As the Denver Broncos’ defense rolled onto the field for the first possession of Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans, there was one glaring difference from every other game this season.

In place of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II, the rookie corner Jahdae Barron and the first-round pick were given the task of lining up across from star receiver Nico Collins on the first play of the game.

While Denver didn’t have a cornerback truly suited to lock Collins up, and pass coverage was a concern, the Broncos still managed a win over the Texans. By an 18-15 margin, the defense, without Surtain II, did enough to keep the Denver offense in the game once again.

On their first defensive possession of the game, Houston was moving the ball, and Denver was struggling to come up with answers, but on a third-and-5 from the Denver 23, Zach Allen sacked Houston’s C.J. Stroud for a nine-yard loss, turning a 42-yard field goal into a 51-yarder. Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn then missed the extended kick and gave Denver the ball back.

Denver then had a field goal blocked, and Houston got the ball at their own 41. After four plays that included a 47-yard shot to Texans tight end Dalton Schultz and a defensive holding call on safety Brandon Jones, Houston had the ball at the 1-yard line.

The Broncos’ defensive line stood strong and got some help from safety Talanoa Hufanga and linebacker Dre Greenlaw on three straight plays — a false start on fourth down convinced Houston to settle for three points.

The defensive front continued covering for the lackluster offense and Surtain II-less secondary. On Houston’s fourth possession of the game, Jonathan Cooper ended the Texans’ drive with a 12-yard sack on third down, another field goal for the Texans.

Denver took a short lead after a touchdown drive ending with a Courtland Sutton score, but Houston immediately regained the advantage with another field goal. Despite a short four-play drive on their next offensive drive, the Broncos were given another chance to put points on the board after the defense forced a three-and-out, but receiver Michael Bandy, who was called up from the practice squad, fumbled the punt return, giving Houston the ball at the Denver 30 with 39 seconds left in the half.

Davis Mills, who came in for an injured Stroud, picked on the Denver secondary for a couple of plays and had the ball at the 17-yard line, but Dondrea Tillman and Malcolm Roach combined for a sack to keep the Texans out of the end zone once again.

Houston had just one more chance to score for the rest of the game. On their first offensive possession out of the half, they scored a field goal. They punted on each of their next six drives and had just two more first downs.

If not for Denver’s elite defense, the Broncos would have suffered their third loss of the year. That’s been the story all season, but being without Surtain II revealed how important Denver’s defensive line is to the team’s success.

Of course, it’s important to consider the context of Denver’s defensive line success on Sunday. The Texans are one of the worst offensive lines in the league, so the Broncos didn’t have a tough matchup, but they have played like this all season.

The Broncos were averaging 23.6 pressures going into Sunday’s game, according to Pro Football Focus, and they notched 25 against Houston. Nik Bonitto had six, Allen had four, John Franklin-Myers had four and Cooper had three.

When the defensive line is living in the backfield, opposing offenses haven’t been able to find as much success downfield.

To be fair, though, Houston’s receivers played well Sunday, and Denver’s outside cornerbacks struggled. Riley Moss gave up six catches for 65 yards on seven targets, according to PFF. Kris Abrams-Draine failed to break up a target, allowing five catches for 37 yards.

Barron generally lives in the slot, but in Sunday’s game, he saw 86.7% of his reps come at the outside corner position. Denver tried to find ways to limit the Houston passing attack, and keeping the offense in front of them ended up being the key.

After they got most of their blips out of the way in the first half, Denver mostly prevented Houston from getting over the top of the defense. Houston drew up a few chances for Collins to match up with Abrams-Draine, but the four completions he allowed to Collins resulted in just 24 yards.

The Denver pass rush often got into the backfield, and if Stroud and Mills found a receiver, it generally came on short completions that Denver knew it could bounce back from, and the defensive front held on its bend-don’t-break situations.