"It's a brotherhood. No matter if it's the offense, special teams, defense, we've got each other's back. We've got faith in each other, and we know that we've got the guys in this room to get the job done. So, whoever's out there on the field, we know that they're going to get the job done. We trust each other."

While an offense headlined by star quarterback C.J. Stroud has had its moments, especially his command and accuracy with 11 touchdown passes and one interception, the defense has dramatically regressed.

They routinely give up explosive plays and their tackling has been sloppy, including missing three tackles on New York Giants running back Devin 'Motor' Singletary's game-winning touchdown run in an overtime loss at Reliant Stadium. They're ranked 19th in the league in defense, allowing 24.3 points per game and rank 27th in passing defense, giving up 244 yards per game after ranking fifth last year with an average of 179 yards per game.

"Go back to our standard," said Texans All-Pro defensive end Will Anderson Jr., an NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate who entered Sunday tied with T.J. Watt for the NFL lead with 7 1/2 sacks. "Reflecting, watching the tape, it's just we have to do a better job of swarming. We have to do a better job of leaning in on our foundation and I think that's just been the biggest reflection. It’s like, ‘Are we playing our brand of ball on tape on a consistent level.’”

“It's not going to happen overnight, but I think the more you practice it, the more reps you get, the more consistent you be at it during the week. It's going to show up on Sunday and that's just how football is. You never know when it's going to show up, but it's going to show up eventually and I feel like we have the guys to do it. We have a really great team and you go back and watch those games. It just comes down to finishing. It comes down to how consistent can you be at the end of the game. We're not getting blown out."

The Texans have intercepted just three passes this season, down from 19 last season and 17 two seasons ago.

They've missed 70 tackles, fifth-most in the NFL. They allow a league-high 19 percent explosive rate.

They're playing zone 72 percent of the time, Cover 3 at a 44.2 percent clip and Cover 2 the majority of the snaps.

They reset this week by going back to basics with old-school, youth league football tackling drills instituted by Ryans, a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker.

“He took us back to Pee Wee Ball," Anderson said. "He had all of us line up on 35-yard line and in line and one person was on their knees. The other person was standing up and when he said, ‘Hit’, and you drive and wrap and squeeze and then you get up, stand up five yards apart, go tackle the man, drive for five yards. Whatever it takes to get the job done.

"Football was played differently back then and how it is now and he's reteaching us. Like, ‘No, you have to go put your body on people. You just can't go to the side and just jump off the diving board and just think of all the tackles going to work in this league.’ You have to put body on body, I think that's the area that we continue to clean up and get these guys on the ground.”

What has happened to the Texans?

How did a proud defense go on a downward spiral with the same personnel as last season?

"Football, in general, the good, the bad, a lot of it comes down to a result," Texans Pro Bowl middle linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair said. "So you sit there and say, 'Man, am I crazy? I feel like Space Jam, they just steal all my powers away, and the confidence, and the mentality, and all that stuff.' At the end of the day, it's the results that matter.

"So you can see plays in games last year where somebody might have been wide open. But whether it was a pass or whether it was a disguise or something that happened to where they didn't see it and we made the play. And then same situation this year, and they made it.

But that's how crazy this game can drive you to where it's like, 'I'm all messed up, I'm doing everything wrong.' No, everything's not wrong. In this league, you gotta keep pushing to get better. You're looking everywhere, and I don't think you're human if you don't care, if you're not trying to figure out what's going on."

The Chargers have been awful, especially quarterback Justin Herbert as he leads the league with 10 interceptions. Los Angeles Rams safety Quentin Lake said that Herbert is "throwing deli meat out there, he's seeing ghosts." He later apologized, but he wasn't wrong.

Herbert has been bad, as has new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.

"Justin Herbert in the past, he's done some big things," Bullock said. "He's still one of the top quarterbacks in his league, a very special quarterback. He'll make every single throw, he's good with his legs. When you watch film, you see kind of a little bit of that. Right now, outside looking in, people probably don't watch games, they're probably looking at the record and probably saying, 'Oh the Chargers, not that,' but this is a really talented team over here."

Regardless of the record, with five losses coming by a combined 31 points by margins of three, four, four, six and 14 points, the Texans desperately need a win.

That starts with execution and fundamentals and intangibles, including sticking together.

"It's a positive vibe in this locker room," Bullock said. "No matter the record, we lift each other up, and right now we know the position we're in, we're ready to roll. We're coming off a bye week, so everybody's fresh and everybody's just ready to go out there and do our job and go have fun."

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and Sports Talk 790. His YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AaronWilsonSport