In the second quarter of the Denver Broncos vs. Houston Texans game in Week 9 of the NFL season, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was hit hard. Denver Lineback Kris Abrams-Draine hit Stroud downward, causing his head to slam against the floor, ruling Stroud out for the rest of the game with a concussion. Back-up quarterback Davis Mills stepped in to fill Stroud’s role but played poorly and was unable to help the Texans maintain the lead they had before Stroud’s injury. This resulted in losing 18-15 on a game-winning field goal kick, bringing the Texans’ record to three wins and five losses (3-5).
Despite having the best defense in the NFL, the Texans’ record put them in ninth place in the American Football Conference (AFC). After winning the AFC South division championship the previous two seasons, this season has not met the expectations of the fans, the team, and the staff, with an abysmal 0-5 record in one score games (games lost by 1-8 points) to this point, and having their hopes of ‘three-peating’ the AFC South division title seem to be slipping away. To make matters worse, Stroud was ruled out for three games following his concussion, thrusting Mills into the starting role for a set of three must win games against their division rivals, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, and AFC rival Buffalo Bills.
The game against Jacksonville in week nine started with Mills throwing an interception, which gave the Jaguars immediate momentum they rode to a 17-0 lead by the middle of the second quarter. The Texans slightly caught up to Jacksonville in the seven minutes before halftime, bringing the score to 20-10 at the break. However, the Texans’ momentum was cut short, as the Jaguars scored 9 points in the third quarter to bring the score to 29-10 going into the final period.
Then, Mills caught fire. The Texans drove down the field twice with Mills connecting on touchdowns with rookie wide receiver Jayden Higgins and tight end Dalton Schultz to cut the lead to five. Texans’ Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter got his third sack on Jacksonville’s drive, giving the Texans the ball back with under five minutes remaining in regulation.
With 37 seconds left in the quarter, Mills avoided a sack and sprinted 15 yards to the front left corner of the endzone, diving in to give Houston their first lead of the game, 30-29. Jacksonville had the chance to take the lead and win the game; however, after sacks from their defensive line tandem of Hunter and pro-bowler Will Anderson Jr., Lawrence’s final throw attempt as the clock hit zero was caught and returned for a touchdown by defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, giving the Texans a 36-29 season-saving victory.
Texans’ fan and Senior Ryan Brooks was a “non-believer” in the Texans and thought “the defense was being let down by the offense…the team seemed incomplete.” This attitude was strongly reflected among many fans as ticket prices and attendance at games dropped drastically from the Texans’ first home game against Tampa Bay to their later match against Jacksonville.
The Texans followed this game with a trip to Tennessee, beating the lowly 1-8 Tennessee Titans on a game-winning field goal, 16-13, after a seemingly expected dominant performance from their defense. The Texans looked to continue this stretch of good play in their Thursday Night Football game against Buffalo.
On NFL Network, there are 10 ‘experts’ giving their picks on each game, and all 10 picked Buffalo to beat Houston. Despite the doubt, the defense continued performing at their elite level of play, sacking Bills Quarterback and 2024 NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Josh Allen, while forcing three turnovers, including a game-sealing interception in the fourth quarter to give Houston a gutsy 23-19 upset victory at home.
Senior Dev Sharma has been, “pleasantly surprised with how the offense succeeded under Mills” and also said that “the defense is truly bringing life to the city, and if the offense can hold, who knows what this team can do.”
Stroud returned after the Texans’ streak of heroics in yet another divisional game against the 8-3 and division-leading Indianapolis Colts. Doubt surrounded the Texans once again, and yet they proved that they had completely turned their season around, shocking the Colts in Indianapolis with a 20-16 victory and bringing their record to 7-5. The Texans were the first team to hold the Colts under 20 points in a single game.
This past Sunday, the Texans traveled to Kansas City to take on the reigning AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs. For the past seven seasons, the Chiefs have made the AFC Championship Game every year, winning three Super Bowls in the process. This was fueled by their offensive tandem of 10x Pro-Bowl tight end Travis Kelce and 2x MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes II. This year, however, the Chiefs are sitting at 6-6, and coming into their game against the Texans desperate for a win. With their raucous home crowd backing them up, it seemed like the Texans’ win streak would certainly come to an end. However, the Texans remained unfazed, winning the game 20-10 behind their incredible defense, intercepting Mahomes three times and holding the Chiefs to their worst offensive performance in Mahomes’ career.
Emery Baseball Coach Preston Clarke has had his emotions on the Texans completely flip. “We made Mahomes look awful, not many teams can do that. If we continue like this, the team and the city can very well be taken to new heights, ” Clarke said.
The Texans have seemingly turned their season around, now firmly sitting in the playoff picture as the seventh seed. The Texans have learned not to take their opponents lightly and have brought continuous intensity to every game. With their backs against the wall, they truly embodied their team motto, Special Work-Ethic and Relentless Mindset (SWARM). Their upcoming games are against the 3-10 Arizona Cardinals, the 2-11 Las Vegas Raiders, the 8-4 Los Angeles Chargers, and finish the season against the 8-5 Indianapolis Colts. Throughout this season, the Texans have shown that anything can happen in the NFL. They have turned not just their own season around, but they’ve recaptured the city’s attention, and the city of Houston has higher hopes than ever before with this year’s football team.
