Five reasons the Texans are AFC contenders, including C.J. Stroud, wide-open conference & Cinderella status

If you’re like me, you can’t help but be mesmerized by the NFL’s darling this year, the Houston Texans. 

They entered the season with 200-1 title odds. Only the Arizona Cardinals were worse. Their rookie head coach and rookie QB didn’t have much to work with, but here we are entering December and they are right in the thick of the AFC playoff race. 

They could do more damage than that, too, and become one of the NFL’s best underdog stories in recent history.

Here’s five reasons why the Texans are contenders in the AFC:

1. Dominance

Let’s start with the simple facts. The Texans are really good. If we were analyzing an NCAA Tournament resume we’d want to know things like their record, recent performance and notable wins and losses. Here goes nothing:

2023 Houston Texans Resume (6-5)

• 6-3 in last nine games (each loss by three or fewer points)
• Sixth-most time leading since Week 3
• 3-1 vs teams entering with winning record
• Best wins: at JAX, at CIN
• Bad losses: at CAR

That’s a good looking resume. They are 6-3 in the last nine games. Their only losses have been on game-winning field goals as time expired vs. the Panthers and Falcons, plus last week’s missed game-tying 58-yard field goal off the crossbar from Matt Ammendola. They’ve controlled most of these games, ranking sixth in time lead over this span. 

They could easily be 7-2 or 8-1 in this stretch, which includes statement wins on the road by 20 in Jacksonville and in Cincinnati with a healthy Joe Burrow. That’s a confidence booster for a team that will need to win road games if they make the postseason.

And of course, driving the dominance is a rookie QB. C.J. Stroud, who leads the NFL in passing yards per game and is third in yards per attempt. He could be the first rookie to finish top-three in MVP voting since Randy Moss in 1998, and the first rookie QB to get a vote since Dan Marino in 1983. It’s a QB-driven league so with one of the better signal callers in the NFL already, the Texans are legit. 

2. AFC is wide open

The Texans are also capable of making a run in the AFC and possibly being the Chiefs‘ biggest threat in part due to the injury luck around the conference.

The two biggest threats to the Chiefs entering the season may both miss the playoffs. The Bengals lost Joe Burrow and the Bills lost Matt Milano and Tre’Davious White for the season, plus are battling one heartbreaking loss after another.

The Dolphins…