This Sunday afternoon, the Arizona Cardinals will come to Houston to face the surging Texans in what to the naked eye would appear to a guaranteed win for the good guys. But seasoned football fans will likely look at this matchup, evaluate the state of the two teams taking the field — Arizona is on a 5-game losing streak while Houston has won 5 in a row — and immediately see the following in big, bold, blinking letters:

TRAP GAME! TRAP GAME! TRAP GAME!

That’s right. The Texans are coming off of three can’t-overstate-the-importance-of-these-games wins, and now it’s only human nature for something of a letdown to occur with the slumping Cardinals coming to NRG Stadium.

It’s my belief that these types of games can tell you quite a bit about the legitimacy of a team, and maybe more importantly, its coaching staff. Sure, every team is susceptible to an off-game from time to time, especially after multiple emotionally charged wins in a row. But if the Texans come out flat in front of the home crowd on Sunday against a Cardinals squad that they should beat somewhat convincingly and end up squandering that opportunity to rattle off a sixth straight win, a sizable chunk of the blame should be laid at the feet of DeMeco Ryans.

But if you listen to the way that DeMeco Ryans is talking about the Arizona Cardinals, you’d never know this was a team that’s 3-10.

“This is a really good football team, a well-coached team,” Ryans told reporters on Wednesday. “[Jacoby Brissett] is playing at a high level. I think he’s one of the better quarterbacks that we’ll see all year when you talk to decision making, where he can place the football. He doesn’t make bad decisions. He’s not forcing the ball. If it’s not there, he’s taking his checkdown. He’s tough in the pocket. He’s really great versus the blitz. You try to blitz him, he’s made plays. He’s dropped some dimes on the sideline. So, I’m impressed with Jacoby and what he’s been able to do.”

Ryans talks about Jacoby Brissett like he’s prime Peyton Manning, and he heaped similar praise onto Brissett’s preferred target in Arizona’s passing attack, tight end Trey McBride.

“The thing that jumps off the tape for me with him is his speed and explosiveness at the tight end position. You truly feel like he’s a bigger guy but runs like a wide receiver. Really runs well. He’s physical. Really great hands,” Ryans said of McBride. “He’s really a unique player at the tight end position. He’s done a great job of catching the football, and they’ve done a great job of scheming plays for him.”

Ryans’ praise of the Cardinals offense may come off as slightly insincere, if only because Arizona is 21st in scoring this year and 15th in total yards. But the Cards did go eight consecutive games in the middle of the season scoring at least 20 points, so there’s a baseline of competency. But the way he talks about Arizona’s defense is classic coach speak.

“With their defense, the way they fly around, the way they attack the football, it’s impressive to watch,” Ryans said of the 26th-ranked scoring defense in the NFL. “They do a lot of great things defensively when it comes to the pressure packages that they have. It’s a lot of different looks, a lot of unique looks that we have to have our eyes up. We have to be aware on our offensive side of the football.”

If the Texans struggle to move the ball or put points on the board against the Cardinals, it says more about Houston’s offense than is does Arizona’s defense, but regardless, I respect that DeMeco is saying all the right things in the media and coaching his guys up hard for this game and the stretch run of the season after Houston managed to dig themselves out of an 0-3 hole to start the season.

“If they try to get satisfied, I won’t let them,” Ryans declared. “It’s going to be hard. For us as a team, I know a lot of people are applauding the defense and talking about how good the defense is. But our guys, we all know, we’re honest. I’m an honest coach and there’s always room for improvement.”