Patriots OC Josh McDaniels identifies what makes Texans edge rushers so special

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Patriots OC Josh McDaniels identifies what makes Texans edge rushers so special

Karen Guregian · MassLive

Thu, Jan 15, 2026 ·

2 min read

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FOXBOROUGH - Josh McDaniels considers Texans edge rushers Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter the best pass rush duo in the league.

During his Thursday media session, the Patriots offensive coordinator waxed poetic about the Texans defense, and their dynamic set of pass rushers who are headed to town for Sunday’s AFC Divisional Round matchup.

“They have length, they have speed, they have power. I think the thing nobody talks enough about is the effort they play with. That’s elite,” McDaniels said. “The effort they play with is elite and we’re going to have to match the effort and play to the whistle on every play because they make a lot of plays because they play harder than you do. They play longer than you do. We’ve seen that. It’s clear to see on any Texan game.”

Hunter has 15 sacks while Anderson has 12 so Patriots tackles Will Campbell and Morgan Moses are going to have their hands full.

McDaniels, however, said the Patriots just can’t focus all of their attention on the duo, because the players in the middle of the line - Sheldon Rankins , Denico Autry - are formidable as well.

“The thing that makes this whole group as good as they are is, it’s not just them. They have two guys inside who do something productive as well,” McDaniels said. “They create a lot of problems in the middle of the pocket whether it’s Autry or Rankins ... you have to block all four of them together.”

McDaniels said collectively, this is the best defense the Patriots have faced all year.

“They don’t make any mistakes. So you’re not going to get lucky and have them blow four coverages and you just gain 200 yards. Everything you get, you’ll earn. Every snap, every down will be difficult,” he said. “They make the running game difficult. They run and hit, they tackle, they’re violent. They’re very physical. This is probably the fastest group we’ve seen all year at all three levels . . . The holes you may have, they won’t be there very long.

“What a challenge, what an opportunity for us to be able to play against a team like this. We’re going to have to play our best game of the year offensively if we want to be productive.”

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