Texans Lose Title of NFL's Top Scoring Defense Before Playoffs

After holding the title of the NFL's number-one scoring defense through most of the 2025 regular season, the Houston Texans have forfeited their stake just one week before the postseason action ensues.

After 18 weeks of regular-season action in the NFL, the Texans officially finished as the league's number-two scoring defense throughout the year by allowing 295 total points, behind only the NFC-leading Seattle Seahawks, who allowed just 292 themselves— three points off the mark from Houston.

The Seahawks take the top spot coming off a 13-3 win over the 49ers. 👀 pic.twitter.com/prBVYAQvDg
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) January 7, 2026

The sudden pivot from the Texans comes fresh off Houston's Week 18 win against the Indianapolis Colts, where they capped off their 12-5 campaign in a 38-30 victory, though allowed their highest opposing points in a single game by giving up 30 for the first time this season.

That effort, though, did come while the Texans tried to preserve their stars before getting the postseason off and rolling, as Davis Mills and several other backups on both sides of the ball would enter in the second half to take care of business for win number nine in a row. Yet, it did come at the slight cost of now being deemed the NFL's second-best defense from a points per game basis.

Now, the Texans average a strong 17.4 points per game allowed defensively from their regular season, while the Seahawks edge them out ever so slightly at an average of 17.2. The next highest to both, the Denver Broncos, sit nearly one point above both with 18.2.

Texans Fall to NFL's Second-Best Scoring Defense

Yet, even if they may not hold the title as the league's best scoring defense, the Texans' unit on that side of the field still might be the most frightening the NFL has to offer.

They're well-coached by the steady defensive mind of DeMeco Ryans, have star talent upfront and in the secondary to set up Houston as one of the best-looking collectives on paper, and through their ability to generate takeaways and get to the quarterback at a high rate, the Texans defense is the driving factor behind most of their success this season, and especially through their latest nine-game win streak.

Dec 27, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Houston Texans head coach Demeco Ryans questions a call during the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

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If the Texans can continue that dominance and consistency within their defense from now until the end of their season, that might just be enough to will this group to a first-ever Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. And with the current state of a wide-open AFC to surround them, there might not be a better season to make that long-awaited push come to fruition.

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