Game-winning drive: check.
A point away from a 40-burger: check.
Evening the record and staying in the playoff race: check.
According to Pete Prisco from CBS Sports, that isn’t enough to move the Houston Texans up the power rankings. Despite C.J. Stroud have a record-setting game in the 39-37 comeback against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9, the Texans stood still at No. 17 in the poll.
C.J. Stroud is proving to be the best of the rookie passers. He lit up the Bucs defense for more than 400 yards as the Texans evened their record at 4-4.
No doubt the Texans would have fallen if they lost to the Bucs. However, being unable to make headway in the rankings when teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 16) and New Orleans Saints (No. 14) — teams Houston beat — are ahead of them seems questionable.
The Texans’ win over the Buccaneers showed how DeMeco Ryans has instilled a resilience within the team that wasn’t otherwise present over the past three seasons. One would figure it could at least be worth one spot upward in a power poll.
Around the rest of the AFC South, the Tennessee Titans were No. 21. The Indianapolis Colts came in at No. 18. The Jacksonville Jaguars crept to No. 3.
