On Thursday night at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, many NFL will find out what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.
The force is Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, the reigning NFL MVP, who is coming off one of his best performances this season in a 44-32 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, during which he rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another three, which was impressive to Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans.
“Josh can move around and make plays,” Ryans said in his press conference on Monday. “You have to cover him twice for sure, with his scramble ability. He’s done a good job of mixing up some QB run game as well. He does a good job of that, escaping the pocket and making plays.
“We have to do a much better job defensively of controlling that because we’ve let a few players get out on us when we allowed the quarterback to scramble, so it’ll be a really big challenge for us defensively.”
The immovable object is the Houston Texans’ defense, which is the league’s top-ranked unit and features two edge rushers, Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr., along with a strong cornerback duo of Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter. Houston ranks third in passing yards allowed (171.0) and rushing yards (87.1), and has kept teams to under 260 total yards per game this season.
Teams understand that when facing the Texans’ defense, they move together as a single unit and embody their S.W.A.R.M. motto of Strong Work Ethic and Relentless Mindset on every play.
“When you are flying around and moving around, its like whoever gets there first better move before I hit everybody,” said Texans defensive lineman Tim Settle Jr. “It is competitive. We are all trying to make plays. You can tell we are all swarming to the ball, we are trying to hit the ball, and we are trying to force a turnover. Everybody has the same mindset and everybody wants to win on defense.”
In their last three games, they have allowed an average of only 237.7 yards, while Buffalo ranks second in the NFL in total offensive yards, averaging 387.4 yards per game and 370 yards on the road. This season, Allen has completed 69.6% of his passes for 2,456 yards, 18 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, while rushing for 351 yards and 10 touchdowns.
If the Texans want to be successful on Thursday night, they may have to deploy a plan to keep a defensive spy on Allen, who can escape the pocket and make plays with his legs while also looking to complete passes to his wide receivers downfield.
“When you’re playing against Josh Allen, everybody just has to remain disciplined, especially as we’re rushing our rush lanes,” said Ryans. “Everybody has to rush with integrity. This quarterback can escape the pocket anywhere.
“So, you have to have awareness and remain disciplined for four quarters. If you get out of a gap, if you fall asleep on a play you’re not playing with awareness, that’s when he can gut you. So, you have to play with awareness for four quarters. You can never let up.”