HOUSTON -- The Houston Texans secondary showed an ability to turn heads going all the way back to training camp -- for those who were willing to look.

Texans defensive backs consistently prevented explosive plays through the air on the practice field during the summer, though most of the focus remained on an offense struggling to produce them, not the defense that was preventing them. Observers wouldn’t gain a full picture of the quality of the secondary until it played four quarters against a first-team offense other than the one it faced on the practice field.

It was when the lights came on for real, in a 20-20 Week 1 tie against the Indianapolis Colts, that Texans safety Jonathan Owens says he went from a high confidence level to a firmer belief in the secondary. While the group allowed Colts quarterback Matt Ryan to throw for 352 yards, it took 50 attempts over 70 minutes to get there, and the Texans didn’t allow a single completion of over 20 yards, a feat only five teams accomplished in the opening week of the season.

“Just took pride in defending the deep ball and just making sure the offense has to go down [the field] slowly,” Owens said of the performance. “And trying to eliminate the big play because obviously that’s the easiest way for teams to move the ball. So you limit them as much as you can and just make it work all the way down the field."

The Texans’ raw numbers might make belief in the pass defense seem like a stretch, as it allows 249.4 passing yards per game (23rd in the NFL entering Week 7). But a deeper dive beyond the broader stats highlights the impact of a unit sitting top-10 in a plethora of categories.

Houston has allowed only six passes over 20 yards, fifth-fewest in the NFL. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Texans defense has forced opposing quarterbacks into a passer rating of 73, (fourth-worst in the NFL), six interceptions, (eighth-most), and a completion percentage of 57% (third-lowest). Houston has totaled 30 pass breakups (eighth-most according to Pro Football Reference) and quarterbacks have a QBR of 44.1, ninth-lowest in the NFL.

The Texans’ secondary, consisting of the cornerback trio of Derek Stingley Jr., Steven Nelson and Desmond King II along with the safety tandem of rookie Jalen Pitre and Owens, has shown flashes of having one of the better pass defenses in the NFL.

When quarterbacks target Stingley, they have a passer rating of 69, 18th-best among cornerbacks with 100 coverage snaps according to Next Gen Stats. The No. 3 pick has five pass breakups and an interception to highlight the unit, but the rest of the secondary corps has produced as well. King, Nelson, Pitre and Owens have combined for four INTs and 11 PBUs for a group allowing only 19.8 points per game, 13th-best in the NFL. But Nelson is among those who knows Houston’s defensive backs still have a lot of work to do for a 1-3-1 group still trying to earn respect within the league.

“We got a good group. Keep doing what we are doing and by the time we look up, we should be talking about one of the top secondaries,” Nelson said. “But as of right now, I think it's too early. Got a lot of work to do.”

When the Texans travel to Las Vegas to face the Raiders (1-4) in Week 6, they’ll need the secondary to continue playing well if they want any shot of extending their win streak to two games. Houston defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 13-6, in Week 4 before last Sunday’s bye. After the rest, the Texans will face a Raiders team led by three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Carr, who is throwing to two-time All-Pro receiver Davante Adams, among others.

Houston coach Lovie Smith expects his team to be up to the task given its history this season, noting they’ve faced a former MVP in Ryan, a nine-time Pro Bowler in the Denver Broncos’ Russell Wilson and Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert, who has thrown the fifth-most touchdowns in NFL history through a quarterback's first three seasons (79).

“You look at the quarterbacks we played. Matt Ryan, he's even playing in the league for a bit, right? That guy in Denver, he's making a little bit of money too,” head coach Lovie Smith told ESPN. “[Jaguars QB and former No. 1 pick] Trevor Lawrence, he's got a Gatorade commercial. And Herbert. So you look at the guys that we have played, they're all guys that can throw the football.”

And Smith thinks his defense, and secondary in particular, is nowhere close to its ceiling.

“That's why we're excited. We haven't played our best ball,” Smith said. “We had a chance to analyze exactly what we do and plan to do better.”