Houston Texans' defense turns in performance reminiscent of last season: ‘Fun to watch'

Houston Texans defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (90) sacks Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) during the second half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle) Houston Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke felt his defense had returned from the off week with a renewed focus heading into Sunday's game versus the Los Angeles Chargers."I've seen a really sharpened focus in terms of the last couple of days of practice, for sure," Burke said Thursday. "I think that's what we're hoping manifests a little bit more on Sunday."His hopes were answered.The Texans defense had a performance reminiscent of the group that ran through the NFL last year. Five players combined for eight sacks while four separate players totaled 10 passes defended. The Chargers turned the ball over twice with Derek Stingley Jr. picking off his first pass of the season and Calen Bullock recovering a fumble. REPORT CARD:Grading Houston's win over LA ChargersLos Angeles padded its stats on offense in garbage time of Houston's 44-22 win at SoFi Stadium, but the Texans' defense looked like a cohesive and disruptive unit. "Very pleased with the defense, I felt the guys truly repped our style," coach DeMeco Ryans said. "I felt the physicality from our guys."That style has been something the Texans' defense has been trying to find all season. Ryans and the rest of the Texans have also been very clear that their play has not lived up to the team's standard.That standard is based around Ryans' mantra of SWARM or Special Work Ethic and Relentless Mindset. The defense hadn't been swarming and it was imperative to get back to playing more fundamentally sound and with an edge, Ryans said during the week. Will Anderson Jr. said Wednesday a question the defense had to answer to was "Are we playing our brand of ball on tape on a consistent level?"That answer had been no for most of the first seven games. Sunday was different.It started with Anderson and his fellow lineman. Anderson, Sheldon Rankins and Jadeveon Clowney each had two sacks. It is the first time in franchise history that the Texans had three players each accumulate at least two sacks."The effort that they showed up front, it was fun to watch," Ryans said of the defensive front. "Fun to watch when the quarterback drops back and our D-line is getting home. That's back to being what I'm used to seeing out of our defensive line."TEXANS 44, CHARGERS 22Houston1014713-44L.A. Chargers36013-22First QuarterHou_Hutchinson 17 pass from Stroud (Fairbairn kick), 10:16. Drive: 9 plays, 73 yards, 4:44. Key Plays: T.Smith kick return to Houston 27; Stroud 19 pass to Collins. Houston 7, L.A. Chargers 0. LAC_FG Dicker 52, 6:14. Drive: 10 plays, 34 yards, 4:02. Key Plays: Mitchell kick return to L.A. Chargers 32; J.Herbert 10 pass to Kolar; J.Herbert 10 pass to T.Harris on 3rd-and-5; Vidal 6 run on 3rd-and-9. Houston 7, L.A. Chargers 3. Hou_FG Fairbairn 56, 3:12. Drive: 9 plays, 26 yards, 3:02. Key Plays: Hutchinson kick return to Houston 36; Stroud 6 pass to Hutchinson on 3rd-and-6; Stroud 12 run. Houston 10, L.A. Chargers 3. Second QuarterLAC_FG Dicker 33, 8:13. Drive: 9 plays, 36 yards, 5:20. Key Plays: J.Herbert 7 pass to Gadsden on 3rd-and-4; Mitchell 11 run. Houston 10, L.A. Chargers 6. LAC_FG Dicker 43, 5:11. Drive: 6 plays, 14 yards, 2:12. Key Plays: Henley 18 interception return to Houston 38; Mitchell 11 run. Houston 10, L.A. Chargers 9. Hou_Dell 63 pass from Stroud (Fairbairn kick), 4:28. Drive: 3 plays, 68 yards, 00:43. Key Play: T.Smith kick return to Houston 32. Houston 17, L.A. Chargers 9. Hou_Boutte 12 pass from Stroud (Fairbairn kick), :31. Drive: 7 plays, 76 yards, 00:34. Key Plays: Stroud 14 pass to Schultz on 3rd-and-10; Stroud 15 pass to Harrison; Stroud 35 pass to Boutte. Houston 24, L.A. Chargers 9. Third QuarterHou_Collins 13 pass from Stroud (Fairbairn kick), 8:16. Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 4:33. Key Plays: Stingley 0 interception return to Houston 20; Marks 14 run; Stroud 15 pass to Boutte on 3rd-and-1; Stroud 28 pass to Schultz; Stroud 8 run on 3rd-and-7. Houston 31, L.A. Chargers 9. Fourth QuarterHou_Boutte 63 pass from Stroud (Fairbairn kick), 14:12. Drive: 5 plays, 89 yards, 2:02. Houston 38, L.A. Chargers 9. LAC_Johnston 58 pass from J.Herbert (pass failed), 12:47. Drive: 4 plays, 60 yards, 1:25. Key Play: J.Herbert 10 pass to Gadsden. Houston 38, L.A. Chargers 15. Hou_FG Fairbairn 31, 8:50. Drive: 9 plays, 62 yards, 3:57. Key Plays: T.Smith kick return to Houston 25; Stroud 32 pass to Dell. Houston 41, L.A. Chargers 15. LAC_D.Davis 15 pass from Uiagalelei (Dicker kick), 4:19. Drive: 11 plays, 71 yards, 4:31. Key Plays: Vidal kick return to L.A. Chargers 29; Kolar 3 run on 3rd-and-1; Hampton 32 run. Houston 41, L.A. Chargers 22. Hou_FG Fairbairn 41, 2:20. Drive: 8 plays, 21 yards, 1:59. Key Plays: Dicker onside-kick returned by Stewart for 0 yards; Demercado 11 run on 3rd-and-1. Houston 44, L.A. Chargers 22. A_67,590.___HouLACFIRST DOWNS2214Rushing45Passing157Penalty32THIRD DOWN EFF8-145-17FOURTH DOWN EFF0-02-4TOTAL NET YARDS485315Total Plays6668Avg Gain7.34.6NET YARDS RUSHING104138Rushes2830Avg per rush3.7144.6NET YARDS PASSING381177Sacked-Yds lost1-108-40Gross-Yds passing391217Completed-Att.22-3715-30Had Intercepted11Yards-Pass Play10.0264.658KICKOFFS-EndZone-TB9-3-26-0-0PUNTS-Avg.3-35.3334-47.25Punts blocked00FGs-PATs blocked0-00-0TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE136168Punt Returns3-110-0Kickoff Returns5-1256-150Interceptions1-01-18PENALTIES-Yds6-369-79FUMBLES-Lost1-01-1TIME OF POSSESSION28:3331:27___INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING_Houston, Marks 18-70, Stroud 2-20, Demercado 6-16, Mills 2-(minus 2). L.A. Chargers, Hampton 13-60, Mitchell 7-33, Vidal 7-30, J.Herbert 1-7, Johnston 1-5, Kolar 1-3.PASSING_Houston, Stroud 21-35-1-384, Mills 1-2-0-7. L.A. Chargers, J.Herbert 13-23-1-193, Uiagalelei 2-7-0-24.RECEIVING_Houston, Boutte 4-125, Dell 4-105, Collins 4-55, Hutchinson 3-29, Schultz 2-42, Harrison 2-20, Demercado 1-8, Marks 1-4, Ogunbowale 1-3. L.A. Chargers, Mitchell 3-34, Kolar 3-31, T.Harris 3-6, Gadsden 2-17, Johnston 1-58, Lambert-Smith 1-50, Davis 1-15, Vidal 1-6.PUNT RETURNS_Houston, T.Smith 1-10, Dell 2-1. L.A. Chargers, None.KICKOFF RETURNS_Houston, T.Smith 4-97, Hutchinson 1-28. L.A. Chargers, Vidal 4-98, Mitchell 1-27, Davis 1-25.TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS_Houston, Pitre 6-0-0, Al-Shaair 4-5-0, Stewart 4-1-1, To'oTo'o 4-1-0, Bullock 3-2-0, Stingley 3-1-0, Rankins 3-0-2, McDonald 3-0-0, Togiai 2-2-0, Clowney 2-1-2, Anderson 2-0-2, L.Hall 2-0-1, Hunter 1-1-0, Jones 1-1-0, Lassiter 1-1-0, Hansen 1-0-0, Woodaz 1-0-0. L.A. Chargers, Henley 4-6-0, Molden 4-2-0, Mickens 4-1-0, Still 4-1-0, Jefferson 3-2-.5, Hart 2-2-0, Wax 1-7-0, Mesidor 1-1-0, Tart 1-1-0, Jackson 1-0-0, Shelley 1-0-0, Tomlinson 1-0-0, Eboigbe 0-2-0, Murphy 0-1-.5, Caldwell 0-1-0, Mack 0-1-0, Phillips 0-1-0, Tuipulotu 0-1-0.INTERCEPTIONS_Houston, Stingley 1-0. L.A. Chargers, Henley 1-18.MISSED FIELD GOALS_None.___OFFICIALS_Referee Alex Moore, Ump Terry Killens, HL Dana McKenzie, LJ Tom Eaton, FJ Mearl Robinson, SJ Anthony Jeffries, BJ Terrence Miles, Replay Jamie Nicholson.The entire defense racked up 12 tackles for loss, which nearly matched the number of completions Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert threw in the game (13).But it wasn't just the pressure of the defense line that caused problems for Herbert. The much-maligned secondary had 10 passes defended on a day when Herbert had 10 incompletions. Kamari Lassiter had four breakups and Stingley had three along with his interception. The pick tied Kareem Jackson for the second-most picks in franchise history,"I was happy for him," Ryans said. "He's been trying to get one for a while this year, and I'm happy that he finally got that one today."Now, even with the performance, Houston still has room to improve.The Texans defense took its foot off the gas at the end of the game. The Chargers totaled 200 of their 315 yards after the 4:48 mark in the third quarter when Houston was up 31-9. Included in that stretch were two big pass plays: a 50-yard completion to KeAndre Lambert-Smith on a fourth down that resulted from a miscommunication and a 58-yard touchdown pass to Quentin Johnston when he beat Stingley. Explosive plays have been an Achilles heel for the defense.Los Angeles, now 0-8, also isn't a good team. The Chargers entered the game on a Biblical touchdown drought, and finally snapped it against the Texans.But Houston has been preaching a one-game-at-a-time mentality as it tries to save its season. Even with the faults of Sunday's game, the defense can use the performance as a foundation for improvement going forward.Peter Warren reported from Houston.SubscribeThere’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Houston Texans' defense turns in performance reminiscent of last season: ‘Fun to watch'.