The Denver Broncos and the Houston Texans are without a doubt two of the best defenses in the National Football League, if not the two best. They boast the most dangerous pass-rush units along with elite talent in the secondary, and have been dominant throughout the first 12 weeks of the season.
On Thursday night, Houston put together a memorable showing on defense against the reigning MVP, Josh Allen, as they sacked him eight times and picked him off twice. That performance caused for NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport to give the crown to the Texans, something that Broncos fans weren’t too fond of.
A pretty good example of why the #Texans defense is the NFL’s best. pic.twitter.com/RMycEFPFLS
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 21, 2025
He was met with loads of backlash from Broncos fans, whose team just took down the Texans a few weeks ago in large part to their defense holding the line, highlighted by a goal line stand in which Houston only came away with three points after having first and goal at the half-yard line. It’s a fair debate, but Rapoport’s post definitely sparked a conversation that’s nowhere close to being settled.
BRONCOS OR TEXANS? IS ONE DEFENSE BETTER THAN THE OTHER?
The most important thing football, obviously, is not letting the opponent score points or gain yards, something that both units are elite at stopping. Across the NFL, the Broncos rank third in total defense (274.4 yards per game), fifth in pass defense (185.8 yards per game), fourth in run defense (88.5 yards per game) and third in scoring defense (17.5 points per game). Houston is the only other team to also be in the top five in each of those four categories, allowing 264.3 total yards (first), 172.1 passing yards (third), 92.2 rushing yards (fourth) and 16.5 points per game (first).
The Texans also have the Broncos beat in the turnover department, as they’ve forced the second-most in the league with 19 (12 interceptions, seven fumbles), while the Broncos have forced just nine (six interceptions, three fumbles), just 25th in the league.
In the sack department, Denver is dominating the entire league with 49 total, while the Texans are in third place with 33. Individually, the Texans’ edge-rushing duo of Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. rank third and fourth in the league with 11 and 10.5 sacks, respectively. The Broncos’ duo of Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper rank fifth and 10th in the league with 9.5 and 7.5 sacks, respectively.
The Packers (Micah Parsons and Rashan Gary) are the only other team in the league with two players in the top 10.
For the rest of the units, both squads both a talented linebacker leading the way in the middle in Alex Singleton (89 tackles in 10 games) and Azeez Al-Shaair (71 tackles in 11 games). Pat Surtain II is the league’s best cornerback while Houston’s Derek Stingley Jr. is arguably right behind him.
One big difference between the two is in the scheme, as the Broncos run the fifth-most man coverage in the league (32.5% of snaps), while the Texans run the sixth-most zone (78.6%).
Another difference is the strength of schedule, as the Broncos have played an easier slew of opponents, as the orange and blue’s strength of schedule ranks 21st in the league. Houston’s is 15th. The Broncos have the 11th-hardest remaining strength of schedule in the league, while the Texans’ is the fourth-hardest.
There’s no question that these units are No. 1 and No. 2 on the list. They have similar blueprints in terms of personnel and different styles, which shows that there’s multiple ways to be dominant in this league.
While there’s all sorts of comparisons one can make when looking at two elite defenses, there’s only one way to truly settle things — on the field. Back in October, when the Broncos won 18-15, their defense is the one that had the edge in that game. Houston’s offense went just 3-for-17 on third down (Denver was 6-for-15), amassed just 3.7 yards per play (Denver’s offense mustered up 4.4) and didn’t score a single touchdown that afternoon, while Denver had two. Houston did win the turnover battle 2-0, but the Broncos won the defensive battle almost everywhere else.
Davis Mills, Houston’s backup quarterback, was in the game for the majority of the time, but it wasn’t much different when C.J. Stroud was playing.
One point, Denver.
Again, don’t get it twisted that these are the two best units in the league, and while Houston’s thrashing of Josh Allen on Thursday night gave some reason for giving the nod to them, don’t forget that Denver was the better unit when these teams went head-to-head.
