Mile High Report
Sporting a 6-2 record and winners of five in a row, the Denver Broncos head on the road to take on the Houston Texans in Week 9. This is a tough draw for the Broncos given how formidable the Texans are on defense. Don’t expect the Broncos to light up the scoreboard like they have the last five quarters. This is going to be a hard-fought battle with two premier defenses highlighting the matchup. Let’s take a deeper look at Denver’s opponent this Sunday and what they need to do in order to achieve victory.
2024 Houston Texans Season Review
In year two of DeMeco Ryans era, the Texans earned a second straight AFC South title with a 10-7 record. Their 2024 season ended in a Divisional Round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. On offense, the Texans were 19th in points scored and 22 in total yards. On defense, they were ranked 14th in points and 6th in yards.
2025 Houston Texans Offseason Additions and Departures
The Texans didn’t strike a lot of monster deals in free agency. However, they added a few starters into the mix on short-term deals. They brought in Laken Tomlinson to start at guard and Sheldon Rankins to help man down the interior of their defensive line. Of note, they traded away Cam Robinson earlier this season after signing him to a one-year, $14.5 million dollars earlier this spring.
Most of the impact for Houston to date has been from their draft class. The Texans made upgrading their offense their primary endeavor in the 2025 NFL Draft. They added the Iowa State duo of Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel in the second and third round to bolster their wide receiver core. Both have made some impressive plays early on in their careers.
They also added Minnesota Gophers tackle Aireontae Ersery in the second round. He has been a seven-game starter at tackle and is improving each and every week. Fourth round running back Woody Marks has also made an impact with 214 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, and 13 catches for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns. Their offense is still a work in progress, but the early outlook on their ‘25 class is promising.
Offensive X-Factor: Quarterback C.J. Stroud
After an impressive rookie performance in 2023, the sky appeared to be the limit for first-round pick C.J. Stroud. Last year, Stroud had a sophomore slump and averaged sixty yards less passing per game. He also finished with less touchdowns and twice as many interceptions in 2024 compared to ‘23 despite playing in more games.
This season, we’ve seen some glimpses of the potential he flashed as a rookie. He has put together a few quality outings thus far. However, being without Tank Dell and Joe Mixon has certainly hindered the Texans’ offense. In turn, that has allowed their rookie class to shine and show notable improvement over the past few weeks.
With reigning Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II sidelined, the pressure...
