When Houston plays the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, the Texans will be seeking their sixth victory in the past eight games.

When Houston lost its first two games of the 2023 season, the Texans had an 11-40-1 record since the start of the 2020 NFL campaign. Since the two 2023 losses, Houston is a pair of two-point setbacks from being perfect over seven games.

“The past is the past,” Texans rookie Will Anderson Jr. said during an appearance on NFL Network’s “The Insiders” on Tuesday. “We’re not worried about, ‘Oh, this happened last year,’ even the guys that were here last year. We’re so, like, focused on this year’s Texans, the 2023 Texans, we don’t even talk about what happened last year. We’re only worried about these are the strides that we’re making, this is what’s going on right now, this is how we’re going to continue to be great, and it’s just been the consistency, and I think that’s just been the beauty of it. Guys are hungry; guys are starving. Guys can see how good we can be when we’re all on the same page and see the success we can have when we’re all doing things the right way and buying into the system. It’s been a beautiful thing to see.

“And the guys, I can’t say enough good things about this group because it just gives me chills and makes me want to start playing right now. Everybody’s so hungry and so eager just for the opportunity to keep going out there and getting better each week.”

Houston’s path to improvement began in the offseason, when it hired San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, a former Alabama All-American and Texans Pro Bowler, as its head coach.

Houston followed with a draft that produced five rookie starters. The Texans took Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud at No. 2, then swung a deal for the third selection and added Anderson, an All-American rusher from Alabama.

“Coach Ryans and C.J., their energy is contagious,” Anderson said. “They spread along so much positivity and so much enthusiasm around the locker room, around the building, on the practice field, everything, and people feed off that. It’s just been a blessing to be able to be a part of that and to be able to see the culture that’s being set here. …

“I wouldn’t rather play with any other coach, I wouldn’t rather have any other quarterback than C.J., and I know the other guys feel the exact same way.”

Stroud has thrown for 2,626 yards, the fourth-most for an NFL player in his first nine games, and his 101.0 passing-efficiency rating is the seventh-best mark for a nine-game rookie.

“C.J.’s just a guy that he’s going to do what C.J. does,” Anderson said. “He lives up to his name. He doesn’t worry about anything else; he just worries about being C.J. And I think another thing is, like, knowing that God got him. His faith is very strong. ‘I know that I can do all things through Christ,’ and he always keeps God first with everything. I think the character and the poise that he has and the preparation that he goes throughout the whole week of knowing, like, ‘I’m more than prepared to go out there, and whatever situation that may present itself, that I have the composure and the poise to go out there and finish a play.’”

In the Texans’ 39-37 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 5, Stroud led a six-play, 75-yard drive that took 40 seconds and ended with a 15-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Tank Dell with six seconds remaining.

In Houston’s 30-27 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Stroud was at the helm as the Texans moved 55 yards in six plays for a field goal on the game’s final snap.

“It’s not crazy to me because I expected it,” Anderson said of Stroud’s success. “C.J.’s been balling. It’s been since training camp like that. You see the way he comes to work every day — him in the training room, the locker room. The guys love him. I love him. His personality is so big, you can’t help but to love C.J. And he’s so special, and I’m so happy that he’s a part of this organization and I get to call him a teammate, a brother and a friend.”

Anderson has started all nine Houston games as a rookie at defensive end. He has 30 tackles, two sacks and 11 quarterback hits.

Among the NFL’s 32 teams, the Texans rank 16th in points allowed and 20th in yards allowed. Last season, Houston finished 27th in points allowed and 30th in yards allowed. The Texans yielded the most rushing yards in the NFL during the 2022 season. But Houston ranks eighth in rushing yards allowed per game in 2023 and has held its past five opponents to fewer than 100 rushing yards.

“Just continue to be me,” Anderson said of his plans for the second half of his first NFL season. “Continue to grow. That’s all areas of my game. I’m not perfect at all. But the guys in the room have been helping. The coaches have been helping. Of course, I’m doing my part of trying to help myself, so it’s really about just being willing to learn and just going out there, keep trying to perfect my craft and get better every day in all areas.”

The Texans and Cardinals kick off at noon CST Sunday at NRG Stadium, the first of three straight home games for Houston.

At 5-4, the Texans are one game behind the Jacksonville Jaguars at the top of the AFC South standings. Houston plays the Jaguars on Nov. 26.

Jacksonville is one of two opponents with winning records left among Houston’s remaining eight games, and the other, the Cleveland Browns, announced on Wednesday that quarterback Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of the season.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.