Texans’ defense shines in 5-game winning streak, eyes playoff spot as Cardinals visit

HOUSTON AP The Houston Texans top-ranked defense has led them to a five-game winning streak to put them in the race for a playoff spot with four regular-season games to go But as the Texans prepare to host the struggling Cardinals - coach DeMeco Ryans is confident his defense is focused on playing even better If they try to get satisfied I won t let them It s going to be hard he noted For us as a company I know a lot of people are applauding the defense and talking about how good the defense is But our guys we all know we re honest I m an honest coach and there s invariably room for improvement The Texans - rank first in the NFL by allowing points a meeting and are also tops in the league by giving up just yards a encounter Their five straight wins are their most of since a nine-game winning streak in and has them one match behind the first-place Jaguars in the AFC South Last week they limited Patrick Mahomes to a season-low yards passing with no touchdowns and a career-high-tying three interceptions to beat the Chiefs for the first time in six tries The Texans are the only crew in the last seasons to limit opponents to less than passing yards in each of their first games Now they ll face a Cardinals band that has dropped five straight but that has been putting up big numbers in the passing challenge with Jacoby Brissett Brissett has yards passing in eight starts averaging more than per contest Since Week he leads the NFL in yards passing completions and first downs He s also fourth with TDs in that span Brissett is playing at a high level Ryans mentioned I think he s one of the better quarterbacks that we ll see all year when you talk about decision making where he can place the football He doesn t make bad decisions He s not forcing the ball so I m impressed with Jacoby and what he s been able to do On Sunday he ll have to deal with a defensive front led by defensive ends Will Anderson Jr and Danielle Hunter Hunter is tied for fifth in the NFL with sacks and Hunter is tied for eighth with to make the Texans the only unit this season with two players who have double-digit sacks You have to have a plan for both of them and it s hard to put two on each of them every snap There s no doubt about it Arizona coach Jonathan Gannon revealed You run out of numbers We just have to do a good job with those guys It s a big-time challenge our offense knows that Brissett s future Brissett who turned on Thursday is on pace to have the greater part productive season of his -year NFL career He s started eight games for the injured Kyler Murray after starting five games for the Patriots last season Brissett is under contract to the organization in and could be the starter again next year depending on what the Cardinals decide to do with Murray who is done for the season with a foot injury Off script Houston quarterback C J Stroud made several big plays against the Chiefs when he went off script after it looked like the defense had him bottled up The biggest one came in the first quarter when he scrambled out of the pocket to avoid the rush and threw to the other side of the field for a -yard reception to Nico Collins I try to just make plays whatever that looks like Stroud commented On Sunday it was a little bit me on the move in the pocket but I know stuff like that in this league doesn t last I ve got to get better on sitting in the pocket and taking one stare and our guys up front blocking inside out but I think I can pull it out the bag when I need to Defense in the dumps The Cardinals defense was supposed to be the unit s strength this season but after a decent start the group has been giving up a ton of yards and points The latest debacle came on Sunday when the Rams piled up points and total yards Arizona has given up more than points in three of its past five games We didn t stop the run We got the ball thrown over our head They played the battle on their terms the entire day Gannon noted AP Sports Writer David Brandt contributed to this summary AP NFL https apnews com hub NFL Source