The Houston Texans beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night and in the process advanced to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. They will visit the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon.
When the Texans head to Foxborough they will do so seeking their first Conference Championship Game appearance in franchise history. We obviously know a thing or two about title game droughts around here, but it is territory that Houston has literally never conquered. That isn’t so bad when you remember that they have
been around since 2002.
In the early 2010s it felt like there was a slight rivalry developing between the Texans and Dallas Cowboys as they both operate in the state of Texas. That feels like it has cooled a bit, but every now and then you run into someone who takes it a little bit more seriously.
For those keeping score… the Texans have now officially passed the Cowboys in direct opportunities to reach the Conference Championship Game since 2002 when they first became an NFL franchise.
Divisional Round Appearances Since 2002 (when Texans began play)
- Dallas Cowboys (6): 2007, 2009, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022
- Houston Texans (7): 2011, 2012, 2016, 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025
Interestingly the two teams have never appeared in the Divisional Round of the playoffs in the same season which means that Texas-based football has never been doubly awesome to that degree since the Texans were established as an NFL team. Another point of interest is that Dallas has appeared in the Divisional Round twice after holding a first-round bye (2007 and 2016) while the Texans never have. Each season you see listed there involved them winning in the Wild Card Round to get there. One last point of interest is that this most recent season was the first time that the Texans ever did so as a Wild Card. Every previous instance saw them host the Wild Card Round game as the AFC South Champions.
To be perfectly clear there is nobody measuring success in Divisional Round appearances. This is just the latest thing to happen to prove how other teams are passing and/or lapping the Cowboys as The Drought™ continues.
Who will be next?
