Battle Red Blog
THE. TEXANS. ARE. BACK!!!!
At one moment a little over a month ago, the world seemed to be imploding around the Houston Texans. During and immediately after the heart-wrenching loss to the Denver Broncos, several of the Texans’ impact players showed up on the injury report. Quarterback CJ Stroud and safety Jalen Pitre suffered concussion injuries that would force each of them to miss three games, two of Houston’s best offensive linemen, Ed Ingram and Tytus Howard, missed playing time of their own, and the team’s most underrated scorer, kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, also wound up on the injury report and missed time, as well. For many teams, especially those with a record of 3-5, this is the moment the floor would give out on the season. But, somehow, maybe willed to life through the sheer might and manner of the NFL’s premiere defense, the Houston Texans fought on.
A crazy, incomparable comeback marked the first victory after this litany of injuries, shocking the fanbase back to life like a set of defibrillators. Then came a second win in a row…then a third…and then a fourth win in a row! Instead of succumbing to their record and their injuries, the Texans thrived! Defensive stars like CB Derek Stingley, DE Will Anderson, and DE Danielle Hunter shone brightest when their team needed it, but their side of the ball was boosted to unprecedented levels of dominance via complementary play by players like DL Tim Settle, LB Azeez Al-Shaair, CB Kamari Lassiter, and S Calen Bullock. Thanks to them, this group has become the undisputed best defense in the NFL. It was not just the defense, though: while not as star studded or spectacular, the Texans offense was able to recover from their September struggles and became enough of a force through the arm of backup QB Davis Mills that some even floated the idea of a quarterback controversy.
While this notion is a bit over-the-top, it just underscores the contrast between the desperate place the Texans found themselves in back in September/October to the position they are in now. A win against the division-leading Colts in their own building, too? Oh, that’s just the cherry on top! Surely, a turnaround of this magnitude, capped off with a big win in Indy will cause Houston to go surging up those Power Rankings lists, right? Well, here’s where the Houston Texans are ranked entering Week 14 of the 2025 NFL season:
13. Houston Texans (7-5) (Last Week: 15)
By winning four straight and five of their past six, the Texans have climbed two games over .500 and back firmly into the playoff race, even keeping their division-title hopes alive. After missing three games due to a concussion, C.J. Stroudlooked rusty early, watching the Colts take the lead after his overthrown interception. But he battled back and was sharp on third downs, leading the Texans on two time-consuming scoring drives after halftime to seize control of the game. They had a...
