Through two weeks, Houston’s defense has struggled to prevent explosive plays through the air.
The Houston Texans entered the 2026 season with plenty of expectations surrounding their defense after being one of the NFL's best units in 2025, but through two games, one weakness has become difficult to ignore.
The Texans are struggling to defend the deep ball.
According to Next Gen Stats, Houston has allowed an league-high seven completions on deep passes through the first two weeks of the season. Those completions have resulted in 228 passing yards and four touchdowns, both of which also rank last in the league.
The efficiency numbers are just as concerning.
Houston is allowing a 70.0 completion percentage on deep passes, which ranks 31st in the NFL. Opposing quarterbacks have also posted a 152.1 passer rating when targeting the Texans deep, ranking 31st in the league.
Those numbers paint a clear picture of where opposing offenses have been able to find opportunities against Houston. That puts significant pressure on the rest of the defense—especially with them not recording a single takeaway through two games.
Houston can play well for much of a possession, force an offense into difficult situations and seemingly put itself in position to get off the field. But one missed assignment or breakdown downfield can immediately change the game. And it has.
Being able to get your defense off the field is essential to an efficient and productive unit.
The Texans also can't afford to allow opposing quarterbacks to become comfortable attacking vertically. If offenses begin recognizing that they can consistently attack opportunities downfield, Houston could see teams build their game plans around taking more shots against the secondary.
That makes this an issue worth monitoring rather than something that can simply be dismissed as a small-sample-size stat.
It's especially concerning considering what Houston invested in the secondary this offseason. The Texans signed veteran safety and former Philadelphia Eagles safety Reed Blankenship to a three-year, $24.75 million deal. The Super Bowl champion was signed to bolster the unit, but has gotten off to a rough start to begin his Texans' tenure.
Of course, two games is still a very small sample, and the Texans have plenty of time to correct the problem. A few weeks of improved communication and coverage could dramatically change these numbers.
But the early results are difficult to ignore.
Houston's defense may have plenty of strengths, but through two weeks, defending the deep ball has clearly emerged as its biggest weakness.
The Texans will need to find an answer before opposing offenses continue testing them over the top.
