Another week goes by, and there’s another Houston Texans victory to celebrate, now standing at six in a row! This week, the Houston Texans were finally granted mercy by the football gods with a winnable
game after carving through a three-game gauntlet of the AFC’s best. The 3-10 Arizona Cardinals came into Houston as heavy underdogs, tattered and encumbered with dysfunction of their own, and played…just about as well as expected. This result may seem unexceptional, but for Texans fans, football games that don’t contain high suspense, a narrow lead, or late-game theatrics are quite the rarity in the DeMeco Ryans era. So, in a season full of games where you got accustomed to holding your breath the entire second half, a 40-20 drubbing of the Cardinals came as a very welcome sighting. The defense had another impressive showing (besides when Cardinals TE Trey McBride was targeted), but in a twist, the Texans offense had a field day instead of a dirt nap. QB CJ Stroud threw three touchdown passes, WR Nico Collins surpassed 1,000 receiving yards on the season in a two-touchdown effort, and practice-squad RB Jawhar Jordan received starting-caliber snaps after Woody Marks went down with an injury and played like a seasoned pro!
This improbable win streak that the Texans are orchestrating should be enough to prove their mettle to football spectators and power rankers alike, but with this big, validating laugher of a game, their resurgence is starting to feel inevitable. With another exceptional performance like last Sunday’s, the pundits listed below will be forced to acknowledge Houston’s state as one of the hottest, potentially scariest, teams in professional football. Here’s where the Houston Texans are ranked entering Week 16 of the 2025 NFL Season:
NFL.COM
10. Houston Texans (9-5) (Last Week: 11)
The win streak sits at six, the playoffs are nearly a certainty, and the offense is showing signs of growth. Ringing up 40 points is always welcome, as C.J. Stroud and a surprisingly productive run game had their way with Arizona on Sunday. But another highly encouraging development has been the reduction of turnovers, with only one in the Texans’ past five games combined. Giveaways cost them a few early-season losses, but they haven’t been an issue for months now. The defense didn’t have a flawless game by its sterling standards, but it was a solid effort that allowed Houston to build a 23-point lead. The Raiders could be another tune-up for the final two games, at the Chargers and home against the Colts, which could ultimately decide whether the Texans are a wild-card team or your AFC South champs.
ESPN:
13. Houston Texans (9-5)
Week 15 result: Beat the Cardinals 40-20
Week 15 ranking: 12
Extension candidate: Defensive end Will Anderson Jr.
This season, Anderson has had the fifth-most tackles for loss (16) and ninth-most sacks (10.5) in the league. The No. 3 pick in 2023 is expected to get an extension, one year after Derek Stingley Jr. became the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history on a three-year, $90 million deal. Quarterback C.J. Stroud — the No. 2 pick in 2023 — is also eligible for an extension this offseason.
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED:
7. Houston Texans (9–5)
Last week’s ranking: No. 11
Last week’s result: beat Cardinals, 40–20
This week: vs. Raiders
While I think we are overplaying the supposed lack of offensive firepower projected to make the playoffs this year, I also think we are underplaying just how destructive this Texans defense can be.
BLEACHER REPORT:
6. Houston Texans (9-5)
Last Week: 8
Week 15 Result: Won vs. Arizona 40-20
The Houston Texans are on fire.
For much of what is now a six-game winning streak, Houston’s top-ranked defense is what has carried the team. But while the defense played relatively well Sunday against the Cardinals, it was Houston’s offense that really showed up in Week 15.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud had one of his best games of the season, throwing three touchdown passes and posting a passer rating north of 135. Second-year running back Jawhar Jordan had 101 yards on the ground after taking over for an injured Woody Marks. Houston had almost 400 yards of offense and converted over half of their third downs.
If Houston can continue to play that well offensively and maintain their defensive dominance, this team could be a handful in the playoffs
CBS SPORTS:
8. Texans (9-5) (Last Week: 9)
They’ve won six straight games and appear to be the team that nobody wants to play in the postseason. The offense has come alive.
USA TODAY:
4. Houston Texans (6): Will the real C.J. Stroud please stand up? But if that was you Sunday against Arizona, then the Texans are truly a legitimate Super Bowl threat.
YAHOO! SPORTS:
6 (8): Houston Texans (9-5)
Sunday provided a glimpse of a championship upside for the Texans. Their defense, still No. 1 in points allowed and yards allowed, is at a championship level. The offense was the question. Then, on Sunday, C.J. Stroud had his best game of the season, with three touchdowns and a passer rating of 137.1. That came against a Cardinals team that is fading fast. But we know Stroud has talent. If the offense is just above average the rest of the way, look out for Houston.
THE ATHLETIC:
7. Houston Texans (9-5)
Last week: 9
Sunday: Beat Cardinals 40-20
MVP: Will Anderson Jr.
The defensive end is ninth in the league in sacks (10.5) and leads all players with more than 100 pass-rush snaps in pressure percentage (21.3 percent). He’s also first in splash-play rate (21.5 percent, according to TruMedia). That means he makes a game-altering defensive play on one of five snaps. He’s top five in the league in quarterback pressures, third- and fourth-down stops and forced fumbles, but he left Sunday’s game after seemingly getting poked in the eye.
Up next: vs. Raiders, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
PRO FOOTBALL TALK:
8. Texans (No. 9; 9-5): A Super Bowl run isn’t nearly as crazy as it once would have sounded.
Average Ranking: 7.67 (Last Week: 9.11)
Ahhhh…yes. Victory does, in fact, taste sweet. It’s been an absolute delight to watch the Texans incrementally work their way up the rankings this year after falling so far following the 0-3 start. It’s very rare to see a team enter the regular season as a top-ten team, quickly squander all of that good will, and then gradually work their way back to being a top ten team as the season went on. Houston has the wind at their backs, now, and I think former NFL quarterback Matt Ryan put it best in his assessment of the Texans on the NFL on CBS:
“…I think, one of the other things that’s important for the Houston Texans is – you know, what wins in the playoffs? Defense – reliable defense – and pass rushers that can win without having to rush more than four. And, they’ve got a defense where you’ve got Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson on both sides and it doesn’t require you to pressure, you can play coverage behind that. The other thing I think that – they’ve got to be sitting there and licking their chops about – is that currently right now in the AFC: Joe Burrow’s not in the playoffs, Patrick Mahomes isn’t in the playoffs, Lamar Jackson’s currently not in the playoffs, and you’ve had Josh Allen’s number every time you’ve played him. This is a scary team that, when you look at the AFC playoff picture, of a team that can make a run during that seven-team tournament of the AFC…it could be scary.” – Ryan
Oh yeah, the Houston Texans hype train is banging on all cylinders, now! That Cardinals victory is just more proof that the Texans are going to be a hard out for any opponent that dares to line up against them. Even when Arizona’s QB Jacoby Brissett was cutting the Texans’ defense up, his team was never able to close the gap and make the game interesting. Next up: the Las Vegas Raiders, another sub-par opponent that offers a second tune-up game for the Texans before the end of the regular season. Houston hasn’t punched their ticket to the postseason yet, though, so let’s hope they can ride this wave of optimism to a few more Ws, and a few less injuries. If they can do that, then the sky is the limit for the 2025 Houston Texans.
What do you think, though? Are the Texans hitting their peak at the very end of the season, or do they still have a few more steps to take before you’re boarding the hype train? Is Jawhar Jordan going to be a bigger part of the offense going forward, or will he remain a depth piece that scarcely sees the field? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below!
GO TEXANS!!!
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