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Dec 28, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) looks to throw in the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Texans Defense Earns Rare Praise From Aaron Rodgers

Originally posted on Houston Texans on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Jan 9, 2026 6:14 PM ET

The Houston Texans' defense has been a unit that's made serious waves over the course of the 2025 NFL season.

After an 18-game slate, the Texans find themselves ranked second in the NFL for scoring defense (17.4), allow the lowest yards per game in the league (277.2), the lowest EPA per play (-0.18), and have been the catalyst behind an NFL-high nine-straight wins to cap off their surge of a second half to the regular season.

Now, they've led the way to help Houston claw into the postseason for a third straight year under the direction of head coach DeMeco Ryans, set to start off a hopefully lengthy playoff run against the future Hall of Fame quarterback that is Aaron Rodgers.

For Rodgers, it's clear he's got some major respect for the Texans' top-ranked defense, and those feelings start with what Houston brings to the table upfront off the edge.

"They've got a really good D-line," Rodgers said of the Texans' defense. "They've got multiple guys with 10-plus sacks. I've gone against [Danielle] Hunter for a lot of my career. I have a ton of respect for him. He's a phenomenal player."

"And Will [Anderson], I saw him in New York the last couple of years, and he just gets better every single year. He's a high-energy, high-effort guy who's got a lot of new pass moves to his repertoire the last couple of years, and starts with trying to slow those guys down a little bit."

Aaron Rodgers Especially Aware of Texans' Pass Rush

The 42-year-old veteran quarterback has been up against a variety of strong and talented defenses throughout his nearly two-decade tenure in the NFL. But even with that extensive experience under his belt, the challenge the Texans present won't be making it easy on the all-time great to stay clean throughout the night. Many quarterbacks have tried and failed at such a task through this season, leading to a combined 31 sacks on the season for the duo of Hunter and Anderson.

Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Rodgers also made sure to give a pat on the back for the Texans' secondary before matching up against them for Pittsburgh's MNF matchup, scanning all over the field for Houston's wide and versatile set of talent that could give this Steelers offense some trouble without the right plan of attack.

"It's a good back-end. [Derek] Stingley's recognized as one of the top guys in the league every single year, but I think [Kamari] Lassiter's gotten better every year of his career. He’s a good player," Rodgers continued. "Obviously, Pitre is one of those guys who can do a lot of things. He can play the high safety, he can play nickel. [Calen] Bullock has gotten better every single year, so it's a really solid back-end. Those guys play well together."

"I see this type of defense in practice the last couple of years. Obviously, this is a little different. But, it's not intricate as far as 30 different calls. They run their calls— their few calls— really, really well. It's not surprising they're the top defense in the league."

Considering the Texans have been a freight train unable to be stopped for nine straight games heading into their Wild Card Round against the Steelers, it'll be an uphill battle for Rodgers to command his way toward an upset victory, even if he may have home-field advantage at one of the toughest places to play for a team on the road in primetime Pittsburgh.

This Texans defense has been tested from start to finish of this season so far, and Rodgers will be the next task at hand as they look to extend to a 10th win in a row, while also claiming the franchise's first-ever road playoff win in the process.

This article first appeared on Houston Texans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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