Texans still check all the boxes to become a contender
No one likes losing, and I mean no one. In fact, there are probably some people out there who hate losing more than they like winning. I would guess Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud and head coach DeMeco Ryans feel the same way.It's even worse when you are losing to your biggest rival, the Jacksonville […]
No one likes losing, and I mean no one. In fact, there are probably some people out there who hate losing more than they like winning. I would guess Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud and head coach DeMeco Ryans feel the same way.
It's even worse when you are losing to your biggest rival, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Just to add another layer, the Texans beat them earlier this year by 20 points, so the feeling of knowing that game was winnable is still lurking.
But we move on, as does the team. It's the next week, and even with that loss, the Houston Texans are still contenders. They can still play with anyone. They have shown that the last month or so, and really all season long. One NFL analyst thinks the Texans are still contenders because they check all of the boxes.
Here is what Emmanuel Acho said about the team down in Southeast Texas:
"The Texans are legit contenders. We have seen them smack the Jags. The Jags are going to make it into the playoffs as things currently stand. We have seen them smack the Bengals while the Bengals were streaking hot. We have seen the offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik look like a seasoned veteran as an OC. We have seen C.J. Stroud lead this team on comeback drives. We have seen them check the necessary boxes that need to be checked."
Acho is right, too. The fact that this team is so much better than they had been the last few years is crazy, too. The expectations coming into this season were not to be a contender or even a playoff team but to get better than they were last year.
Stroud is a huge reason this team is great, and all of the pieces around him are, but let's not underestimate how big DeMeco Ryans has been in this team's turnaround.
The Texans are definitely a contender, even after the loss to the Jaguars. Just think, after everything that didn't go their way on Sunday, they still had a chance to win. They can play with anyone.
Texans rookies make NFL history in loss to Jaguars
The Texans may have found something special.
