Battle Red Blog
Fans want to see more from Stroud but don’t want to see the Ravens in the playoffs
Week 16 is here and the Texans face their toughest match yet. They face the Kansas City Chiefs who have only lost one game all season. The Chiefs will play with an injured Patrick Mahomes, but that shouldn’t stop them from putting up a fight against the back-to-back AFC South champs. It’s a game with major implications for seeding. Not only that, fans are brimming with confidence after a win against the Miami Dolphins. Another victory, this time over the best team in football, would ignite a Texans fanbase like we haven't seen in a decade.
First up, we asked the Texans fanbase their confidence level on the direction the team is heading in.
That’s a six percent increase from before the Miami Dolphins game. 3⁄4 of fans agree that Houston is on the up-and-up, which is a fantastic feeling all things considered. This offense has sputtered throughout the season, but the defense has been stellar. The team is getting healthier with the return of Christian Harris and the secondary is playing out of their minds. They’ll need to do so to compete with a 13-1 Kansas City Chiefs team.
Now that the Texans have clinched the AFC South, Second question asked fans to pick who they most want to play in the Wild Card Round of the AFC Playoffs.
Considering the polling concluded before the Thursday Night Football game featuring the Broncos and Chargers, this prediction holds further true. Almost half of fans agree that the Broncos are the team they most want to face. Their loss to the Chargers will make it difficult; Houston is fairly locked into the fourth seed and the Broncos loss puts them better in range to be the seven seed instead of the fifth.
The main deciding factor now will be Houston’s matchup with Baltimore next week. If Houston can claim victory and the Chargers win, Houston may be able to stave off a first round matchup with the mighty Ravens.
Last on our list of questions for the fans was if QB C.J. Stroud has officially exited his “sophomore slump”.
Stroud’s two game streak without an interception is promising, but not enough to convince the majority of Texans fans. Stroud is undeniably having a worse second season than his rookie year. He’s thrown nine interceptions this season to his five last year and has six less touchdowns than in 2023. Almost every conceivable metric and stat is behind this year compared to last. While the last two games have shown an improved performance, it hasn’t been enough to switch the flip for fans and the team. A massive game against the Chiefs will demonstrate if Stroud has officially exited the sophomore slump.
Overall, Texans fans are happy to see the team has once again won the AFC South. The Texans are now one title behind tying the Indianapolis Colts with nine AFC South titles. Funny...
