Every week, the Battle Red Blog staff get together on Discord and chat during the Texans game, offering conversation and brief analysis of the team as they grind through another game. One expression that has become a mainstay on the chat is “C.H.U.M.,” which is an acronym for “Carlos Hyde Up the Middle.” This acronym came about during the Texans 2019 season, when then head coach/general manager Bill O’Brien seemed determined to jam Texans RB Carlos Hyde straight up the middle of the field nearly every other play on offense, much to the exhaustion of the writers of the Blog....

Houston Texans fans like ourselves have been receiving an avalanche of good news related to the Texans team since, like, November. Unfortunately, today is not one of those days. The Houston Texans released their final injury report before the Divisional Round game against the New England Patriots on Sunday, and WR Nico Collins (concussion) is now officially OUT for the game:

The New England Patriots injury report can be found here.

Nico Collins failed to practice any of the last three days, meaning he was not able to clear steps 4 or 5 of the Return-to-Participation protocol. This comes as...

The Houston Texans have reached the summit of their own success by advancing to the divisional round for the seventh time in franchise history. Will the seventh time be the lucky charm? We spoke with Taylor Kyles from Pats Pulpit about the upcoming tilt between the Texans and Patriots. This will be the third time the two teams clash in the divisional round. A win against the Pats would go a long way in exorcising some demons.

**Battle Red Blog: Drake Maye is obviously the biggest story in New England this season based on his growth from year one to...

The difference between an early exit and a deep playoff run is often a player who wasn’t supposed to be part of the story. On Monday’s Wild Card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, that player was wide receiver Christian Kirk.

For all intents and purposes, Kirk had an underwhelming year as the veteran presence in a young, home-grown WR room. He was sixth on the team in yards, fifth in receptions, and only recorded one touchdown on the season, most of which were career lows.

His role diminished due to several uncontrollable factors. Rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel absorbed...

Let the game begin!

Every week NFL Communications sends out a handful of emails around the coming weekends games. And, for the most part, every week, they ignore the Houston Texans. They celebrate the “stars” like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, spotlight the same sad old franchises like the Dallas Cowboys and give lip service to the trendy names.

Meanwhile, the Texans are the hottest team in the NFL, riding on an opponent-pulverizing 10-game win streak. This week, there are only 8 teams still standing, yet somehow the NFL managed to ignore C.J. Stroud, Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter, Sheldon...

Two days away from the Texans playoff game against the New England Patriots and Houston is on the precipice of making their first AFC Championship game. Is this the team and is this the moment? I asked the writers of Battle Red Blog to provide their predictions for the Divisional Round game.

Kenneth L.: Patriots 24, Texans 20

Am I picking the Texans to lose again? Yes. Am I a home town hater? At this point, maybe.

After C.J. Stroud’s woeful performance and Nico Collins’ concussion, I’m concerned the Texans won’t be able to effectively move...

The Houston Texans handled business last weekend, dismantling the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round and setting up a road matchup against the New England Patriots this Sunday afternoon.

C.J. Stroud came out sharp early, but the game started to slip a bit as turnovers crept in — an interception and multiple fumbles that could’ve swung momentum. Even with those mistakes, Houston still cruised to a 24-point win, largely thanks to a dominant defensive performance.

That margin for error won’t exist this week. New England presents a much tougher challenge, and if the Texans continue turning the ball over,...

Now that we’re full-on into the playoffs, it’s time to stop looking in the rearview with our Secret Superstars series, and start looking forward to the next game with Postseason X-Factors. The principle is the same — using game tape and metrics to uncover those hidden gems for every team who are primed to bring their best when their franchises need it the most.

*The Houston Texans present all kinds of hidden gems on the defensive side of the ball, but it’s hard to be more impressed with too many second-year defensive players on any NFL team than safety Calen...

The Houston Texans have done it! After one of the most demoralizing starts to the regular season in recent history, the Texans have fought their way back into the playoffs and have won their first road playoff game in franchise history against the 10-7 Pittsburgh Steelers. With that win, the Texans have sent hall-of-fame QB Aaron Rodgers packing into retirement, sent Steelers’ longtime head coach Mike Tomlin off the podium, and reached the high watermark of every Houston Texans team of the past. That’s right, there has never been a Texans team to reach beyond the divisional round of the...

The Day After the Day After…when the raw, immediate emotions from the aftermath of a game diminish into the realm of clarity and the proverbial (or literal) hangover no longer haunts the mind. With that, a review of Wild Card Weekend:

So, about that defense?: In the “Well, No [KITTEN] Department” Houston’s playoff success would ride on its defensive success. It would take them a couple of drives to settle in, punctuated by allowing two receptions for 42 yards to DK (aka DJ) Metcalf, returning from a two-game suspension. In the 1st two drives, the Texans allowed 88 yards and...

We get another week of football, so we have another opportunity to make some money. Fanduel will keep you in the game for as long as we want to keep playing. Gambling is big business and there are any number of ways to play. If you feel confident in your pick on the game then you can double and triple up on your hunch and win big. Of course, on the flip side, if you are less than confident you can hedge your bets and more or less break even if you mix and match.

In this edition, we look...

How sweet it is. Three seasons under DeMeco Ryans and three times the Texans have won big on Wild Card weekend. This time they finally won on the road as they smothered the Pittsburgh Steelers and almost literally put Aaron Rodgers into a sleeper hold. The final score will say this one was a blowout and the numbers will probably tell the same tale, but it did not feel like a blowout through the first three and a half quarters. It took a series of great defensive plays to take the issue out of doubt.

We will go over the...