Battle Red Blog
Labor Day weekend has came and went, and as the September breeze sweeps through the air, the tidings of a new football season come near. Welcome to a new season of the NFL Power Rankings, where the stakes cannot go any higher.
Last year, the theme of the entire Houston Texans season was “expectations.” Virtually every person in the state of Texas had high expectations for the Houston Texans following their blowout 2023 season, highlighted by quarterback CJ Stroud. Getting to the divisional round before anyone had time to properly familiarize themselves with the new guard of Texans players sent expectations to the stratosphere in 2024. Although, even after the 2023 season and Nick Caserio’s offseason moves that brought in Stefon Diggs, Joe Mixon, and Danielle Hunter, some were still a bit bearish on the Texans hype train. Take NFL.com writer Eric Edholm’s initial ranking of the Houston Texans in 2024:
7. Houston Texans (Last Week: 6)
I’ve been gently warning people that Houston might not quite be ready for prime time, even if it’s hard not to love the direction of the franchise, resetting in such a quick fashion. The 2023 season was an unquestioned success, ushering in the C.J. Stroud/DeMeco Ryans era in exceptional fashion and setting this team up for success. But I’ve also argued that we sort of graduated the Jaguars (whom I ranked No. 9 last preseason) to a similar level last offseason, and since their fall from an 8-3 perch last season, they’ve sort of been relegated to middling status. The same could happen with the Texans, who faced one of the league’s easier schedules (which included some bad losses, let’s be fair) a year ago and who now have one of the tougher slates in 2024. I’m not saying Houston is suddenly a bad team. But I am saying that going 9-8 and missing the playoffs isn’t out of the picture.
I was a bit sour on the pundits still not sold on the Texans at that moment in time, convinced that the team had nothing left to prove to be considered a truly elite team. Eric Edholm turned out to be right for exercising reticence with the Texans hype train, and was only one game off his predicted 2024 regular season record of 9-8.
While the Texans still had a very successful 2024 season by most standards, they ultimately still did not break through the glass ceiling of the divisional round, where every Texans team of the past has met their high watermark. Now, with the element of the surprise in the rearview mirror, the Texans need to prove that they have learned from last year’s faults. They have to prove it to the fans and critics alike that they truly have Super Bowl talent. They have to prove to everyone that, finally, this year will be different.
With that being said, this is where the Houston Texans are ranked entering the 2025 NFL...
