Sporting a 6-2 record and winners of five in a row, the Denver Broncos head on the road to take on the Houston Texans in Week 9. This is a tough draw for the Broncos given how formidable the Texans are on defense. Don’t expect the Broncos to light up the scoreboard like they have the last five quarters. This is going to be a hard-fought battle with two premier defenses highlighting the matchup. Let’s take a deeper look at Denver’s opponent this Sunday and what they need to do in order to achieve victory.
2024 Houston Texans Season Review
In year two of DeMeco Ryans era, the Texans earned a second straight AFC South title with a 10-7 record. Their 2024 season ended in a Divisional Round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. On offense, the Texans were 19th in points scored and 22 in total yards. On defense, they were ranked 14th in points and 6th in yards.
2025 Houston Texans Offseason Additions and Departures
The Texans didn’t strike a lot of monster deals in free agency. However, they added a few starters into the mix on short-term deals. They brought in Laken Tomlinson to start at guard and Sheldon Rankins to help man down the interior of their defensive line. Of note, they traded away Cam Robinson earlier this season after signing him to a one-year, $14.5 million dollars earlier this spring.
Most of the impact for Houston to date has been from their draft class. The Texans made upgrading their offense their primary endeavor in the 2025 NFL Draft. They added the Iowa State duo of Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel in the second and third round to bolster their wide receiver core. Both have made some impressive plays early on in their careers.
They also added Minnesota Gophers tackle Aireontae Ersery in the second round. He has been a seven-game starter at tackle and is improving each and every week. Fourth round running back Woody Marks has also made an impact with 214 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, and 13 catches for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns. Their offense is still a work in progress, but the early outlook on their ‘25 class is promising.
Offensive X-Factor: Quarterback C.J. Stroud
After an impressive rookie performance in 2023, the sky appeared to be the limit for first-round pick C.J. Stroud. Last year, Stroud had a sophomore slump and averaged sixty yards less passing per game. He also finished with less touchdowns and twice as many interceptions in 2024 compared to ‘23 despite playing in more games.
This season, we’ve seen some glimpses of the potential he flashed as a rookie. He has put together a few quality outings thus far. However, being without Tank Dell and Joe Mixon has certainly hindered the Texans’ offense. In turn, that has allowed their rookie class to shine and show notable improvement over the past few weeks.
With reigning Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II sidelined, the pressure is on for Riley Moss, Kris Abrams-Draine, Ja’Quan McMillian, and Jahdae Barron to take flight and shut down their aerial attack. Being able to combat Stroud’s precision and poise in the pocket will be mission critical to achieving victory. He does a great job of distributing the ball to a lot of different targets.
The Broncos can’t afford to let him get in a rhythm and pick apart the defense. That’s why Vance Joseph’s defense is going to have to get after Stroud early and often. It will be interesting to see how much Denver blitzes and how their coverage utilization changes with Surtain’s absence. Stroud did really well against the San Francisco 49ers (11 of 13) when blitzed. That will be something to keep your eye on.
Defensive X-Factor: Edge Rusher Will Anderson Jr.
Last week I had remarked that the Dallas Cowboys didn’t have an X-Factor on defense. This weekend is the exact opposite. The Texans have a handful of great players on defense, but their pass rushing duo of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter really stands out. Either of them could be their X-Factor, but I opted for Anderson.
In the 2023 NFL Draft, Houston moved up to take the Alabama Crimson Tide standout with the third overall pick after taking Stroud just one pick earlier. He was a Pro-Bowler as a rookie and the Defensive Rookie of the Year after notching 45 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 7 sacks and 22 quarterback hits. Last year, he kicked his play up a notch and reached 11 sacks in 14 games.
So far in ’25, the third-year pro has 23 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, and 10 quarterback hits and is on pace to put together his best season of his career. He is one of the best edge players in the NFL at collapsing the pocket and generating pressure. Offensive tackles Garett Bolles and Mike McGlinchey have done very well as pass protectors to start this season. Nevertheless, going up against Anderson (and Hunter) will easily be their biggest challenge to date.
The Broncos use a lot of screen passes and the short game to get the ball out quickly. In fact, Nix gets the ball out quicker (under 2.5 seconds) than any quarterback in the NFL. To combat Anderson’s impact on the game, I expect this to be something the Broncos do a lot of on Sunday. They also like to have Nix roll out and throw on the move but need to be mindful of the play speed of Houston’s defense. Their defenders swarm to the ball just as ferociously as Denver’s players do.
How the Broncos can secure a victory over the Texans
The Broncos have lit up the scoreboard with 77 points in the last five quarters. That’s a big reason to be excited about the potential Denver’s offense has moving forward. However, I expect this matchup to be relatively low scoring affair.
The Texans’ secondary doesn’t allow a lot of yards through the air or give up a lot of touchdowns. It’ll be tough for Nix and the offense to move the ball downfield efficiently against them. Considering such, it would be apt for the Broncos to establish the run with J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey who excelled last weekend against the Cowboys. That should take some pressure of Nix and help control the pace of the game on the road.
Something else to watch for is what team performs the best in the trenches. The Texans have allowed fifteen sacks the past six games. Can the Broncos’ formidable defensive front seven take advantage of that and dial up the heat on Stroud? If they can do that and force him into some bad decisions, that would help Denver earn their seventh win of the season.
Hart’s Prediction: Broncos 24, Texans 20.