ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Pat Surtain II is out and Dre Greenlaw in back.

Denver's defense saw some shuffling this week as the Broncos (6-2) prepared to put their five-game winning streak on the line Sunday at Houston, where the Texans (3-4) were installed as slight favorites.

Surtain, the NFL's reigning Defensive Player of the Year, is expected to miss multiple games with a strained left pectoral muscle he injured while making a tackle last week in Denver's 44-24 rout of the Dallas Cowboys.

He'll be replaced in the starting lineup by second-year pro Kris Abrams-Draine, whom coach Sean Payton said this week has the best hands on the team.

“Not having Pat's going to be huge for us,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Thursday. “But I expect no drop-off. The standard doesn't change.”

It s

See Full Page