How Joe Burrow and the Bengals Can Exploit the Texans’ Defense

The Bengals have started the season with a win for the second straight season, but the conversation about slow starts won't die just yet as they travel to Houston in week two.

That's because the Houston Texans have typically started slow under head coach DeMeco Ryans.

Not only are they coming off of one of their worst defensive performances since Ryans took over as head coach in 2023, the Texans have 3 wins and 7 losses in the first three weeks of the season over that span. Last season, they started off 0-3 before rallying to make the playoffs.

This is a strong team and a great defense, but the Texans aren't very good in September. Here's the hidden data that gives the Cincinnati Bengals the edge this Sunday.

Texans Defense

Sep 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid (86) runs with the ball against Houston Texans safety Calen Bullock (2) during the fourth quarter at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Let's start with that Texans defense that got absolutely roasted by the Buffalo Bills last weekend. Sure, we expect them to figure it out and be better, but let's have Texans fans relive that nightmare for a little bit longer.

Houston allowed an explosive play on 25% of their defensive snaps last week which was the highest rate in the DeMeco Ryans era. Their 7.9 yards per play surrendered was the most allowed in week 1 in the NFL. They gave up 11.1 yards per pass attempt and 0.692 point per play, both ranked the Texans defense 31st in the league.

So what was the issue? Mainly, you could look directly at cornerback Kamari Lassiter and safety Reed Blankenship. That combo was charged for 11 catches, 223 yards and 2 touchdowns and that doesn't include the two penalties that Lassiter was called for – one being a 45-yard pass interference that put the Bills at the 1-yard line. Add that penalty to the 95-yards allowed by Lassiter (3rd most in the league in week 1) and he had himself a day.

I expect that Lassiter will be better. He's been a good player, but the real target is safety Reed Blankenship. The Texans signed him in free agency after he scored a 29.9 PFF grade in coverage last season with the Eagles. Through one week, 100-yards surrendered and the 73rd highest coverage grade for safeties in week 1, I'd say that Houston has a problem.

The Bills didn't just attack them deep, Buffalo went heavy with 12 and 13-personnel. With extra tight ends on the field, Buffalo had the size advantage over the Texans nickel defense. When Buffalo got under center, the Texans ranked 24th in EPA in week 1 and allowed +0.25 EPA per pass in these situations. The Bengals offense ranked 8th in EPA from under center in the opening game vs the Buccaneers.

And the Bengals had a ton of success with 2-TE sets last week. They ran with that personnel at the 6th highest rate in the league and earned the 3rd best EPA from it. But, it wasn't just the heavy tight end packages that beat the Texans defense as Houston came out of week 1 ranked 29th in EPA when the offense used 3-WR sets. That's still the Bengals go-to package as they lined up with it 62% of the time vs the Bucs.

I want to be somewhat fair here. The Texans more than likely experienced an anomaly last week and they're ready to rebound. This is a match between two VERY similar teams in how Houston designs their defense and how Cincinnati runs their offense.

Houston will stay in their Nickel package all game long (90% rate in week 1). They won't move guys around, they won't blitz (15% rate), they won't try to disguise what they're doing. They believe they can line it up and be better than you are. Sounds like the Bengals offense, right?

I can't wait to see what Joe Burrow and these offensive weapons can do with all of these 1-on-1 situations they'll get.

The Bills 0.23 EPA/play was the 3rd best offensive performance any team has had against the Texans defense since 2023, per @SumerSports

Josh Allen produced a 95th percentile EPA/dropback, and Dalton Kincaid put up 130 receiving yards pic.twitter.com/V0fLjor4Lo
— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) September 13, 2026

Texans Offense

As for the Texans offense, they had a nice opening week and CJ Stroud had the team in position to win on the final drive.

Those hopes died with a sack and fumble; his second of the day.

This shouldn't be a surprise as Stroud has 26 fumbles since entering the league (Baker Mayfield now has 37 through that same span) and the Texans QB has always struggled with pressure behind a poor Texans offensive line.

Stroud was pressured 14 times last week and he got 10 passes off, completed 6 of them for an average of 4.8 yards per attempt. He was sacked 3 total times and fumbled twice.

And this isn't new. Stroud was the 37th ranked QB in PFF grade in 2025 with a score of 36.6 when under pressure. His 14 Turnover Worthy Plays while pressured were the second-most of any QB in the league last season.

When he gets sacked, the dude gets SACKED; it's either a fumble or a huge loss. Stroud led the league (in a bad way) with an average of 8.2 yards LOST per sack in 2025.

So the Houston Texans had spent a bunch of resources to fix this offensive line to keep Stroud under less pressure. So far, I like what I've seen from that unit and Texans fans should be excited about it.

PFF ranked Houston’s offensive line 25th in Pass Block Efficiency (Bengals were 4th) and charged them with 13 total pressures, 4 QB hits and 2 sacks.

Right Guard Ed Ingram was charged with 6 of those pressures including 2 QB hits and 1 sack. His 25.9 PFF grade in Pass Protection ranked 64th amongst all guards in Week 1.

And it wasn't just last week, Ingram has been charged with 27 sacks in his career and has always scored below average in this department. He's a NASTY run blocker, but that aggressiveness doesn't translate to pass protection.

He's the target on this offensive line and Dexter Lawrence is ready to be unleashed. These two matched-up on opening day 2024. Lawrence collected 6 pressures and a sack on that day. The sack came directly against Ingram who allowed 6 total pressures on that day also.

The Giants putting five defenders on the line of scrimmage while the Vikings have a call with all 5 eligibles out in routes on forces Bradbury to slide left and gives Lawrence a one-on-one with Ingram, who loses the half man relationship and allows the sack. pic.twitter.com/ZeRbVAWz3w
— Matt Fries (@FriesFootball) September 10, 2024

So, yes, the Texans are a good team. They're one of the best teams the Bengals will play this season, but they have exploitable weaknesses and Cincinnati has the tools to beat them.

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