The New England Patriots were one of the worst teams in football each of the last two seasons. Fortunes can change quickly in the NFL, however, and on Sunday, the team of first-year head coach Mike Vrabel will compete for a spot in the AFC Championship Game.
Between them and the conference title game, however, stands the team with the longest win streak in the league. The Houston Texans have not lost a game in over two months, and are fresh off a 30-6 dismantling of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Let’s take
a closer look at them.
Texans key stats
Any conversation about the 2025 Texans needs to start with one word: defense. The unit has been exceptional so far, and a big reason why some of the numbers to follow look the way they are.
Record: 12-5 (2nd AFC South/5th AFC)
Scoring differential: +109 (6th)
Turnover differential: +17 (2nd)
Offense: 23.8 points/game (13th), 327.0 yards/game (18th), 12 giveaways (2nd), -0.008 EPA/play (22nd), 0.083 EPA/dropback (17th), -0.149 EPA/run (30th)
Defense: 17.4 points/game (2nd), 277.2 yards/game (1st), 29 takeaways (3rd), -0.108 EPA/play (2nd), -0.100 EPA/dropback (1st), -0.124 EPA/run (3rd)
The Patriots went up against a very good Los Angeles Chargers defense in the wild card round, but this one is a different beast. No matter the statistical category you look at, there is a high chance Houston is within at least the top 5 if not at the very top. Among the first-place rankings are the aforementioned yards per game (277.2) and expected points added per dropback (-0.100) as well as scoring percentage (27.6%), first downs (16.2/game), starting field position (27.4) and time per drive (2:35).
The other side of the ball has not played on the same level (which, in fairness, is hard to achieve for any unit). That said, is has avoided putting the defense in unfavorable situations by giving the ball away only 12 times and scoring either touchdowns or field goals on 42.9% of possessions (11th).
Texans 2025 season
Houston qualified for the playoffs as the second-ranked team in the AFC South behind Jacksonville, and the fifth seed in the conference overall. The team accomplished all that despite a slow first half of the season.
After an 0-3 start, the Texans found themselves at just 3-5 halfway through the season. From that point on, however, the team turned the heat up and has not turned it back down ever since.
Week 1: 14-9 loss at Los Angeles Rams (0-1)
Week 2: 20-19 loss vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-2)
Week 3: 17-10 loss at Jacksonville Jaguars (0-3)
Week 4: 26-0 win vs. Tennessee Titans (1-3)
Week 5: 44-10 win at Baltimore Ravens (2-3)
Week 6: Bye
Week 7: 27-19 loss at Seattle Seahawks (2-4)
Week 8: 26-15 win vs. San Francisco 49ers (3-4)
Week 9: 18-15 loss vs. Denver Broncos (3-5)
Week 10: 36-29 win vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-5)
Week 11: 16-13 win at Tennessee Titans (5-5)
Week 12: 23-19 win vs. Buffalo Bills (6-5)
Week 13: 20-16 win at Indianapolis Colts (7-5)
Week 14: 20-10 win at Kansas City Chiefs (8-5)
Week 15: 40-20 win vs. Arizona Cardinals (9-5)
Week 16: 23-21 win vs. Las Vegas Raiders (10-5)
Week 17: 20-16 win at Los Angeles Chargers (11-5)
Week 18: 38-30 win vs. Indianapolis Colts (12-5)
Wild card round: 30-6 win at Pittsburgh Steelers
Including their win in the wild card round on Monday night, the Texans have now won an NFL-best 10 games in a row. They did so despite facing some very good opponents including four playoff teams (Jaguars, Bills, Chargers, Steelers) as well as Colts and Chiefs teams that were still alive in the postseason hunt at those points.
During their win streak, the Texans defeated their opponents with an average score of 26.6 to 18 while posting 0.008 EPA per play on offense and -0.142 on defense, both above their season-long output.
Texans active roster
Roster up-to-date as of Jan. 14, 6 a.m. ET | *denotes nominal starter
Quarterback (3): C.J. Stroud* (7), Davis Mills (10), Graham Mertz (18)
Running back (5): Woody Marks* (27), Jawhar Jordan (26), Nick Chubb (21), British Brooks (44 | FB), Dare Ogunbowale (33)
Wide receiver (7): Nico Collins* (12), Jayden Higgins* (81), Christian Kirk* (13), Xavier Hutchinson (19), Jaylin Noel (14 | KR/PR), Justin Watson (84), Braxton Berrios (17)
Tight end (3): Dalton Schultz* (86), Cade Stover (87), Harrison Bryant (88)
Offensive tackle (3): Aireontae Ersery* (79| LT), Trent Brown* (77 | RT), Blake Fisher (57)
Interior offensive line (6): Tytus Howard* (71 | LG), Jake Andrews* (60 | C), Ed Ingram* (69 | RG), Jarrett Patterson (63), Jarrett Kingston (54), Juice Scruggs (70)
Interior defensive line (3): Sheldon Rankins* (90), Tommy Togiai* (72), Naquan Jones (91)
Defensive edge (5): Danielle Hunter* (55), Will Anderson Jr.* (51), Denico Autry (96), Derek Barnett (95), Dylan Horton (92)
Linebacker (6): Azeez Al-Shaair* (0), Henry To’o To’o* (39), E.J. Speed (45), Damone Clark (31), Jamal Hill (56), Christian Harris (48)
Cornerback (5): Derek Stingley Jr.* (24), Kamari Lassiter* (4), Ja’Marcus Ingram (42), Tremon Smith (11), Alijah Huzzie (36)
Safety (4): Jalen Pitre* (5), Calen Bullock* (2), Jaylen Reed* (23), Myles Bryant (25)
Specialists (3): Ka’imi Fairbairn (15 | K), Tommy Townsend (6 | P/H), Austin Brinkman (40 | LS)
While the defense deserves plenty of praise for Houston’s turnaround and establishing itself as a serious contender in the AFC, let’s also give the offense its flowers. The unit may not be among the statistically impressive ones in football — its output is roughly in the same sphere as the Chargers’ — but it still has played some solid football even with quarterback C.J. Stroud missing three games due to injury.
On Sunday, Stroud will be under center and lead an offense that features plenty of talent, himself included. In his 14 regular season starts, Stroud completed 273 of 423 pass attempts (64.5%) for 3,041 yards with 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He also scored a rushing touchdown, was sacked on 23 occasions, and fumbled the ball twice without any giveaways. He ranked ninth in EPA per play (0.164) and 21st in completion percentage above expectation (0.4).
Stroud was efficient for most of the year, but had his issues against Pittsburgh on Monday. While he did go 21-of-32 (65.6%) as a passer with a touchdown, he also threw an interception and lost a pair of fumbles. In total, he put the ball on the ground five times and had a season-high turnover-worthy throw rate of 11.4%.
Besides Stroud, several players are worth highlighting among his supporting cast. Tops among them is Pro Bowl receiver Nico Collins, who has caught a total of 74 passes for 1,138 yards and 6 touchdowns so far this season. However, like Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez, he finds himself in concussion protocol coming out of wild card weekend, putting a question mark over his availability for Sunday.
Should Collins not be cleared in time, the onus will be on the rest of the team’s receiving corps. The main men are wideouts Christian Kirk (36/383/2), Jayden Higgins (44/564/6) and Xavier Hutchinson (37/449/3) as well as tight end Dalton Schultz, who leads the team with 85 catches that he took for 789 yards and 3 TDs so far.
In addition, running back Woody Marks also factors into the mix. He is ranked second on the team with 1,023 scrimmage yards this season and carried the ball 19 times for 112 yards (5.9/carry) and a touchdown versus the Steelers.
Of course, the fact that Marks, Stroud and the rest of the offense are still in contention is largely due to Houston’s defense putting forward dominant effort after dominant effort. Pittsburgh was completely overwhelmed like so many opponents this season, and gave up two defensive scores.
It all starts in the trenches with one of the most devastating pass rushes in football. First-team All-Pro Will Anderson Jr. and second-team All-Pro Danielle Hunter have registered a combined 187 quarterback pressures so far this year, an average of more than 10 per game. Hunter is up to 16 sacks on the season now, with Anderson at 12.5. Both have also forced four fumbles, including one each on Monday.
Joining them up front is stout tackle duo Sheldon Rankins, who had a 33-yard fumble return touchdown in that game, and Tommy Togiai. They may not bring otherworldly size but are as capable of shutting down run lanes or keeping O-linemen on their heels as any interior group in the NFL. This, in turn, allows both Anderson and Hunter to do their thing, and for second-level defenders Azeez Al-Shaair and Henry To’o To’o to come down hard both in the running and the passing games.
The backfield, which uses plenty of zones but oftentimes makes the switch to man on passing downs, is led by another first-team All-Pro: Derek Stingley Jr. is among the blue-chip cornerbacks in the game today, a group that also features the aforementioned Christian Gonzalez. As opposed to his Patriots counterpart, however, Stingley Jr. has been excellent at making plays on the ball, and is second on the Texans with four interceptions.
He shares that distinction with fellow ballhawks Kamari Lassiter and Jalen Pitre. Only Calen Bullock, who like Pitre is a fixture in Houston’s three-safety defense, has more picks on the year: his fifth came on Monday against Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers, and he took it back 50 yards for a touchdown.
The kicking game, meanwhile, has been solid, too. Ka’imi Fairbairn led the league in field goal attempts and field goals during the regular season, going 44-for-48 for a 91.7% success rate.
Texans reserves
Practice squad (16): FB Jakob Johnson (43), WR Quintez Cephus (16), WR Josh Kelly (85), WR Jared Wayne (89), TE Luke Lachey (83), OT Jaylon Thomas (66), OL Eli Cox (65), OL Sidy Sow (62), DT Marlon Davidson (94), DT Leki Fotu (58), DT Junior Tafuna (53), ED Solomon Byrd (50), ED Xavier Thomas (59), LB Power Echols (47), CB Ameer Speed (37), S K’Von Wallace (38)
Practice squad international (1): DT Haggai Ndubuisi
Practice squad/injured (2): TE Layne Pryor, S Kaevon Merriweather
Injured reserve (9): TE Brevin Jordan, DT Mario Edwards Jr, DT Folorunso Fatukasi, DT Kyonte Hamilton, DT Tim Settle, ED Jake Hansen, CB Ajani Carter (IR-R), CB Jaylin Smith, S M.J. Stewart
Physically unable to perform (3): WR Tank Dell, DT Kurt Hinish, S Jimmie Ward
Non-football injury/illness (1): RB Joe Mixon
Like the Texans’ active roster, their practice squad is also littered with former Patriots. Whether or not any of the three — fullback Jakob Johnson, guard Sidy Sow, cornerback Ameer Speed — will actually see the field on Sunday is questionable, though. Definitely out, meanwhile, are two regulars along the defensive line: after playing rotational roles earlier in the season, Tim Settle and Mario Edwards Jr. have since both landed on injured reserve.
Texans coaching staff
Head coach: DeMeco Ryans
Coordinators: Nick Caley (OC), Matt Burke (DC), Frank Ross (ST)
As they have for some time now, New England connections run deep in Houston. Atop the organization sits general manager Nick Caserio, a long Patriots executives who won six Super Bowls and served as Bill Belichick’s right-hand man for several years. The coaching staff, meanwhile, also featured several ex-Patriots assistant: offensive coordinator Nick Caley, offensive line coach Cole Popovich and senior offensive assistant Jerry Schuplinski all spent significant time in Foxborough.
