ON THE UPSWING
Uncovering all the reasons Houston Texans are so close to breaking through
Jan 22, 2025, 4:13 pm
ON THE UPSWING
After falling in the divisional round of the playoffs for the second straight season, quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans believe they’re “really close” to taking the next step and making their first AFC championship game.
The question is what they’ll need to do to get to that level.
For Stroud it will be leaning on a mindset he’s had since his days at Ohio State.
“From Day 1 of the offseason program there has to be a standard set, and that standard has to be … I’m not going to be the one to mess this thing up. Like I’m going to be the one to make this team win the game,” he said. “If that’s Week 1 all the way to the AFC championship. That standard from training camp has to be the standard. I feel like that’s what it needs to be for us to get over that hump.”
The Texans lost 23-14 to the Chiefs on Saturday, their sixth loss in the divisional round and second at Kansas City.
Coach DeMeco Ryans, who has had an 11-8 record in both of his first two years in Houston, said eliminating mistakes should be his team's No. 1 goal.
“The teams that are still standing are teams that don’t shoot themselves in the foot,” he said. “They put themselves in good positions to play complementary football and they do it well. That’s why you’re at the end. So, if we want to be there, we just got to do our jobs and do it on a consistent basis.”
Stroud threw for 245 yards but was hurried and harassed all day in a game where he was sacked eight times. Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a 55-yard field-goal attempt, an extra point and had another field-goal attempt blocked with less than two minutes left, which would have kept Houston’s comeback hopes alive by making it a one-possession game.
The Texans won the AFC South for a second straight season and soundly beat the Chargers at home to advance to play the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.
Defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who has paired with Stroud to help turn around this franchise over the past two seasons, believes Houston has the pieces in place to contend for a title despite another early exit.
“We’re right there,” he said. “I don’t care what nobody says, this is a fantastic team. We’ve got our quarterback. We’ve got everything we need. We’ve just got to keep stacking and keep persevering.”
The Texans could need to add a receiver this offseason with Stefon Diggs becoming an unrestricted free agent and Tank Dell recovering from another serious leg injury.
Diggs had 47 receptions for 496 yards and three touchdowns in eight games this season after a blockbuster trade from Buffalo before a season-ending knee injury.
Stroud has said he’d like to have Diggs back next season, but it’s too early to tell if the Texans will pursue re-signing the 31-year-old.
Dell faces a long recovery after tearing his ACL and dislocating his knee in a loss to Kansas City in December. This injury comes after Dell fractured his fibula in Week 13 against the Broncos in the 2023 season.
Dell was Houston's second-leading receiver behind Nico Collins with 667 yards receiving and three touchdowns. Ryans was asked if Dell's most recent injury could keep him out next season.
“We will continue to assess Tank and see where he ends up,” Ryans said. “It is too early right now to put a timeline on it. We will just give him time to heal and progress, see how the rehab goes.”
Houston’s secondary was a strength of the team this season with the stellar performance of Derek Stingley and the emergence of rookies Calen Bullock and Kamari Lassiter.
Stingley, the third overall pick in the 2022 draft, shook off two injury-filled seasons to earn first-team AP All-Pro honors. The cornerback ranked second in the NFL in the regular season with 18 passes defensed and grabbed two interceptions in Houston’s wild-card playoff win.
Lassiter, a second-round pick from Georgia, started 14 games and had three interceptions in the regular season and had another pick against the Chargers. Bullock, taken in the third round from Southern California, also had five interceptions in the regular season to tie Stingley for the team lead.
“We’ve got one of the best secondaries in this league and a very young and talented secondary also,” Bullock said. “So, it’s pretty scary for what we’ve got in the future, especially with the plays we made this year.”
The Texans will look to improve their offensive line this offseason after they allowed 54 sacks in the regular season and 12 more in the postseason.
“In the playoffs, you’ve got to win your one-on-one battles. That’s what the game always comes down to,” Ryans said. “You have to have some pride in who you’re blocking, to get it done and give the quarterback a chance to throw the football.”
Jose Altuve hit a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth inning to move into second place on Houston's career hits list and the Astros beat the Colorado Rockies 5-3 on Wednesday night to win their 12th straight series.
Jose Altuve DRVIES IN 2 ... and passes Jeff Bagwell for 2nd in career hits with the @astros#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/IcLVdy5iOn
— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) July 3, 2025
Altuve went 2 for 5 and gave the Astros a 4-2 lead with his 2,315th career hit, moving him past Jeff Bagwell. Craig Biggio leads the franchise with 3,060 career hits.
Altuve spoke about his relationship with Bagwell, and more after the game.
Jose Altuve got a congratulatory text message postgame from Jeff Bagwell after passing him on the Astros’ all-time hits list. pic.twitter.com/KtKk28SZEt
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) July 3, 2025
Hunter Brown (9-3) allowed two runs on six hits in six innings. He struck out eight to join Lance McCullers Jr. as the only Astros pitchers to reach 500 in their first 86 appearances.
Bennett Sousa pitched the ninth for his third save.
Jake Meyers had a one-out double off Austin Gomber in the first and Altuve and Cam Smith followed with back-to-back singles for a 1-0 lead in the first.
Rookie Shay Whitcomb hit his first home run 451 feet to left-center field for a 2-0 lead in the second.
SHAY WHITCOMB! FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE HOMER! #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/zHfQUuIXnS
— Houston Astros (@astros) July 3, 2025
Cooper Hummel singled and Mauricio Dubón drew a walk off reliever Angel Chivilli (1-4) in the sixth. Altuve drove a two-out pitch from Jake Bird to center to score both. Smith followed with an RBI single for a 5-2 lead.
Cam makes it 5-2 Astros! #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/j4xMIaY62F
— Houston Astros (@astros) July 3, 2025
Thairo Estrada went 3 for 4 and singled and scored ahead of Mickey Moniak's 12th home run to tie it 2-2 in the Rockies' second.
Gomber allowed two runs on eight hits in five innings.
Houston has won three in a row and 16 of 21.
Brown struck out Hunter Goodman in the third for No. 500 and then fanned Jordan Beck swinging on a 99.8 mph fastball — his fastest this season — to end the inning.
The Rockies have lost all 14 series at home, dropping the first two games 13 times.
Astros LHP Brandon Walter (1-1, 3.34 ERA) starts Thursday's series finale opposite Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (1-9, 5.56).
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