The Texans advanced to the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs for the fifth time in franchise history with a 45-14 win over the Browns in Super Wild Card Weekend.
The playoff success earned Houston a rematch against the Baltimore Ravens, and they’ll return to M&T Bank Stadium hoping to avenge a 25-9 loss in Week 1.
The Texans are a different team since that humble welcome to the NFL moment for C.J. Stroud, and all the former Ohio State star has done is shatter records and lead his team to the postseason as a rookie.
With final preparations for Saturday’s kickoff underway, we’re looking at ten things about the Houston Texans.
C.J. Stroud
Joe Montana and Tom Brady are the only quarterbacks in NFL history to have finished the season first in both passing yards per game and touchdown-to-interception ratio.
C.J. Stroud accomplished that feat as a rookie.
The No. 2 overall draft pick out of Ohio State threw for 4,108 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions to lead the Texans to a 10-7 regular-season record and their first AFC South title since 2019.
Stroud then became the youngest quarterback ( 22 years and 102 days old) to win a playoff game, passing for 274 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-14 win over the Browns.
Dramatic turnaround
Before DeMeco Ryans’s arrival, Bill O’Brien, interim coach Romeo Crennel, and former Ravens assistant David Culley failed to build a sustained organization and program.
Before his departure, the Texans went 3-13-1 with former Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith last season.
The architect of San Francisco’s dominant defense, and Houston lured in a big fish when they hired Ryans, a former All-Pro linebacker for the Texans who had become one of the league’s rising coaching stars.
The change was dramatic, and one year after allowing 2,894 rushing yards, the sixth-most in NFL history, the Texans allowed the sixth-fewest (1,643) in the league.
They rose from 28th in Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) last year to 16th this season, according to FTN Fantasy. According to Pro Football Focus, they jumped from 31st in defensive grade to 11th.
After finishing in last place in the AFC South, Houston is the first team in the Super Bowl era to win its division with a rookie coach and a rookie quarterback.
Much improved from Week 1
These two teams met in Week 1 with different personnel in critical positions and a lack of offensive identity.
Baltimore rolled to a 25-9 victory at M&T Bank Stadium in the first matchup, as Houston averaged 3.7 yards per play that day; C.J. Stroud was sacked five times and lost a fumble. Running backs Dameon Pierce and Devin Singletary averaged fewer than 3 yards per carry.
Fast forward 18 games and C.J. Stroud is a Rookie of the Year favorite and an NFL Most Valuable Player candidate.
Nico Collins has developed into an elite wide receiver, and Devin Singletary has become one of the league’s most productive running backs. Rookie wideout Tank Dell logged 709 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games before suffering a season-ending leg fracture.
Derek Stingley Jr. shutdown cornerback
The former LSU star clicked the switch down the stretch and he’ll enter the 2024 season as one of the top five cornerbacks in the NFL.
Stingley Jr. won AFC Defensive Player of the Month for the first time in his career for December/January. Over his final six games, Sting finished with three interceptions, nine passes defensed, one TFL and 19 tackles.
Nico the monster
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound former Michigan pass catcher finished top 10 in both receiving yards (1,297) and touchdown catches (eight).
Devin The Dude
The expectation was that Dameon Pierce would flourish under DeMeco Ryans after a solid rookie season. However, the former Florida running back regressed and was eventually benched while dealing with injuries.
Singletary recorded a career-best 898 rushing yards after supplanting Pierce, who struggled in the team’s new outside zone running scheme. From Week 9 on, only Christian McCaffrey and Najee Harris rushed for more yards than Singletary, who had 66 yards and a touchdown against Cleveland.
More Nico Collins
Nico Collins has averaged 11.9 yards per target (1,297 yards/109 targets) this season, 2nd-best of 68 qualified NFL WRs; League Avg: 8.0 pic.twitter.com/wpVcm432NJ
— Inside Edge NFL (@IE_NFL) January 11, 2024
Jalen Pitre can do it all
A STAR at Baylor, Pitre has developed into a Swiss army knife under DeMeco Ryans.
Pitre flourishes when playing downhill, or driving on the football and he’ll play a huge role in limiting what Lamar Jackson does with the middle of the field.
A stout run defender, Pitre logged 84 total tackles and six tackles for loss this season.
Texans struggle with Ravens strength
Houston was among the worst defenses defending play-action this season — they ranked in the bottom five in QBR, completion percentage and yards per attempt.
Lamar Jackson flourishes as a play-action passer.
Baltimore used play-action at the seventh-highest rate in the regular season (26%), and Jackson ranked in the top seven in the league in QBR, completion percentage and yards per attempt.
Laremy Tunsil
According to PFF, Tunsil has logged 51 pass-blocking snaps over his past two games, allowing two pressures and zero sacks.
Laremy Tunsil is elite elite.
Look at that outside hand working indepedently with the snap timing to shut down Garrett.
Beast. pic.twitter.com/ltUxEhQ1vB
— Cole Jackson (@ColeJacksonFB) January 16, 2024
