The Week 18 win over the Indianapolis Colts cost the Houston Texans.
According to Mark Lane from the Touchdown Wire, the win was part of the reason why the Texans finished No. 32 in the power rankings — what with losing the No. 1 overall pick and all.
Just when Houston sports fans were counting on the Texans do what they knew best and lose, quarterback Davis Mills pulls off a fourth quarter comeback and hits tight end Jordan Akins for a game-winning touchdown on fourth-and-20 and again for the ensuing two-point conversion. The Texans lost the No. 2 overall pick, Lovie Smith lost his job, and general manager Nick Caserio’s seat got a little warmer as he partakes in his third coaching search in as many offseasons on the job.
Houston finished as the last place team in Touchdown Wire’s power rankings eight times throughout the regular season, and it wasn’t hard to imagine why. The Texans had a “non-winning” streak of four to start the season, and then a nine-game losing streak before finishing the season 2-1 in their last three.
The Texans have big questions to answer in the offseason, such as who will even coach the team. Houston also has to look at upgrading at quarterback as Mills clearly is not the answer, no matter how well he appeared to play once returning to the starting job in Week 14.
Houston also has trouble on defense in terms of philosophy. They may have impactful pieces with cornerback Derek Stingley, safety Jalen Pitre, linebacker Christian Harris, and even defensive end Jonathan Greenard. However, the Tampa 2 didn’t work out for Houston in stopping the run or generating a consistent pass rush. The takeaways were at least there as Houston finished tied for the fourth-most in the league with 27.
Across the rest of the division in the power rankings, the Colts finished No. 29. The Tennessee Titans ranked No. 21. The AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars finished No. 8.
