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HOUSTON — The mere mention of 'last year' seemed to irritate Will Anderson Jr. as he spoke with a reporter at his locker this week. For the Houston Texans, who have stumbled to an 0-4 start, the decline of a defense that once dominated under Anderson's leadership is surprising, to say the least.
After all, the Texans boasted the NFL's top-ranked defense in 2025, surrendering fewer points than every team except the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. And they returned nearly every key contributor. But as Anderson bluntly put it, that was so last season.
“This is the thing with football: I try to tell the guys this,” Anderson told USA TODAY Sports. “Nobody gives a (flip) about what you did last year. 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 ranks 20th in yards allowed, gives up 27.25 points per game (tied for sixth-worst in the NFL), and has generated just three turnovers. The unit that was supposed to pave the way for a Super Bowl run has instead been a liability.
In Sunday's 34-30 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Houston was torched by CeeDee Lamb for a career-high 17 catches, 189 yards, and the game-winning touchdown. The Texans twice blew a 10-point lead and allowed four passing plays of at least 20 yards in the second half, including a 53-yarder to George Pickens over Kamari Lassiter. It was a familiar script: Houston has now surrendered a late lead in the fourth quarter in three of its four losses.
“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 those three comeback losses, the Texans fell 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.”
Stroud Not the Problem
This was supposed to be the season when Houston, led by defensive-minded head coach DeMeco Ryans and built around quarterback C.J. Stroud and Anderson (drafted second and third overall in 2023), took the next step toward legitimate Super Bowl contention—if the quarterback could elevate his play. If there was any certainty in that equation, it was a defense that returned 10 starters. Or so it seemed.
As it turns out, Stroud, who threw four interceptions in a divisional playoff loss at New England in January, is not the issue. Not now. His growth has come with better decision-making. He has yet to throw an interception this season, and despite No. 1 receiver Nico Collins missing two games with a hamstring injury, Stroud has posted two 300-yard games. So, no, this rocky start cannot be pinned on the quarterback once cast as a weak link.
The latest loss was so embarrassing—whether it was Lamb running wide open to expose coverage breakdowns or the shoddy tackling—that Ryans won't rule out significant changes. That includes the possibility that Ryans, formerly the 49ers' defensive coordinator, could take over play-calling duties from coordinator Matt Burke, who joined the staff in 2023. “We'll see how all that goes,” Ryans said Monday when asked specifically about the play-calling role.
Communication Breakdowns
It's striking that communication was an issue on Sunday, given all 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 containing 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 wild-card 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 apart.”
In other words, there's a thin line between last year and now.
Follow Bell on X: @JarrettBell.
Originally reported by usatoday.