WIN OR GO HOME
Houston Texans embrace high-stakes game with a playoff spot on the line
Jan 5, 2024, 5:08 pm
The Texans still have a shot at winning the division. Composite Getty Image.
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Houston coach DeMeco Ryans always anticipated his team's late-season trip to Indianapolis would look far different from their September matchup.
He never envisioned the storyline could change this much.
Sixteen weeks after the two new coaches — Ryans and Shane Steichen — were peppered with questions about their quarterbacks of the future, they're playing a high-stakes, prime-time game with more immediate consequences: Win or go home.
"We’re a completely different team now,” Ryans said. “You put the tape on and it’s like, 'Wow.’ I’m encouraged by how much better we’ve gotten. You kind of know who we are now. I think early in the year every team in the league is trying to figure out who you are, figure out your identity. How are you going to play?
"I think now, we know who we are.”
The Colts do, too.
With 9-7 records, Houston and Indy surprisingly find themselves in a three-way tie atop the AFC South with one of those teams a win away from ending their playoff droughts. Houston last made the postseason in 2019, Indy in 2020.
And if Jacksonville loses Sunday to Tennessee, Saturday night's winner also would take the division title and play another home game on wild-card weekend.
It's not just that Houston and Indy are playing a meaningful regular-season less than eight months after selecting new quarterbacks with top-five draft picks, it's how they got here.
Houston made it thanks to a historic first season from C.J. Stroud and a better-than-expected defense. He has thrown 21 touchdown passes, just five interceptions and is 156 yards from topping the 4,000-yard mark despite missing two games with a concussion.
Indy has relied on veteran quarterback Gardner Minshew since rookie Anthony Richardson went down with a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 5. Minshew responded by winning six of his eight starts to pull the Colts out of the division cellar.
“You kind of build, you gel, the chemistry – like I said, it always starts in the middle of the season,” Steichen said. “Obviously, you want that stuff to keep rising up. I think that’s what our guys have done to put ourselves in the position we are in right now.”
The result: Two teams that were not projected to do much this season will square off in one of the most watched games on the NFL's final regular-season weekend.
“I told my teammates earlier, it’s the same game we’ve been playing since we were young, so nothing changes,” Stroud said. “We’ve got to just prepare hard and do everything we need to do to try to win this game and I think that will take us home.”
MOTOR RUNNING
Stroud has been Houston's big star, but running back Devin Singletary also has proven to be a key cog in the Texans' offense.
Singletary, nicknamed “Motor,” replaced the injured Dameon Pierce in early November and played so well he kept the starting job even after Pierce returned.
Singletary has three 100-yard games in nine starts this season and had 80 yards in last week's big win against the Titans. He now has 1,026 yards in total offense — his third straight season over 1,000 yards. Singletary's best game came in Week 15 when he posted a career-best 170 total yards in a 19-16 overtime victory at Tennessee — as Stroud sat out with a concussion.
ADMIRING FROM AFAR
Two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner would ride with the Indianapolis Colts' quarterbacks in any game. But Buckner also has been impressed with Stroud's development.
And while the Colts hope to get Stroud out of rhythm and force some mistakes, Buckner has seen enough in eight NFL seasons to recognize the challenge.
“He’s not afraid to make those big throws. He’s always looking downfield to make a big play," Buckner said. "He extends plays really well using his feet. He just knows how to get the guys going, he brings a lot of juice to the game for that team and we’ve got to do a really good job defensively and really just apply pressure.”
FIGHTING THROUGH
Houston rookie defensive end Will Anderson Jr., the No. 3 overall draft pick behind Stroud, returned last week after missing two games with an ankle injury. Though he was back on the field, he was not 100%, played limited snaps and still had two sacks.
“He has that relentless mindset that he’s going to be out there no matter what and he’s going to find a way to help us win games,” Ryans said. “Love Will for his mindset, love him for his toughness, and just his will to win.”
Anderson broke the Texans' franchise rookie record for sacks last week. With seven this season, he has now passed Whitney Mercilus and Brooks Reed, who each had six as rookies.
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AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken in Houston also contributed to this report.
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C.J. Stroud faced criticism in Houston's last few games as the Texans hit a rough patch after losing just two of their first eight games.
But the second-year quarterback remained confident and his strong performance last Sunday helped the Texans (8-5) to a 23-20 win over the Jaguars to enter their bye with a two-game lead atop the AFC South.
“When he is leading and playing the way he is playing, our entire team feeds off of him,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “I am excited for his second year. I think he is showing a ton of growth, he is in a really great spot for us physically, mentally. I really love where he is and I am excited to see how he comes back after the break.”
Stroud threw for 242 yards and a touchdown against Jacksonville to leave him ranked fourth in the NFL with 3,117 yards passing this season. That game came after he threw two interceptions in a 32-27 loss to Tennessee a week before for the team’s third loss in four games.
Those two interceptions brought his season total to nine, which are four more than he threw in 15 games a rookie. But the Texans aren’t worried about that statistic and believe he has grown in his second year.
“He’s made a lot of progress,” general manager Nick Caserio said. “There are some plays, like all of our players, that we probably wish he could have back, but happy he’s our quarterback, happy with what he brings to the table. ... Wouldn’t want anyone else leading this team.”
The Texans are in position to win their division for a second straight season despite dealing with several significant injuries on offense. Running back Joe Mixon missed three games early with an ankle injury and leading receiver Nico Collins was sidelined for five games with a hamstring injury.
They also lost four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs for the season when tore an ACL in Week 8.
Mixon leads the team with 887 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns and has added four touchdown receptions. His work in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati has helped the team deal with those significant injuries to the receiving corps.
Mixon ranks third in the NFL by averaging 88.7 yards rushing a game and has had at least 100 yards rushing in seven games.
Stroud has continually raved about Mixon’s contributions on and off the field.
“He’s a servant, a helper,” Stroud said. “That’s ultimately what I want to be as well. Who can I serve and how can I help? That’s ultimately what the game of football is.”
While Mixon has been the team’s most important new acquisition on offense, Danielle Hunter has been Houston’s new defensive star. The defensive end spent his first eight seasons in Minnesota before joining the Texans this year.
He has helped Houston lead the NFL with 84 tackles for loss after piling up 15 this season, which is tied for third most in the league. He also leads the Texans with 10½ sacks to help them rank second with 42.
Hunter been a great addition to a team that already had defensive end Will Anderson Jr., last year’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. Anderson ranks second to Hunter on the team with 13 tackles for loss and 9½ sacks.
Ryans said this week’s break is much needed for a team that opened the preseason on Aug. 1 in the Hall of Fame game.
“It’s here and we’re going to take advantage of it,” he said. “We’ve been going at it for a long time.”
The Texans need to recharge this week with a brutal stretch of three games in 10 days when they return from their bye. Houston hosts Miami on Dec. 15 before a trip to Kansas City on Dec. 21 and a visit from the Ravens on Christmas Day.
“It’s Christmas and all that, but we can’t worry about that. All we can do is focus on Miami,” Caserio said. “And then when we get through the Miami game, then we kind of turn the page to the next. ... We’re either going to earn it or we’re not. Not to oversimplify it, but that’s the truth.”
The Texans will play those game without starting linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair after he received a three-game suspension for his violent hit to the head of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, which led to a concussion.
Al-Shaair will be eligible to return for Houston’s regular-season finale against Tennessee.