(SportsRadio 610) - Through four weeks of the season, early returns on the most pivotal, franchise altering decisions the Texans had to make this past offseason have yielded positive results on a number of fronts.
They're 2-2 entering a week five road game against the Atlanta Falcons. The last time the organization was .500 through its first four games was in 2019, when they finished 10-6 and made it to the postseason's divisional round.
Calm down. It's just for a frame of reference.
As the Texans' rookie quarterback said after Sunday's 30-6 dominating win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, it's just the beginning.
Not only has it become clear the organization has found its head coach, quarterback and offensive coordinator to help lead them out of the darkest days the franchise had ever seen, but they've got a defense to be encouraged by as well.
Since being out scored 56-29 through their first two games, the Texans enter week five with a point differential of plus-17 after holding opponents to an average of just 11.5 points the last two weeks.
That's the best mark within the division, the fourth best in the AFC and 10th best in the NFL.
The Texans pass defense has been really good, allowing the 16th fewest completions (89), the 13th fewest yards per attempt (6.2), the 10th fewest yards (781) and are tied for first, allowing the fewest touchdowns (2).
They have three interceptions and their seven sacks ranks 26th through four games.
The run defense, while improved from recent years, is still middling. The Texans have allowed the 13th fewest rush yards (466), the 14th most rush yards per game at 116.5, and the 10th most yards per carry (4.4).
The Texans have also allowed seven rushing touchdowns through four games, which is the most by any team in the NFL.
Opponents are scoring touchdowns in the red zone 61.5% of the time against the Texans defense, which is the 13th worst mark in the league.
It's an improved defense, with correctable holes.
Yet, the complimentary football they've played as a team has actually made the defense look better, if that makes any sense.
Dating back three weeks to their 31-20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Texans offense has capitalized on seven straight miscues by the opposing offense.
Whether it be an interception, fumble, blocked/missed field goal, or turnover on downs, the Texans have come away with points.
Ryans says while the results are nice, they're still in the infancy stages defensively, particularly with their pass rush, which is a work in progress.
"With our pass rush, we did a solid job this past weekend, but it's not where we want to be," Ryans said. "We have to improve our pass rush and continue to get better at executing when it comes to our four guys rushing together."
That's a phrase you'll hear quite often from not just Ryans or defensive coordinator Matt Burke, but the players as well.
It simply means following the game plan, doing their job, executing individual assignments and not deviating from the scheme.
Rookie defensive lineman Will Anderson Jr., who has one sack and five quarterback hits through his first four games, ranks eighth amongst qualified pass rushers in pass rush win-rate. That ranks ahead of Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Max Crosby (4 sacks / 6 QB hits) and just behind the Cleveland Browns DL Myles Garrett (5.5 sacks / 13 QB hits).
The sacks will eventually come for Anderson.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Greenard is off to the best start of his four-year career. After a two-sack, three QB hit performance in Sunday's win over the Steelers, Greenard has three sacks, four QB hits and five tackles for loss.
During the 2021 season, Greenard recorded at least one sack in five of his first six games started, but was hampered by injury throughout the season.
He finished with eight sacks and 12 quarterback hits that year.
Ryans knows better than anyone what his defense is supposed to look like and is starting to see he has some pieces that could help the Texans get there sooner than later.
For the two years that Ryans ran the San Francisco 49ers defense, they ranked fifth with a 46% team pass rush win rate.
As far as stopping the run, Ryans' 49ers defense finished third in run stop win rate in '21 and sixth in '22.
Ryans has been pleased with the results he's gotten from veterans, particularly safety Jimmie Ward and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, as well as the progress that younger players have made in his defense, like linebackers Henry To'oTo'o and Christian Harris along with second-year safety Jalen Pitre.
"You can see the growth of those guys," Ryans said. "It's fun to coach these guys because first and foremost, they love football, and they want to get better. For me, that's all I need. Guys that listen, guys that want to get better. I'm all in on helping them as much as I can."
The buy-in is there from the players and the Texans have the right man as their leader.
It's only a matter of time before Ryans' defense will be a consistent force to be reckoned with.
