Last Saturday the Houston Texans were thoroughly defeated by the Baltimore Ravens, 10-31, in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs. The Texans didn''t even score an offensive touchdown.
And I am not upset about it. Not in the least.
If you had told me last August that the Texans - with an 11-38-1 record over the previous three seasons, a rookie head coach and a rookie quarterback - would win ten games, the AFC South and make it to the Divisional Round of the playoffs, I would have told you to lay off the drugs. To say that the Texans exceeded expectations in 2023 would be a bit of an understatement.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans deserves to be named NFL Coach of the Year, and quarterback C.J. Stroud NFL Rookie of the Year, for what they have accomplished this past season.
There's still a ways to go before the Texans can be considered an elite franchise. They still have some holes to fill and some big decisions to make as the draft and free agency negotiations approach. The NFL, furthermore, did not do the Texans any favors by giving them a brutal 2024 schedule. But the 2023 season laid the groundwork for a successful run: at the very least, the Texans have finally climbed out of the hole that former head coach Bill O'Brien left them in through his mismanagement.
And that is worth celebrating.
Sean Pendergast has more.
