Pat Mahomes, Josh Allen Stymied by Texans: Dominance as a Fantasy Football Defense
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The Houston Texans have been taking the NFL by storm over the last month. Not only have they looked much improved on offense, they look to be dominant on defense. It is unanimous that the Texans have the best defense in the NFL and this goes a long way in the world of Fantasy Football. Not only can they limit their opponents output, but they can be of great value themselves as a high-output starting defense.
2025 Stats: Houston Texans Defense
The Texans are currently the DST2 in Fantasy Football, trailing only the Seattle Seahawks. However, they are the FPI 1st ranked defense over the Eagles.
Houston Texans DEFENSE through 13 games:
— HoopsQV (@qutballin) December 8, 2025
🏈 1st in ppg allowed (16.0)
🏈 1st in ypg allowed (266.3)
🏈 1st in passer rating allowed (69.8)
🏈 THE ONLY defense in NFL with more INT (15) than TD passes allowed (12) pic.twitter.com/EztB1OBCkX
In 2025, the Texans have 15 Interceptions, 7 Fumbles Recovered (1.9 Takeaways per Game), 36 Sacks, and 2 Defensive Touchdowns. They do lack in the return game with zero returned touchdowns. The Texans average (9.2) Fantasy Points per Game, per Fantasydata.com.
Texans Shut Down Their Opponents
Perhaps the most important topic at hand is where or not to full-on panic when your Fantasy Football players face the Texans. Let's look at some recent players that faced this unit.
Week 14 - Chiefs
Pat Mahomes threw for (160) Yards, Zero Touchdowns, and (3) Interceptions. He ran for 59 Yards.
Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco combined for (60) Yards on (21) Attempts, and Zero Touchdowns.
Rashee Rice went 4-for-34 and Zero Touchdowns.
Week 13 - Colts
Daniel Jones threw for (201) Yards, (2) Touchdowns, but only a 52% Completion Percentage.
Jonathan Taylor went 21-for-85 Yards and Zero Touchdowns.
Michael Pittman Jr., Tyler Warren combined for (35) Yards.
Week 12 - Bills
Josh Allen went for (253) Yards, Zero Touchdowns, and (2) Interceptions. He only ran for (20) Yards.
James Cook and Khalil Shakir did both go for over (100) Yards a piece.
Teams found some success, but they mostly struggled against the Texans defense. The most important thing to note here is that these are three top-tiered offenses. If only two players found good success in three total games, what might happen when average/subpar opponents take on the Texans? I imagine more bad than good.
Texans Upcoming Schedule
- vs Cardinals
- vs Raiders
- @ Chargers
- vs Colts
This bodes poorly as these are average-to-below average offenses. I would list stock to be low for these players:
Low-Ceiling Fantasy Football Players
- Michael Wilson
- Trey McBride
- Ashton Jeanty
- Brock Bowers
- Justin Herbert
- Omarion Hampton
- Ladd McConkey
- Keenan Allen
- Jonathan Taylor
- Michael Pittman Jr.
- Alec Pierce
- Tyler Warren
That right there is a list of (12) highly valuable assets on a weekly basis. They will each project tougher matchups when they face the Texans. This is not to say that they will fail, but the likelihood of high-output reduces drastically. This is something to plan for in your lineup as you must aim for upside more than safety in many Start 'Em, Sit 'Em scenarios.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.