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Texans time travel: Here's a sneak peek into the future, one year ahead
Feb 7, 2024, 4:29 pm
Here's a hypothetical Texans' scenario for next season. Composite Getty Image.
The 2023-24 Houston Texans finished the season on a high. They went 10-7, won the AFC South, won a Wildcard playoff game, and generally shocked the world by how well they performed. They were armed with a first time general manager in his third season, a first time rookie head coach, and a rookie quarterback on a team that won seven games in the previous two seasons.
Now that the bar has been established, how will things look moving forward? The roster has some important building blocks, but need more pieces in place. Who, what, when, and how that happens is something we'll have to wait and see. I'm not here to lay out what I think their offseason plans will look like. Not yet. That will come at some point. For now, I'm trying to foreshadow what the Texans will be doing a year from now.
Scene: New Orleans, LA during the pre-Super Bowl festivities in early February 2025
Date: some time before the February 9 game
“The Texans completed another successful season. They finished 12-5 and won the AFC South for the second year in a row. CJ Stroud is set to win his first league MVP award after throwing for over 4200 yards, 30+ touchdowns, less than eight interceptions, along with a surprising 400 yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns. They ended with the number two seed and lost the AFC Title game to the Ravens in Baltimore.”
"DeMeco Ryans proved winning coach of the year last season was no fluke. Despite losing 21 different players to various injuries for large stretches of time, he was still able to navigate his second coaching campaign to better results than his first. He was runner-up for coach of the year. No coach has ever won the award one year, then finished that high the following year. Another milestone for the budding star.”
“Will Anderson Jr and Derek Stingley Jr both finished in the top five for Defensive Player of the Year. Anderson had 15+ sacks, 4+ forced fumbles, 3+ fumble recoveries, and two defensive touchdowns. Stingley finished with 6+ interceptions, 10+ pass breakups, and 2+ defensive touchdowns. They both showed up big and bright during the Texans' three national TV prime time games, so that also helped get the word out.”
"The offense took a turn…for the better! (insert running back name here) ran for 1200+ yards and 8+ touchdowns, while (insert running back number two name here) contributed with 500+ yards rushing and 5+ touchdowns. Nico Collins and Tank Dell continued where they left off last season. Both guys were Pro Bowlers, however, Dell made it as a return specialist. He ran back a combo of three plus punt/kick returns. His constant field flipping returns made him more valuable as a returner this season, given the fact that (insert new wide receiver's name here) took some targets away from him. No wonder Frank Ross got a couple token interviews to be a head coach this hiring cycle."
I can totally see me writing something like this next year around this time. While that 28-24 loss to the Ravens in the AFC Title game will hurt, it'll be another speed bump on the road to success. This team is so much fun to watch now that I can't wait to see how they grow and continue to develop!
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When DeMeco Ryans became coach of the Houston Texans before last season, the two-time Pro Bowl linebacker brought his swarm defense with him.
It’s an identity the Texans have embraced as they prepare for their second straight trip to the divisional round of the playoffs Saturday where they’ll face the Kansas City Chiefs.
“You really can’t go out there if you’re not about it,” Ryans said.
And while every member of the defense has bought into Ryans’ aggressive style, there is one player who epitomizes it like no one else.
“Will every time,” cornerback Derek Stingley said of defensive end Will Anderson Jr.
Anderson, last year’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, has taken his game to another level this season and had 1½ sacks last week after piling up 11 in the regular season.
He described what playing swarm defense means to him.
“Do whatever it takes to get the ball, attacking the ball,” Anderson said. “We’ve got this saying in our D-line room; ‘who gonna pop it off?’ Whoever pops it off first, that’s swarming. Like who’s gonna make the big play? And I feel like there’s a lot of guys on defense that pop it off, who swarm.”
The Texans intercepted Justin Herbert a career-high four times, including one which was returned for a score, in last week’s win over the Chargers after he had been picked off just three times all season. Houston’s four takeaways in the first week of the playoffs are tied with Philadelphia for most in the NFL.
That performance came after Houston ranked fifth in the league in the regular season by forcing 29 turnovers.
Stingley, who had two of the interceptions last week a day after earning AP All-Pro honors, shared his mindset on the team’s defensive mentality.
“It really just comes down to if I was to tell you this is the last time you’re gonna do something, how you gonna do it,” Stingley said. “It’s simple as that. Just do that every single play.”
Ryans said there’s really no secret to why his team has such a knack for forcing turnovers. He believes it’s because he has good players, and they emphasize it in practice which translates to games.
“That’s our main thing that we go into every week is talking about attacking the football, taking the football,” Ryans said. “Because we know, when you take the football away, it just raises your percentages of winning the football games… it’s the defense helping the team win the game.”
While all of Houston’s takeaways last week came on interceptions, Stingley was quick to point out that those picks wouldn’t have happened if not for the pressure the defensive line put on Herbert. The Texans sacked him four times and hit him another nine in the 32-12 victory.
“The defense starts with them up front,” Stingley said. “They’re doing their job and it just makes it easier for us on the back end.”
Anderson said with each turnover, the defense got more and more amped up and was pushing each other to see who the next player would be to force one.
“That’s just that swarm mentality and we just feeding off each other,” Anderson said. “This person can’t do it by themselves so who is gonna be next and that just generates that contagious energy.”
The Texans were the fifth team since 1963 to have at least four sacks, four interceptions and an interception return for a touchdown in a playoff game last week. The past three teams to do it all went on to win the Super Bowl, with Tampa Bay doing so in the 2002 season, Baltimore in 2000 and San Francisco in 1989.
This Texans team would love to keep that going. But first they’ll need a win Saturday to put them in the AFC championship game for the first time after losing their previous five divisional matchups.
“That’s what you come here for,” Anderson said. “That’s what they’ve been rebuilding for is moments like this… we’ve got all the right pieces, we’ve just got to go out there and make it happen.”