Battle Red Blog
Another week goes by, and there’s another Houston Texans victory to celebrate, now standing at six in a row! This week, the Houston Texans were finally granted mercy by the football gods with a winnable game after carving through a three-game gauntlet of the AFC’s best. The 3-10 Arizona Cardinals came into Houston as heavy underdogs, tattered and encumbered with dysfunction of their own, and played…just about as well as expected. This result may seem unexceptional, but for Texans fans, football games that don’t contain high suspense, a narrow lead, or late-game theatrics are quite the rarity in the DeMeco Ryans era. So, in a season full of games where you got accustomed to holding your breath the entire second half, a 40-20 drubbing of the Cardinals came as a very welcome sighting. The defense had another impressive showing (besides when Cardinals TE Trey McBride was targeted), but in a twist, the Texans offense had a field day instead of a dirt nap. QB CJ Stroud threw three touchdown passes, WR Nico Collins surpassed 1,000 receiving yards on the season in a two-touchdown effort, and practice-squad RB Jawhar Jordan received starting-caliber snaps after Woody Marks went down with an injury and played like a seasoned pro!
This improbable win streak that the Texans are orchestrating should be enough to prove their mettle to football spectators and power rankers alike, but with this big, validating laugher of a game, their resurgence is starting to feel inevitable. With another exceptional performance like last Sunday’s, the pundits listed below will be forced to acknowledge Houston’s state as one of the hottest, potentially scariest, teams in professional football. Here’s where the Houston Texans are ranked entering Week 16 of the 2025 NFL Season:
10. Houston Texans (9-5) (Last Week: 11)
The win streak sits at six, the playoffs are nearly a certainty, and the offense is showing signs of growth. Ringing up 40 points is always welcome, as C.J. Stroud and a surprisingly productive run game had their way with Arizona on Sunday. But another highly encouraging development has been the reduction of turnovers, with only one in the Texans’ past five games combined. Giveaways cost them a few early-season losses, but they haven’t been an issue for months now. The defense didn’t have a flawless game by its sterling standards, but it was a solid effort that allowed Houston to build a 23-point lead. The Raiders could be another tune-up for the final two games, at the Chargers and home against the Colts, which could ultimately decide whether the Texans are a wild-card team or your AFC South champs.
13. Houston Texans (9-5)
Week 15 result: Beat the Cardinals 40-20 Week 15 ranking: 12
Extension candidate: Defensive end Will Anderson Jr.
This season, Anderson has had the fifth-most tackles for loss (16) and ninth-most sacks (10.5) in the league. The No. 3 pick in 2023 is expected to get...
