Houston Texans' DeMeco Ryans Reveals Challenges Carolina Panthers' Defense Provides
The Houston Texans will be favored in their Week 8 matchup with the Carolina Panthers, but that doesn’t mean the rule of “any given Sunday” doesn’t apply.
Unless Carolina rookie quarterback Bryce Young plays the best ball of his young career, a (potentially playoff-derailing) upset of the Texans likely comes at the hands of the defense.
The Panthers' defense hasn’t played up to par so far, largely at the hands of a laughably bad run defense. In terms of expected points added per rush, they don’t just rank dead last. The difference between their mark (0.156) and the next worst (Las Vegas Raiders, 0.025) is nearly equivalent to the difference between Las Vegas and the Minnesota Vikings, who rank 17th.
Fantasy managers, start running back Dameon Pierce on Sunday.
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans and Panthers head coach Frank Reich.
Regardless, Houston can be considered vulnerable. Both teams are coming off their respective bye weeks, but getting strong play from the offensive line remains a question mark. From continuity issues to a seemingly infinite list of injuries, there’s no guarantee Pierce finds those lanes, or quarterback C.J. Stroud is kept upright.
Especially when Carolina has two stars salivating on its defensive line. Edge rusher Brian Burns and defensive tackle Derrick Brown, both former first-round picks, are the most important players on this defense, and they’ll be in position to wreak havoc on Sunday.
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans spoke about their talents on Monday.
“Their defense is a really good unit. I think it starts up front with Brown and Burns,” Ryans said. “To play good defense, it starts up front … They bring it every snap, really talented players.”
Burns has been the focus of hypothetical trade conversations since it was reported that the Los Angeles Rams offered two first-round picks for his services. This year, he’s racked up five sacks in six games.
Ryans made sure to emphasize how potent the Panthers star edge rusher is.
“Starting on the edge for sure with Burns,” he reiterated. “We have to make sure we have eyes on him and get him handled because he can wreck a game.”
At their lowest point this season, Stroud found himself at the mercy of opposing pass rushers, who weren’t particularly kind. He was fumbling and struggling to generate positive yardage consistently as Houston was rendered one-dimensional.
The Texans will look to avoid that fate on Sunday by running the ball well, but that’s been a struggle so far. Against someone up the middle as talented in both run and pass defense as Brown, it may not be as easy as the team-wide statistics would suggest.
Don’t let Carolina’s 0-6 record lead you astray. Houston could very well be in for a fight on Sunday.
