Suppose you trust the vast majority of coverage of the Houston Texans' defense this season. In that case, you'll believe the success of the NFL's top-ranked unit hinges on two pillars up front: pass rushers Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. Both sack artists certainly merit as many headlines as writers will give them, but Sonny Giuliano of Toro Times says the whole defense is a real concern for the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 14.
As the Chiefs prepare to host the Texans in primetime on Sunday Night Football, the Chiefs' offensive front is dealing with plenty of injuries, which is going to make things tough in the trenches for Patrick Mahomes. But Giuliano says Houston is going to be a problem all around for K.C., and that such a big win against K.C. at Arrowhead could be the sort of victory to bring an even bigger spotlight on the operation.
Ahead of Sunday's showdown between the Chiefs and Texans, we asked Giuliano to tell us more about what to expect, the rookie WR combo who will be testing K,C.'s secondary, and more.
After watching the Texans' front line dominate all season, what are the thoughts ahead of the Chiefs' matchup knowing that it's likely that both tackles (and Trey Smith) are out?
My thoughts are, "It's feeding time for Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter." Man, what an opportunity Sunday night's game is, not only for those two guys, but for the entire Texans defense. All year long, we've been whispering about how prolific this Houston D is—for the record, I haven't been whispering but screaming at the top of my lungs—but if they could cap off a three-week stretch in which they bested Josh Allen, the high-scoring Colts, and the Chiefs at Arrowhead, then everyone else who has been whispering is going to talk a lot louder down the stretch of this season.
When teams have gotten the best of the Texans, what specifically have you seen in those games in response to the pass rush?
Honestly, even in defeat, it's hard to nitpick this Texans defense. Consider, in their five losses, they've allowed only 19.2 points per game. That would be the seventh-best mark in the NFL this season, and that's only factoring in the games that Houston lost. They sacked Matthew Stafford 3 times in Week 1, Baker Mayfield 4 times in Week 2, limited Trevor Lawrence to just 50% completion and a 56.5 passer rating in Week 3, and held both Sam Darnold and Bo Nix to sub-75.0 passer ratings. There's just no easy answer, even when Houston isn't getting home and ending the play with a sack.
What's the early verdict on the one-two WR punch drafted this year?
I would say early returns have been promising. I personally haven't seen anything from either Jayden Higgins or Jaylin Noel that suggests star potential, but at the very least, it's a good sign that they managed to earn the trust of this coaching staff so quickly.
Higgins is a solid, big-bodied red zone threat. There's a little bit of overlap in terms of skillset with him and Nico Collins, but there are certainly worse problems to deal with than figuring out how to utilize two 6-foot-4, 220 lb. wide receivers.
Jaylin Noel is interesting because if it weren't for Tank Dell being on the shelf, Noel probably isn't seeing the field much for the Texans this season. With that said, I like his upside, although not as much as Brian Hoyer, who, in the pre-Draft process, said Noel was "a faster Amon-Ra St. Brown."
How confident do you feel that Houston can keep up its hot streak on Sunday?
From everything I've seen from these two teams this year, I truly believe the Texans are the superior team during the 2025 season. But I can't say I'm super-confident going into Sunday night's game that the Texans are going to be the team to hammer that last nail in the coffin of the 2025 Chiefs. I do think the defense will show up and play one heck of a game, but I still don't trust this offense to be able to match that effort on the road in primetime.