Derek Stingley Jr. and the Houston Texans may have finished the 2025 season as the NFL’s No. 1 overall defense and it second-best unit in scoring on that side of the ball, but they fall short of some of the games greatest units in recent memory.
That is according to a former member of one of those groups, T.J. Ward, who was a three-time Pro Bowler as a safety and won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos in 2015.
The ring is not the only distinction Ward noted, either.
Ex-Broncos SAF T.J. Ward Throws Shade at Texans
GettyFormer Denver Broncos star T.J. Ward threw shade at the Houston Texans.
Ward began his argument by pointing out that his squad won it all during a debate with fellow former NFL player Emmanuel Acho. But even in that, he noted that Stingley and the Texans fell short of what is required to truly be among the game’s most hallowed defenses.
“I was finna ask what you had in that cup to even ask that question …It’s the one that got the ring. That’s who better. You got to have a ring to even get in the conversation. You ain’t got no ring, this is nothing to talk about,” Ward said on “Speakeasy” on June 26, adding that the Texans “had ample opportunity to get the ring, but you let New England air you out.”
“Guess what? In the moments where they were supposed to give up field goals and not touchdowns, they gave up touchdowns.”
Informed that Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud who through 4 interceptions, Ward was defiant.
“It doesn’t matter. If you’re a all-time generational defense, you limit those. They had what? Along with the 4 turnovers, regardless, the Patriots had like 300 yards in the second half,” Ward said, agreeing to a “fact check” before adding “Probably like 260, something like that.”
In reality, the Texans allowed 284 total yards in the entire game, including 179 passing yards. They allowed 114 of those yards in the second half.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye accounted for 62 of them with his arm.
T.J. Ward Doubles Down on Texans
GettyDerek Stingley Jr. and the Houston Texans have been called out by Super Bowl champion T.J. Ward.
The Patriots’ numbers drop even further on net, but Ward’s message about Stingley and the Texans’ defense remained clear: they did not step up when it mattered the most, as their offense struggled with the season was on the line.
“You get in a position to where your back’s against the wall. What we didn’t do is give up touchdowns when our offense turned the ball over. You getting 3 points if that. We might knock you out of field goal range like we did in Cleveland. About to go to overtime, the Browns in field goal range. We knocked them out of field range.”
Confronted with the actual yardage, Ward expanded his point.
“You can’t give up 28 points,” Ward, whose Broncos allowed no more than 18 points during their run, told Acho after learning the Patriots scored 7 points after halftime. “Not in the playoffs.”
That was when Ward began chiding the Texans position by position, as Acho compared the units to his (Ward’s) Broncos team. Ward began by saying it was with “all due respect” and that “I love what the Texans do on defense,” aligning them with the current Broncos.
That’s where the niceties stopped, though.
He even lamented the Broncos allowing what was ultimately four receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown to “32-year-old [Stefon] Diggs, who had 82 yards in the playoffs.”
Derek Stingley Jr., Texans Teammates Called Out
GettyDerek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter got some humbling comments from T.J. Ward.
Asked whether there was any competition between Stingley and the Texans’ corners and his group, Ward said, “What are you talking about? In which way? No, it’s not a competition.”
Acho began listing off accomplishments of the Texans’ group, to which Ward replied incredulously, “This is the Broncos. That’s what you’re talking about, right?” adding, “You cannot be serious.”
First up was Stingley.
“And what has he [Stingley] done?” Ward asked. “He got he got took up top about three times last year. At least three times.”
Pressed, Ward said, “You talking about the one that got one-handed by [Kayshon] Boutte in the playoffs; you talking about that one? Or you talking about Aqib Talib, second in interceptions for touchdowns?
Or are you talking about First Team All-Pro Chris Harris Jr., ‘Strap’ Harris?”
Next up was Kamari Lassiter, who is widely viewed as an ascending star in the secondary and someone who could force the Texans into some difficult financial decisions in 2027.
Lassiter had 4 interceptions last season, one more than he had as a rookie. He was blanked during the postseason, but Ward insisted that even his regular-season number was not anything worth writing home about.
“4 picks? You supposed to get four picks as a corner. That’s standard,” Ward said. “You’re supposed to get 4 picks, especially with the quarterbacks in the league today. They’re giving them to you. They handing them out. What you say, like Capri Suns? Like Capri Suns after the Little League games? Yeah, that’s how they giving them out.”
Ward said, “I don’t think it’s nothing to talk about. But, hey, we here,” about the pass rushes.
Texans Faced ‘Busted-Up’ Aaron Rodgers, ‘Trash’ Drake Maye in 2025 Playoffs
GettyAaron Rodgers and Drake Maye caught strays in T.J. Ward’s comments about the Houston Texans.
Ward held little regard for the Texans’ two opponents during the postseason, further deriding Stingley and Co.’s efforts.
“Can we have the conversation around both of these offenses is trash? You talking about the Patriots, and you talk about who? The Pittsburgh Steelers, who they beat with a busted-up a** Aaron Rodgers, one. You seen what that quarterback [Maye] did in the Super Bowl. Trash for the Patriots. He took y’all up top for 3 passing touchdowns. And who was the other offense? Who was the other offense?
“I’ll tell you who we played in the playoffs. We played Ben Roethlisberger, Hall of Famer, we played Tom Brady, GOAT, and then we played … regular season MVP, one of his kind, Sir Cam Newton, and made all them look pretty mediocre.
Asked about carrying an injured Peyton Manning, who was benched in 2015, Ward sidestepped.
“See, I don’t want to go there,” Ward said. “Our defense did a whole lot. And I got into a debate with Richard Sherman. …
“When you look at the offenses we played, Pittsburgh Steelers–we only played two playoff games–and Tom Brady, and you’re comparing them to C.J. Stroud and–who’s that other guy in New England? Drake Maye? Drake Maye? Is this a conversation that we’re really having?”
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