Are the Houston Texans the Team to Beat in the AFC South?
To be clear, the Houston Texans deserved to be in the playoffs. With a final score of 23-19 on Saturday night, the Texans defeated the Indianapolis Colts and, at the very least, earned the seventh seed in the NFL Playoffs. This year, they finished with a surprising 10-7 record, mostly due to the efforts of three rookies: head coach DeMeco Ryans, defensive end Will Anderson Jr., and quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Together with a group of devoted individuals who also made contributions, those three guys guided the Texans to the promised land and helped them get over the hill. This was not a squad that had a winning record or was fortunate enough to make the playoffs. This is a true playoff team.
It’s also reasonable to argue that the Jacksonville Jaguars blew the opportunity to “earn” the AFC South championship. The Jaguars would be the AFC South champions if they could just win. They were taking on the struggling Tennessee Titans. It should’ve been so easy. Trevor Lawrence, the Jaguars’ standout quarterback, was also returning.
However, the game was played, and the Titans prevailed 28–20. By doing this, the Texans passed the Jaguars to take the top spot in the AFC South. As a result of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ victory on Saturday, the Jaguars were eliminated from both the division and the playoffs.
