One week later, that unit has something to prove.<\/p>\n
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills<\/a> humbled Houston\u2019s highly regarded defense in a 36-31 season-opening loss, piling up 409 yards and repeatedly producing the kind of explosive plays the Texans are built to prevent.<\/p>\n There isn\u2019t much time for DeMeco Ryans and his defense to figure out what went wrong.<\/p>\n Next up is Joe Burrow<\/a> and a Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> offense loaded with weapons, including Ja\u2019Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Mike Gesicki. If Houston\u2019s defense is going to live up to its preseason billing, it will need to correct its Week 1 problems quickly.<\/p>\n Will Anderson Jr. isn\u2019t running from what happened against Buffalo.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s probably the best thing that could have happened to us,\u201d Anderson said this week. \u201cWe got hit in the mouth and now we know how to respond. Now it\u2019s a wake-up call for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n So how can the Texans respond and slow one of the NFL\u2019s most dangerous quarterbacks?<\/p>\n Texans Must Eliminate the Explosive Plays<\/p>\n Before worrying about Burrow, Chase or Higgins, Houston has to fix the biggest problem from Week 1.<\/p>\n The Texans surrendered five completions of at least 30 yards against Buffalo, including touchdown passes of 43 and 34 yards. Allen finished with 334 passing yards as Houston allowed 7.9 yards per play.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not the defense Ryans expects to see.<\/p>\n During his weekly radio appearance, Ryans revealed the first defensive key he had written down before the Buffalo game: eliminate explosive plays.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we go into a game and don\u2019t do the number one thing we were expected to do, how do we expect to win the football game,\u201d Ryans said.<\/p>\n Defensive coordinator Matt Burke said Houston\u2019s coverage problems weren\u2019t primarily the result of blown assignments. They were more fundamental than that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a technique thing more than anything,\u201d Burke said Thursday. \u201cIt was leverage stuff. It was some technique issues.\u201d<\/p>\n Those mistakes become even more dangerous against Burrow.<\/p>\n Cincinnati couldn\u2019t get Chase involved in its 33-27 Week 1 victory over Tampa Bay, as the All-Pro receiver finished with just two catches for 12 yards. The Bengals have made it clear that can\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n That makes preventing explosive plays an even bigger priority for Houston.<\/p>\n Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter Have to Make Joe Burrow Uncomfortable<\/p>\n Houston\u2019s best defense against Burrow might be preventing him from having enough time to attack its secondary.<\/p>\n The Texans have one of the NFL\u2019s most dangerous pass-rushing tandems in Anderson and Danielle Hunter, but Buffalo found ways to minimize their impact.<\/p>\n Houston sacked Allen only twice after getting him eight times when the teams met last season.<\/p>\n Anderson acknowledged that Buffalo attacked Houston\u2019s edge rushers differently, using chips, pullers and moving the pocket to prevent the Texans from simply teeing off on Allen.<\/p>\n Burrow presents a different challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he wants to stay in the pocket and throw the ball,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cHe wants to play quarterback. He\u2019s a really good quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n That makes getting pressure with four rushers especially important.<\/p>\n The Texans don\u2019t want to become dependent on blitzing Burrow. If Anderson and Hunter can create pressure without additional rushers, Houston can devote more defenders to Chase, Higgins, Gesicki and Cincinnati\u2019s other receiving options.<\/p>\n Burrow is too accurate to give him a comfortable pocket for four quarters.<\/p>\n Ryans called him \u201cone of the best quarterbacks I\u2019ve watched and studied,\u201d specifically pointing to Burrow\u2019s accuracy and ball placement.<\/p>\n \u201cHe can place the ball, on the sideline, on the numbers, wherever he wants to put it, he\u2019ll put it there,\u201d Ryans said.<\/p>\n The Texans need to make sure he doesn\u2019t have time to consistently do it.<\/p>\n Derek Stingley Jr. Could Be Houston\u2019s Answer for Ja\u2019Marr Chase<\/p>\n Cincinnati won its opener without much production from Chase.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t expect the Bengals to accept that again.<\/p>\n Chase is coming off a 1,412-yard season and had five catches for 124 yards and a touchdown the last time he faced Houston. Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor acknowledged this week that getting the ball to his star receiver will be an emphasis after Chase touched it only twice in the opener.<\/p>\n Fortunately for Houston, it has one of the NFL\u2019s best answers.<\/p>\n Derek Stingley Jr. gives Ryans something few defensive coaches possess: a cornerback capable of handling elite receivers without requiring constant safety help.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean Stingley necessarily follows Chase everywhere.<\/p>\n But Houston can use him to alter Cincinnati\u2019s options while allowing the rest of the secondary to devote resources to Higgins and Gesicki.<\/p>\n The matchup is also an intriguing reunion. Stingley and Burrow were teammates on LSU\u2019s 2019 national championship team, so there is plenty of familiarity between the two.<\/p>\n With Burrow throwing the football, however, even excellent coverage isn\u2019t always enough.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if you are playing tight coverage,\u201d Ryans said. \u201cJoe can still fit the ball in there.\u201d<\/p>\n That puts even more pressure on Houston\u2019s secondary to be technically sound after its Week 1 struggles.<\/p>\n Texans Can\u2019t Forget About Mike Gesicki<\/p>\n Chase and Higgins will receive most of the attention, but Buffalo exposed another area Cincinnati can attack.<\/p>\n Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid caught five passes for 130 yards against Houston.<\/p>\n Now the Texans get Gesicki, who led Cincinnati with five receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown in Week 1.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a matchup Burrow could repeatedly exploit if Houston becomes too preoccupied with Cincinnati\u2019s wide receivers.<\/p>\n The Texans need better communication and tackling in the middle of the field, especially with linebacker Henry To\u2019oTo\u2019o sidelined by a concussion.<\/p>\n Burrow doesn\u2019t need to throw 40-yard passes all afternoon if Gesicki and Cincinnati\u2019s other underneath targets are consistently open.<\/p>\n Make Joe Burrow Be Patient<\/p>\n Perhaps the biggest lesson from Buffalo is that Houston cannot allow the game to become easy for an elite quarterback.<\/p>\n The Texans don\u2019t have to completely shut down Burrow. Against this collection of offensive talent, that\u2019s unrealistic.<\/p>\n They need to make Cincinnati earn its points.<\/p>\n Keep Chase and Higgins in front of the secondary. Rally to underneath throws. Tackle immediately. Force the Bengals to repeatedly convert third downs and execute in the red zone.<\/p>\n That gives Anderson, Hunter and the rest of Houston\u2019s defensive front more opportunities to produce the negative play that changes a possession.<\/p>\n Anderson believes the answer isn\u2019t some dramatic schematic overhaul after one bad performance.<\/p>\n \u201cFor us, it\u2019s just really going to have to go back to our foundation of who we are,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cEverybody plastering. Everybody rushing together.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s probably the blueprint.<\/p>\n One bad afternoon doesn\u2019t erase what Houston accomplished defensively last season.<\/p>\n But Buffalo exposed legitimate concerns.<\/p>\n The Texans gave up 36 points. They surrendered 409 yards. Allen threw for 334 yards. Houston allowed repeated explosive plays and didn\u2019t consistently affect the quarterback with its pass rush.<\/p>\n Ryans isn\u2019t interested in singling out one position group for what happened.<\/p>\n \u201cThe expectation for us defensively is for everybody to improve,\u201d Ryans said. \u201cLast Sunday wasn\u2019t good enough, not from any one position.\u201d<\/p>\n Now comes an immediate opportunity to find out whether Week 1 was an aberration or the beginning of a more troubling trend.<\/p>\n Burrow might be the ideal test.<\/p>\n Let Anderson and Hunter attack him without relying on constant blitz pressure. Trust Stingley with difficult assignments on the outside. Prevent Chase and Higgins from generating game-changing plays. Don\u2019t allow Gesicki to feast underneath. And, above everything else, eliminate the explosive plays that wrecked the defense against Buffalo.<\/p>\n Houston doesn\u2019t have to shut out Cincinnati to prove its defense remains among the NFL\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n But after being humbled by Buffalo, the Texans need to look much more like the defense everyone expected them to be.<\/p>\n \t\t![\"avatar\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GEA-Profile.png\")
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