John McClain, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, is in his 48th year of covering the NFL in Houston, including 45 seasons at the Houston Chronicle.

The first time the Texans were underdogs at home this season, they defeated Buffalo 23-20. Now they're underdogs for a second time at NRG Stadium, where they play Detroit in a Sunday prime-time game on NBC.

Led by Head Coach Dan Campbell, a native Texan who was born in Clifton, grew up in Glen Rose and played at Texas A&M, the Lions come to Houston as the best team in the NFC and perhaps the best team in the NFL -- a favorite to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.

Campbell has led the Lions to a 7-1 record, including a six-game winning streak in which they average 36 points a game. Campbell has already done serious damage in his home state, destroying the Cowboys 47-9 in Arlington. Detroit is hoping to flex its muscle again in the Lone Star State by beating the Texans and extending the winning streak to seven games.

The Texans are 6-3, but they've lost two of their last three games. They still have a comfortable lead in the AFC South, but they'd like to rebound from their loss to the Jets by upsetting the Lions in the nationally televised game.

The Texans know how significant the game is, but Head Coach DeMeco Ryans doesn't want to place any more pressure on his players than they're already feeling.

"I know no one wants to hear this but, for me, every week's a big game," Ryans said this week. "It doesn't change just because the Lions are coming in. Every game's important. This game isn't more important just because of the Lions and what they've done. They're playing well. They're coached well, but that doesn't change our mindset. It's still the same every week."

Sunday is the second of three consecutive prime-time games for the Texans. They lost 21-13 to the Jets at MetLife Stadium. After hosting the Lions, they visit the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in a Monday night game.

Including Sunday, the Texans still play the three-best teams in the NFL – Detroit, at Kansas City and Baltimore on Christmas Day.

Defeating a dominating team like Detroit will be difficult but not impossible. There are several things the Texans will have to do to accomplish their goal of leaving NRG Stadium with a victory.

Let's start with the pass protection. C.J. Stroud is the most pressured quarterback in the NFL. He's been sacked 30 times. The only quarterback who's been sacked more is Cleveland's Deshaun Watson, who's on injured reserve and out for the season. The Texans are coming off a Jets loss in which Stroud was sacked a career-high eight times.

Left guard Kenyon Green (shoulder) is out for the season. He's expected to be replaced by Jarrett Patterson, who's returning from a concussion.

"I've had a lot of great conversations with them (linemen), and I believe sometimes it takes getting hit in the mouth, maybe getting hit in the mouth multiple times, to wake up," Stroud said about the protection issues. "I believe this is a wakeup call for us to get things fixed."

Stroud was asked about recent criticism of offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik's play-calling.

"I wouldn't be able to call too many plays, too, if guys are not doing assignments," he said. "We all have to get better, too. We know we can help him. He knows he can help us. I believe we have the team to be really special. We can get it fixed, and we will."

The Texans are 11^th in offense (348.1 yards), including 11^th in rushing (126.4) and 13^th in passing (221.7). They've scored more points (119) in the first half than the second half (82), and they've been outscored 58-32 in the third quarter.

Slowik emphasized that solving the problems protecting Stroud doesn't start and end with the offensive line.

"We have to be better at every level," he said. "Up front, there are technique and fundamental stuff and just (the) execution of what we're doing, but it goes beyond up front. It's every position in the pass game right now."

When asked about the difference in scoring in the first half compared to the second, Slowik said, "I bet if you look at situational football, it's going to look very much the same. It'll be in the first half, we're good at situational football, and in the second half, we're not executing situational football well enough.

"I know people like to think there's some secret sauce between the first half and the second half (and) there are all these adjustments that happen. Everyone makes adjustments (but) we're not doing our job as well."

The Texans will have to rely heavily on the running game featuring Joe Mixon, who averages 100 yards a game. In 2023, the backs combined for six rushing touchdowns. Mixon has six in the 6 ½ games in which he's been healthy.

Run blocking hasn't been an issue with the Texans. The Lions are 22^nd in defense (357.1 yards) but seventh against the run (106.4). They're 29^th against the pass (250.8), but those statistics can be misleading. The Lions get big leads in the second half, and teams have to throw the ball to play catch-up.

Expect Stroud to throw a lot of quick passes and try to utilize Mixon as a receiver as well as a runner.

The one thing the Lions haven't been able to do consistently is sack the quarterback since defensive end Aiden Hutchinson (7.5 sacks) suffered a season-ending injury in the fifth game. The only player on their roster with more than 2.5 sacks is end Za'Darius Smith, who had five sacks with the Browns before Detroit acquired him in a trade this week.

Unlike the Lions and a lot of other teams that appear destined to make the playoffs, the Texans didn't trade for any players by the Tuesday deadline.

"I know everybody's in an uproar about us (not) trading at the deadline," Ryans said. "It's not from a lack of us working to improve our team, but there's no savior coming to save our team, and there has to be two parties involved in trading.

"Everybody thinks the trade deadline comes and you're going to find this guy who's going to save your team. I don't see it that way. Transactions were made across the league (but) there has to be two parties available to do a trade. It's not just us going and taking somebody from another team. People have to be available, and the trade has to be good terms for everyone."

Executive Vice President/General Manager Nick Caserio didn't get a deal he liked, so the Texans will go with what they have, including getting back some injured players on both sides of the ball.

The Texans won't have their leading pass rusher, DE Will Anderson Jr. (7.5 sacks), who won't play because of an ankle injury. They will get back LB Azeez Al-Shaair and safety Jimmie Ward.

Ryans' defense will need all the help it can get against a Detroit offense that is seventh (369.6 yards), including sixth in rushing (152.6) and 15^th passing (217.0)

The Lions have two backs – Jahmyr Gibbs (656 yards) and David Montgomery (488) – who are on a pace to rush for more than 1,000 yards each. They've rushed for seven touchdowns apiece.

"Their offensive line does a really good job," Ryans said. "Their big offensive linemen cover guys up well. And credit to their backs. Gibbs (is) very explosive, (a) home-run runner. And then you've got (Montgomery) – a downhill, tough, physical (runner). They find a way to get yards.

"We have to do a good job of tackling. People have been on these guys, but they've done a great job of making guys miss tackles. We have to swarm. It's going to take more than one person to get their backs down. (They're) probably the best one-two punch in the league."

Quarterback Jared Goff is on an incredible run. He's completing 74.9 percent of his passes. His 115.0 rating is second in the NFL. In his last five games, Goff has 11 touchdown passes and 17 incompletions.

Goff won't have to worry about Anderson Jr., but he'll have to keep a close eye on the other end, Danielle Hunter. He has 5.5 sacks and leads the NFL with 54 pressures, according to Next Gen Stats. The Texans are on a pace for 55 sacks, which would shatter the team record of 46 they registered last season.

Despite getting persistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks, the Texans have allowed 19 touchdown passes, tying Jacksonville for the most in the league. They gave up 17 last season.

"We gave up some explosives early in the season," defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. "I would say in general our red zone defense has to improve just overall. I would say our red zone numbers haven't been where we want them. It's something we've been emphasizing over the last week or so. Our job is to keep scoring down, so whatever we need to do to do that, we're trying to address those things.

"For us, everything starts with our rush, so, hopefully, we can affect (Goff) that way – play our coverages the right way (and) try to tighten up our coverage package to counteract some of the things they're doing."

Which is easier said than done, especially against a team like the Lions. Can the Texans do it? Find out on Sunday Night Football.