The Denver Broncos face a difficult challenge when they travel to Houston in Week 9 for a stingy matchup against the Texans.

Houston is one of the most difficult places to play as a road opponent because of the intensity and energy the fanbase brings each and every home game. It creates mistiming, confusion and leads to many pre-snap penalties, something that the Broncos have struggled with at times.

This will certainly be a battle of the defenses, as both offenses are solid but both teams gain their advantage on the defensive side of the ball.

Denver was dealt a devastating blow when star cornerback Pat Surtain II went down with a pectoral injury last week against the Dallas Cowboys. The Broncos’ defensive unit is still great even without Surtain, but it does become more vulnerable.

“Denver will be without Pat Surtain II (left pectoral strain) starting this week. For a team that plays the most man-to-man coverage in the league -- the Broncos are the only team that plays at least 60% of coverage snaps in man -- missing the league's best coverage player is significant,” ESPN’s Jeff Legwold wrote Friday. “The Broncos might have to pick and choose how aggressively they pursue QB C.J. Stroud or play more zone than they have all season. It was a difficult balance for Denver the last time it faced Stroud (in 2023), when he had 274 passing yards on 16 completions but was sacked five times.”

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud will have a huge impact on this game in one way or another. He didn’t have a great start to the season, primarily because Houston’s offensive line is weak, but business has picked up for Stroud and the Texans in recent weeks and they have reinforcements on the way.

Star receiver Nico Collins is slated to return against Denver after suffering a concussion in Week 7, and receiver Christian Kirk is also expected to return to fill out the talented receiver room.

But the offensive line is still a work in progress and Denver’s pass rush is scary.

“The Broncos lead the NFL in sacks (36) while the Texans' offensive line ranks 28th in pass block win rate (55.1%),” ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime wrote Friday. “One group is perceived as a strength, and the other group is slowly improving. Last week, Houston gave up zero sacks for the first time this season, so the hope is the line can carry that momentum against one of the NFL's top defenses.”

If Denver can get to Stroud (they will, it’s just a matter of how often), they will be in a good spot to win even without their top defender.