Stay on top of the latest Houston Texans news by adding https://www.houstontexans.com to your Google Source Preferences.
Houston Texans DE Will Anderson Jr., named the NFL Way to Play Award winner for Week 3, spent Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, talking less about sacks and more about the mindset he wants to carry through the Texans locker room ahead of Sunday's Week 4 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
A Lesson in Joy From Andre Davis
"It's crazy, because I was talking to [former Texans WR and Texans Team Development Coordinator] Andre [Davis], he used to play here, but I was asking him if he had joy today and he was like, 'Of course I have joy. Joy is what's inside of me.' So for us and looking at it, it's like, joy is not what's on the outside. If you say you have joy and you say you have real joy, that's what's inside of you. Regardless of the circumstances, regardless of an 0-3 start, if you truly say you have joy, it's going to be inside of you, so every day you get to show up being the same guy, being the same consistent person and going."
"It's like I said after the game, 'Once that door opens for us, it's going to open,'" Anderson continued. "Everybody's going to say what they want to say but we have to stick together in this group and we have to be as one and I believe the best is yet to come for this team. I believe we're right there knocking at that door and I believe it's going to open soon."
No Energy Vampires in the Texans Locker Room
"I look at it like this, man. We can hold our heads down and everybody can be around here moping around and sad and, 'Man, what's going on?' Or we can pick each other up, look ourselves in the mirror, be grown men. We get paid to do a job. Go do your job. I think that's the approach that we're taking and bring guys along with you. Nobody's going to walk around sad because then it's just energy vampires."
Anderson said that tone starts at the top.
"Everybody has to have joy. It starts with [HC] DeMeco [Ryans]. DeMeco has been doing a great job of coming in here with energy every day, because if we're looking at him and he doesn't have joy, then what is the rest of the team going to do? Nobody's going to walk around here all sad. Everybody can be frustrated. But at the end of the day, when we touch that grass, that's your opportunity to go get better and show what you need to go do."
Where Will Anderson Jr. Gets His Energy
"A lot of it started when I was little and I think most of it started in high school. I think walking into a leadership role and just knowing you see potential in people, obviously you see how great they are and you want to push them to be the best and you know they can be the best. It just makes me want to keep going for them. It makes me want to keep pushing them because I know they're great and I know they can be great."
Staying Locked Into the Process
"I'm not putting any more pressure on myself to go out and make plays that I'm not supposed to be making or feel like I have to be Superman because that's not what I'm here to do. I'm here to lead. I'm just here to do my job. I'm just here to be Will Anderson Jr., but I'll also always give credit to the guys that play beside me. I don't get what I have without them."
"Going into this week, it's going to be the same thing. I'm not getting too high. I'm not getting too low. I'm just staying still."
