When the Houston Texans made the decision to select C.J. Stroud with the second overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, and then followed that up 10 minutes later with the trade up from the 12th overall pick to the 3rd overall pick to take Will Anderson, the very obvious mission was to completely recalibrate the team and the locker room on both sides of the football. Stroud would be the new face of the offense, and Anderson would be the new face of the defense.
In 2023, both Stroud and Anderson were outstanding, each taking home the Rookie of the Year award for his respective side of the football, Stroud on offense and Anderson on defense. If there were one of the duo whose rookie year was a more emphatic announcement of their presence, it was probably Stroud, who got some league MVP consideration.
Again, in 2024, both are off to great starts, perfect symbols of the team’s overall 5-1 start, but in this season, it’s Anderson who’s garnered the first bit of individual hardware, as his Week 6 performance against the New England Patriots was good enough for AFC Defensive Player of the Week accolades:
In the Texans’ 41-21 win over the Patriots, Anderson put together a performance and stat line reminiscent of the legendary J.J. Watt — eight tackles, including four tackles for loss, a career-high three sacks and added one pass defensed (which turned into an Eric Murray interception). Anderson’s sack and tackles for loss totals both ranked first across the NFL last week.
Anderson became just the 12th player in NFL history to record at least five tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks and one pass defensed in a game. Through six games, no player in the league has more tackles for loss than Anderson’s nine, and his 5.5 sacks rank tied for fifth.
This is now the second time this season that the Texans have gone back to back weeks with a player winning Player of the Week honors, with Ka’imi Fairbairn having taken home Week 5 special teams honors. Joe Mixon and Fairbairn won the weekly awards on offense and special teams in Weeks 1 and 2, respectively.
Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
