Will Anderson Jr. leads a defense that could carry the Texans to the Super Bowl this season. Alex Slitz / Getty ImagesSept. 2, 2026 Updated The Athletic Football Show is previewing all 32 teams leading up to the start of the 2026 NFL season. Below are select quotes from the show’s preview of the Houston Texans. The quotes are edited for clarity. You can watch the whole preview on YouTube and in the embedded video below, or listen to the full AFC South preview wherever you get your podcasts.Derrik Klassen on what about the Texans most excites him: The best defense in the NFL from last year might be better. They are bringing back almost every starter from last year. The only real change they made is bringing in Reed Blankenship, who is better than anybody who was playing that safety spot for them last year. Some of the depth pieces they shuffled around, like bringing in Jadeveon Clowney for Derek Barnett, I think is, at worst, a neutral move. They bring in Kayden McDonald for Tim Settle, and Settle played fine for them last year, but I think McDonald, if things turn out well, you expect him to be a little bit more explosive for them.Dave Helman on what he’s watching the first month of the season: We all understand what’s new and exciting about the offensive line. It has to go into practice now. And again, it’s incredibly straightforward because it was one of the biggest problems with last year’s team and it’s something they spent a lot of resources on this year. Keylan Rutledge is officially going to play left guard to start. Evan Brown is a name to get familiar with. He was in Arizona for the last two years, not playing center. He last played center for the 2023 Seahawks. This is going to be famous last words because this is their biggest problem, but I’m talking myself into thinking that this offensive line can be good running the football. Ed Ingram, Rutledge being what you hope he is, I think this is what you want. I don’t know how good it is in pass protection, but I think this can be a physical offensive line that can move people.Robert Mays on what’s keeping him up at night: I don’t think we really have to beat around the bush with this. The quarterback needs to be really good for them to win the Super Bowl. They need to be a good passing offense, a bumping-up-against-the-top-10 sort of passing offense for them to win the Super Bowl, because most teams need to be that. And I think the question’s going to come down to, outside of the offensive line improving and the run blocking improving overall, do we feel like the quarterback has that sort of gear to him as we get deeper into the season?Subscribe to “The Athletic Football Show” on YouTube