modern offenses, simplicity has become Houston’s superpower.
Drake Maye spent the wild-card round processing the Los Angeles Chargers’ disguise-heavy defense, holding the ball on quick-game concepts while LA changed pictures post-snap. That extended processing time cost him a strip sack in the fourth quarter. The Texans won’t present the same challenge, and that could actually make them more dangerous.
Houston’s defensive identity runs counter to what Maye has faced this season. The Texans ranked 32nd in blitz rate during the regular season. They don’t simulate pressure. They play base personnel on 24% of snaps, far below the league average. What they do is run four-man rushes with Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter collapsing pockets at rates few offensive lines can handle.
“I’m proud of our defensive performance,” Ryans said after the wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. “I think this is the best performance we’ve had in our team history.”
That performance held Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers to 175 total yards. The defense produced two touchdowns. Pittsburgh converted just two of 14 third-down attempts. According to Next Gen Stats, Anderson and Hunter combined for 15 pressures, and the Texans generated a 45.9% pressure rate — against a quarterback who had been pressured at the league’s lowest rate during the regular season.
The difference between Houston and most elite defenses is that Maye will see exactly what he’s getting. Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter play man coverage. The safeties play their assignments. The defensive line wins its one-on-one matchups. There’s no chess match — just a street fight where Houston has better weapons.
Patriots center Garrett Bradbury grasped the challenge: “They want to rush the passer every single play, and they’re gonna rush the passer on the way to stopping the run. It’ll be a great matchup.”
What the PFSN data reveals is where Houston’s schematic predictability becomes a trap. The Texans’ 3rd and 4th-down conversion rate ranks 16th (56.8%), suggesting opposing offenses do find success in obvious passing situations. But their 22.9% turnover rate (second in the league) means that even when offenses convert, Houston manufactures possessions. They bend without breaking, then take the ball away.
The Foxborough Test and a Franchise-Altering Opportunity
Houston has never won a divisional-round playoff game. The franchise is 0-6 in this round, with every loss coming by seven or more points. A win Sunday would send the Texans to the AFC Championship for the first time in their 24-year existence.
The Patriots present a specific challenge: New England’s run defense ranks sixth in the league, better than the Pittsburgh unit that Houston gashed for 164 rushing yards. Woody Marks won’t find the same creases. C.J. Stroud will need to be cleaner than he was against the Steelers, when he fumbled five times and threw a red-zone interception. Not having star wideout Nico Collins (concussion) will only make things tougher for the offense.
.@DanGrazianoESPN asked Azeez Al-Shaair about the defensive mindset after a turnover:
“My mindset is it doesn’t even matter. We have this thing called ‘White Boy Wednesdays’ in the weight room where they play rock music. There’s this one song—I don’t even know the name—but I… pic.twitter.com/hQkVL8DLhF
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) January 18, 2026
Ryans spoke about Maye and his development on Wednesday.
“Being a young quarterback, he’s made a ton of progress,” he said. “I think it starts just also with Josh McDaniels and how he calls the offense for him.”
Houston respects McDaniels’ ability to scheme quick throws and misdirection against aggressive fronts. If Houston’s pass rush gets home at the rates it did in Pittsburgh, McDaniels will counter with screens and designed quarterback runs that test the second level.
Maye has the arm talent and mobility to challenge any defense. But the Texans’ PFSN metrics suggest he’ll face a unique problem: a defense that won’t give him complex looks to decipher, only perfect execution to overcome. Against Maye’s tendency to hold the ball (2.91 seconds post-snap, 28th in the league), Houston’s 38.4% sack rate becomes the critical variable.
The forecast calls for 24-degree temperatures in Foxborough. The Texans have lost their last two postseason games in freezing weather. But what this game comes down to is this: Houston has a dominant defense that held Pittsburgh to six points last week and forced 29 turnovers during the regular season (third-most in the league), so Maye and the Patriots offense will have their work cut out for them.
Ranking Every Defense in the NFL
PFSN’s Defense Impact (DEFi) metric assigns a numerical score and a letter grade to a team’s defensive performance.
We arrive at the grade by combining a variety of passing and rushing EPA and success rate metrics, as well as situational performances in areas like the red zone and third downs.
Here is how PFSN’s Defense Impact metric ranks each team’s defensive unit this season:
- Denver Broncos, 90.1
- Houston Texans, 89.4
- Seattle Seahawks, 88.4
- Minnesota Vikings, 88.2
- Los Angeles Rams, 85.5
- Cleveland Browns, 85.0
- Philadelphia Eagles, 83.0
- Los Angeles Chargers, 82.9
- Jacksonville Jaguars, 82.4
- New Orleans Saints, 80.6
- Kansas City Chiefs, 79.4
- New England Patriots, 78.2
- Buffalo Bills, 78.0
- Detroit Lions, 76.9
- Atlanta Falcons, 75.3
- Pittsburgh Steelers, 74.6
- Green Bay Packers, 74.4
- Baltimore Ravens, 73.5
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 72.8
- Indianapolis Colts, 72.5
- Las Vegas Raiders, 70.9
- Chicago Bears, 70.0
- New York Giants, 69.7
- Tennessee Titans, 69.7
- Carolina Panthers, 69.2
- San Francisco 49ers, 67.6
- Miami Dolphins, 67.6
- Cincinnati Bengals, 65.3
- Arizona Cardinals, 65.0
- Washington Commanders, 64.8
- New York Jets, 62.8
- Dallas Cowboys, 62.1