NFL power rankings: Texans viewed as 'top' AFC team entering playoffs

"Home or away, rain or shine, defense travels. And whether you’re looking at the tape, the stat sheet – the Texans rank No. 1 overall defensively and second in points allowed – or watching it get off the bus, this is as daunting a unit as there is in the league. At the vanguard, DEs Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, the only duo in the league with at least a dozen sacks apiece in 2025," Davis wrote. "Did we mention no team is hotter, Houston carrying a nine-game winning streak into the postseason? Relatively speaking, on the other side of the ball, a middling offense hasn’t been nearly as good.

"Still, QB C.J. Stroud, the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023, has generally rebounded from something of a sophomore slump in 2024. Nico Collins, who took Week 18 off, is one of the league’s standout wideouts. Also, middling is just fine on offense if the defense is in its typical form – the Texans needing 23 points or fewer in half of their 12 wins. Another franchise in pursuit of its first championship – and first appearance in the AFC championship game – this could certainly be the year the Texans break through. And lest you've forgotten, Houston isn't some ramshackle, Johnny-come-lately outfit emerging from the (previously) lowly AFC South.

"This is a seasoned squad under coach DeMeco Ryans, one that's reached the divisional round two years running and gave the dynastic Chiefs pretty much all they could handle at Arrowhead last January."

"They’ve been fueled by a fiery, hotshot rookie head coach (Liam Coen) and a quarterback drafted No. 1 overall (Trevor Lawrence) … if one who’d recently faced questions about unfulfilled (unreasonable?) expectations. They’re committed to the run but get plenty of big plays from their passing game and special teams. And how about that defense and all the turnovers it generates?" Davis wrote. "Also doesn’t hurt to know you’re guaranteed at least one home playoff game as long as you’re alive. Winners of eight in a row, there’s every reason to believe the Jags will continue hanging around for a while.

"And if winning league MVP honors was predicated on post-Thanksgiving performance (by the way, it’s not), then Lawrence would be a shoo-in. His surge has coincided with WR Jakobi Meyers, a midseason acquisition, getting comfortable in the offense. And good luck to Bills RB James Cook, the newly crowned rushing champ about to face the league’s top-ranked run defense. The Jags generally seem way ahead of schedule under Coen … and the stars may just be aligning in a way that this team could be the one to win the organization’s first Super Bowl … ever."