The Houston Texans finished an amazing season, turning a 3-13-1 record from a year ago into 10-7, a South division title and a playoff appearance. Much of the hoopla surrounding the turnaround was credited to new head coach DeMeco Ryans and rookie quarterback phenom C.J. Stroud.
But there are other contributors.
As a first-year signal caller, Stroud benefits from a tremendous offensive line in front of him. And the anchor on that line is tackle Laremy Tunsil.
This week, as Houston prepares for its first playoff appearance since 2019, the focus is on the Browns. And when discussing the Cleveland defense, look no further than defensive end Myles Garrett.
The former Aggie is one of the most feared and dangerous pass rushers in the league. and few teams find success when game-planned against him. But one player that does find success is Tunsil.
According to Next Gen Stats, Tunsil holds the best pressure rate allowed against Garrett with a minimum of 40 matchups. Tunsil's pressure rate is just 2.5 percent. And in the Week 16 matchup, Garrett failed to generate a single pressure across six matchups against Tunsil.
That's nothing short of remarkable.
For context, rounding out the top five, the Ravens' Ronnie Stanley is No. 2 at 9.9 percent, Detroit's Bobby Hart is at 10 percent, Cincinnati's Orlando Brown is at 11.5 percent, and Buffalo's Dion Dawkins comes in at 13.6 percent.
In 2023, Garrett registered 14 sacks, 42 combined tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 30 quarterback hits and four forced fumbles.
In the Wild Card matchup this weekend, Tunsil will give Stroud and Co. a better-than-fair chance to register the team's first postseason win since 2019.
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