Dan Pompei Says Will Anderson Jr. Can't Carry the Texans' Struggling Defense on His Own

Sports admin October 21, 2026 0 Comments

Dan Pompei Says Will Anderson Jr. Can’t Carry the Texans’ Struggling Defense on His Own

Will Anderson Jr. carried 7.5 sacks into Week 6, the most in the NFL, and the Houston Texans still gave up 31 points at Wembley. The Athletic’s Dan Pompei looked at that gap and landed where a lot of fans around NRG Stadium already have.

“Will Anderson is a contender for defensive player of the year, but he needs help,” Pompei wrote. He added that Houston won’t be a Super Bowl contender until the defense improves, and that it needs to start creating takeaways for C.J. Stroud and the offense. Opponents are averaging 24 points per game against Houston, slightly above the league average, he noted.

Where the help has to come from

Anderson is holding up his end. His 92.8 overall grade at PFF ranks first among 112 edge defenders, and he leads the position with 18 stops and has 25 pressures. He’s been a Defensive Player of the Year favorite for a reason. Sunday was quieter, with three pressures and no sacks, according to PFF. Danielle Hunter, who had 10 pressures against the Titans, managed four.

The bigger issue was behind the line. Houston missed 12 tackles, according to PFF. Reed Blankenship missed four of the eight he attempted, and Azeez Al-Shaair missed three. Blankenship’s 30.4 grade was the lowest on the defense. Henry To’oTo’o was targeted eight times in coverage and allowed six catches. A pass rusher can’t erase that from the edge.

Pompei’s takeaway point matters, too. Calen Bullock’s end-zone interception of Trevor Lawrence was the only turnover the Texans forced against a Jaguars offense that threw for 306 yards, and Bullock was among the risers in our Week 6 stock report with a 74.3 grade.

This was supposed to be the unit that entered 2026 without a single exploitable weakness. It had produced one impressive performance, against Tennessee, before London. DeMeco Ryans took over the defensive play calling two weeks ago, and the next step is getting more players around Anderson who can finish plays. The Giants are coming to Houston still sorting out their quarterback, and that’s the kind of offense where the rest of this defense can finally give Anderson some company.

This story was originally published October 21, 2026 at 2:17 AM.