Texans' defense shines in 5-game winning streak, eyes playoff spot as Cardinals visit

“If they try to get satisfied, I won’t let them. It’s going to be hard,” he said. “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.”

The Texans (8-5) rank first in the NFL by allowing 16 points a game and are also tops in the league by giving up just 266.3 yards a game. Their five straight wins are their most since a nine-game winning streak in 2018 and has them one game behind the first-place Jaguars in the AFC South.

Last week they limited Patrick Mahomes to a season-low 160 yards passing with no touchdowns and a career-high-tying three interceptions to beat the Chiefs for the first time in six tries. The Texans are the only team in the last 40 seasons to limit opponents to less than 225 passing yards in each of their first 13 games.

Now they’ll face a Cardinals team that has dropped five straight but that has been putting up big numbers in the passing game with Jacoby Brissett.

Brissett has 2,459 yards passing in eight starts, averaging more than 300 per game. Since Week 6, he leads the NFL in yards passing, completions (229) and first downs (121). He’s also fourth with 15 TDs in that span.

“(Brissett) is playing at a high level,” Ryans said. “I think he’s one of the better quarterbacks that we’ll see all year when you talk about decision making, where he can place the football. He doesn’t make bad decisions. He’s not forcing the ball… so, I’m impressed with Jacoby and what he’s been able to do.”

On Sunday, he’ll have to deal with a defensive front led by defensive ends Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. Hunter is tied for fifth in the NFL with 11 sacks and Hunter is tied for eighth with 10 1/2 to make the Texans the only team this season with two players who have double-digit sacks.

“You have to have a plan for both of them and it’s hard to put two on each of them every snap. There’s no doubt about it,” Arizona coach Jonathan Gannon said. “You run out of numbers. We just have to do a good job with those guys. It’s a big-time challenge… our offense knows that.”

Brissett’s future

Brissett, who turned 33 on Thursday, is on pace to have the most productive season of his 10-year NFL career. He’s started eight games for the injured Kyler Murray after starting five games for the Patriots last season. Brissett is under contract to the team in 2026 and could be the starter again next year depending on what the Cardinals decide to do with Murray, who is done for the season with a foot injury.

Off script

Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud made some big plays against the Chiefs when he went off script after it looked like the defense had him bottled up. The biggest one came in the first quarter when he scrambled out of the pocket to avoid the rush and threw to the other side of the field for a 46-yard reception to Nico Collins.

“I try to just make plays whatever that looks like,” Stroud said. “On Sunday, it was a little bit me on the move in the pocket, but I know stuff like that in this league doesn’t last. I’ve got to get better on sitting in the pocket and taking one stare and our guys up front blocking inside out… but I think I can pull it out the bag when I need to.”

Defense in the dumps

The Cardinals’ defense was supposed to be the team’s strength this season, but after a decent start, the group has been giving up a ton of yards and points. The latest debacle came on Sunday when the Rams piled up 45 points and 530 total yards. Arizona has given up more than 40 points in three of its past five games.

“We didn’t stop the run. We got the ball thrown over our head. They played the game on their terms the entire day," Gannon said.

AP Sports Writer David Brandt contributed to this report.

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