![\"Sheldon](\"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2000x0.jpg\")
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Houston Texans defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, whose touchdown as time expired in Week 10 gave the Texans a win AND a cover, both of which were equally unexpected as the game went into the 4th quarter.<\/p>\n
Sheldon Rankins isn’t a household name nor will he ever be. Coming from the defensive tackle spot, that distinction is reserved for larger than life performers and personalities like Aaron Donald, Warren Sapp or Ndamukong Suh. Rankins isn’t that caliber of player, but today’s defensive spotlight will hopefully prove that the Texans defense is what it is in large part because of the under-the-radar contributions of one of its largest starters.<\/p>\n
What the stats are saying:\u00a0<\/strong>15 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 3 QB hits, 1 fumble recovery, 1 defensive touchdown, 77.1 PFF Grade (11th among 125 qualified interior defenders)<\/p>\n What DeMeco Ryans said about Rankins:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cI was really interested in getting Sheldon back because knowing the type of player that he was when he was here, the leadership that he provided, him and Will [Anderson Jr.] had a really great connection their first year together and really wanted to keep Sheldon,”\u00a0Ryans said back in July, per Cole Thompson of Texans Wire.<\/p>\n What DeMeco Ryans said (indirectly) about Rankins:\u00a0<\/strong>“[A pass rush] only works with the interior guys getting the right push. So, I thought our tackles did a good job when we were able to push the pocket and they were able to collapse the edge. That’s how the rush works together,” Ryans said following a Week 10 win in which Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. combined for 4.5 sacks.<\/p>\n What Sheldon Rankins said about his return from illness:\u00a0<\/strong>“That knocked me out for a while. A lot of people don’t know and a lot of people thought, \u2018What type of illness or what type of thing could have someone out this long?\u2019 A lot of people don’t know, I was literally laying horizontal in my house, in a dark house, for probably about a month and a half before I could really even sit up without feeling kind of crazy,”\u00a0Rankins explained. “I went through all that. Throughout the process of that, I started the season last year probably around 300 pounds.\u00a0By the end of dealing with all of that, along with some other things, I was probably down to 255. So, lost all my strength, lost all the weight, power.”<\/p>\n What the tape is saying:\u00a0<\/strong>Although Sheldon Rankins isn’t nearly as prolific as he was in his early-career peak with the New Orleans Saints or even during his 2023 campaign with the Houston Texans, getting the big fella back in the middle of the defensive line has been a welcome addition to a Texans defense that has their sights set on evolving from one of the best units in the NFL to\u00a0<\/p>\n Rankins’ second career touchdown was well-timed. The 31-year-old defensive tackle was slated to be the subject of this week’s Defensive Spotlight as is, so his game-clinching fumble recovery and score as time expired only justified the choice.<\/p>\n Defensive touchdown aside, Sheldon Rankins will remain an afterthought on a Texans defense that is loaded with stars at all three levels. While Rankins’ impact may not be as noticeable as that of Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter, Derek Stingley Jr. or Azeez Al-Shaair. But because Rankins does his job so effectively, it has a domino effect on everything else Houston does on that side of the ball.<\/p>\n As DeMeco Ryans explained, if interior defenders like Sheldon Rankins are able to push the pocket on pass plays, it makes life easier for both Hunter and Anderson coming off the edge. When that happens, opposing quarterbacks have less time to hold onto the ball, meaning Stingley and the rest of the Texans secondary don’t have to cover for as long.<\/p>\n On run plays, if Rankins is eating up space and blocks, it frees Houston’s linebackers to make plays on the ball. All facets end up working together and accordingly, the Texans defense is one of the best in the NFL. Rankins plays a huge role in that process running as smoothly as it does.<\/p>\n Past Defensive Spotlights<\/strong><\/p>\n 10\/8\/2025\u00a0– Jalen Pitre<\/p>\n 10\/15\/2025\u00a0– Danielle Hunter<\/p>\n 10\/22\/2025\u00a0– Will Anderson Jr.<\/p>\n 10\/29\/2025\u00a0– Azeez Al-Shaair<\/p>\n 11\/5\/2025 – Kamari Lassiter<\/p>\n It is entirely possible that, after two surgeries to repair an injured Achilles tendon and two draft picks used in an effort to replace him, Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson still manages to find his way back on the field here in 2025. Cleveland guaranteed all of the $230 million in Watson\u2019s contract, after all, and pushed back enough of his salary in salary-cap gymnastics that there really isn\u2019t much to lose by letting Watson play again.<\/p>\n As of now, his return is still in doubt. He began the season on the the Physically Unable to Perform list (PUP) and by NFL rule, any player on the PUP list can have their practice window opened, which allows them to return to the field. The team then has three weeks to activate the player, and if he\u2019s still not healthy, he goes back on the PUP for the remainder of the season.<\/p>\n Watson would need to pass medical exams before he can return to practice. On Wednesday, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was asked about Watson\u2019s potential return, a topic he clearly does not like addressing, and said, \u201cI don\u2019t have an update there.\u201d<\/p>\n Watson, though, does have an update. Sort of. He posted photos of himself this week working out at the Browns facility, and throughout the process of his rehab, multiple reports have surfaced suggesting he intends to return to play.<\/p>\n Watson captioned his workout photos: \u201cBe READY! More GLORY.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether the Browns are ready for Watson is another story. Last week, Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot said on the \u201cOrange and Brown Talk\u201d podcast that it is Watson\u2019s intent to get back on the field this season\u2013even if the Browns prefer to ignore him altogether.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom people I talk to, he feels like he can come in and be successful with this football team,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, I don\u2019t know if he will get that chance, I have no idea if he will get that chance. He is like, he who shall not be named, nobody wants to talk about him. Nobody wants to answer a question about him. And we really don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n As things stand, the Browns are fully committed to Dillon Gabriel as the quarterback, despite his decidedly poor showing through five starts. Gabriel has completed only 58.6% of his passes and is averaging just 170.0 yards passing per game, for a rating of 80.4. At Pro Football Focus, Gabriel has notched a grade of 49.9, which ranks 37th out of 37 graded quarterbacks this season.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, in addition to being asked about Deshaun Watson, Stefanski was peppered with questions about Gabriel\u2019s inaccuracy, even on short and intermediate throws. He has completed just two of his eight deep passes all season, and is just 17-for-42 (40.5%) on passes between 10-19 yards.<\/p>\n Said Stefanski: \u201cI would just caution to any quarterback, young and old \u2013 you\u2019re going to miss throws. It\u2019s an occupational hazard that you\u2019re likely not going to go 100% completion percentage. It\u2019s an occupational hazard that a corner is going to get beat deep every once in a while. So, you\u2019re not going to make every throw.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Houston Texans defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, whose touchdown as time expired in Week 10 gave the Texans a win AND a cover, both of which were equally unexpected as the game went…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t