Rejoice! Bust out that jersey! Bring out the party poppers, because the Texans are a winning football team for the first time in 2025! They welcome the favored Buffalo Bills, led by reigning MVP quarterback
Josh Allen, and they kicked their butts all the way back to western New York!
In seasons like these, unlikely heroes emerge to save the season. In 2018, the last NFL team to make the playoffs after an 0-3 start, the Houston Texans counted on lesser known players like Brandon Dunn, Kendall Lamm, and Alfred Blue to keep the season alive is dire straits. Players that many Texans fans didn’t even know were on the team had become season-savers, earning fans as the season took a turn for the better. This year, you can take your pick of surprise stars! Rookie running back Woody Marks has a near-universially beloved lead back mere months after being drafted in the fifth round. Davis Mills had to jump back into the starting role, three seasons since his last start, after CJ Stroud went down with a concussion, and won three straight, playing largely clean football and launching his team back into playoff contention. After last Thursday, I imagine safety Calen Bullock has entered many fans’ minds as another season savior where he was relatively unknown just weeks ago. Heck, I imagine some fans may even argue kicker Matthew Wright should be credited for pulling this team from the brink with his game-winning field goals against the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Suffice to say, this has been a remarkable team-wide effort to claw back from 3-5 all the way to 6-5, with a long list of players that deserve some flowers. But, if there was a group in particular that deserves a world of credit for their efforts, it’s the defensive line. Josh Allen, despite his speed and athleticism, was sacked eight, yes, EIGHT times in this football game. Sack artists Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson combined for 4.5 sacks, and are now ranked third and fourth in the NFL in total sacks, respectively. And if they weren’t making plays, Houston’s defensive backfield was instead. There was just no stopping the Texans defense on Thursday, and because of their remarkable, veritable tenacity, the Texans are victors once again. They’re hitting their stride right in time for the most difficult stretch of games of the season, and will be welcoming back starters CJ Stroud and Jalen Pitre very soon.
So….those pesky power rankings pundits will have to push those powerful Texans up their lists, right? Those that doubted them will have to eat their crow, right? Last week, after ranking Houston 17th on his list, the one, the only, the Mike Florio stated, “Do they belong? Beat the Bills, and the answer is yes.” Well, now that they’ve beat the Bills, let’s see where the Houston Texans are ranked entering Week 13 of the 2025 NFL Season:
NFL.COM
15. Houston Texans (6-5) (Last Week: 18)
Huge road challenges await at Indianapolis and Kansas City, but last Thursday’s home win over Buffalo was the signature victory Houston needed, and the way it happened only added to the accomplishment. The Texans started the season at 0-5 in one-score games, but over the last three weeks, they’ve prevailed by seven points, three points and four points, thanks to some excellent relief work from Davis Mills. The bar has now been raised for C.J. Stroud. When the starting quarterback was knocked out of the lineup, the Texans were on life support. Now they have close to a 50 percent chance to make the playoffs, per Next Gen Stats. Beating the Bills was the first big step. If they can topple the suddenly wobbly Colts on Sunday, they’ll have some real momentum. Houston doesn’t quite need to hit an inside straight down the stretch, but every win is crucial. And no one wants to face this defense in January.
ESPN:
16. Houston Texans (6-5)
Week 12 result: Beat the Bills 23-19
Week 12 ranking: 19
Thanksgiving game memory: Houston benefits from former Lions coach Jim Schwartz’s blunder in 2012
Schwartz threw a challenge flag in the third quarter when Houston running back Justin Forsett scored an 81-yard touchdown run after two Lions seemingly tackled him. Replays showed Forsett’s left knee and elbow hit the turf, and an automatic review most likely would have reversed the result. But according to NFL rules, throwing the challenge flag on a scoring play negates the review. So as a result, the touchdown stood and cut the Lions’ 10-point lead to three. Houston won 34-31 in overtime.
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED:
14. Houston Texans (6–5)
Last week’s ranking: No. 21
Last week’s result: beat Bills, 23–19
This week: at Colts
The difference between a team whose head coach and general manager are in lockstep defensively versus a team throwing darts: Here’s Houston’s sixth-round pick getting thrown into the furnace and playing like a seasoned vet. This defense is deeper and more capable than we realize.
BLEACHER REPORT:
15. Houston Texans (6-5)
Last Week: 19
Week 12 Result: Won vs. Buffalo 23-19
The Texans’ defense isn’t just good. It’s not just the NFL’s No. 1-ranked unit. Houston fields a defense that can dictate a game, which is a rarity in today’s game.
DeMeco Ryans’ unit sacked Bills quarterback Josh Allen a career-high eight times. Considering the signal-caller’s size, strength, athleticism and playmaking ability, few stats are more impressive.
After Thursday’s win, the Texans now find themselves above .500 for the first time this season, with legitimate postseason aspirations and an outside shot at a third straight division title.
CBS SPORTS:
16. Texans (6-5) (Last Week: 18)
That defense is nasty. They got all over Josh Allen. They face a big one this week on the road against the Colts.
USA TODAY:
11. Houston Texans (13): Yet another impressive component of this top-ranked defense? It has 17 takeaways over the past eight games, a stretch when the resurgent Texans have gone 6-2.
YAHOO! SPORTS:
17 (18): Houston Texans (6-5)
Teams with a defense as good as Houston rarely miss the playoffs. The Texans have the best defense in the NFL, as we saw in their dismantling of the Bills, and are still an underdog to make the postseason. But that defense gives them a chance to sneak in.
THE ATHLETIC:
17. Houston Texans (6-5)
Last week: 19
Thursday: Beat Bills 23-19
One big question: Can the defense carry them?
The Texans sacked Josh Allen eight times and forced three turnovers, as they continue to look like one of the NFL’s best defenses. But, like the Broncos, is that unit good enough to carry a just-OK offense?
Up next: at Colts, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
PRO FOOTBALL TALK:
15. Texans (No. 17; 6-5): No one is gong to want to face that defense in January, if they get there.
Average Ranking: 15.11 (Last Week: 18.00)
They just keep going up! Although, going from an average ranking of 18 to 15, while impressive in just a week, isn’t going to set the world on fire. Besides USA Today’s Nate Davis, general thought on the Texans among the power rankings cognoscenti has upgraded from suspicious to cautiously optimistic. Not exactly the empathic “yes” Florio declared last week when musing about whether the Texans “belong.” But, if this season has taught us anything, these pundits are a bit…reactionary to the first month of the season, and aren’t usually ones to hastily change their misplaced opinions. Still, it’s hard to blame the near unanimous agreement on placing the Texans right in the middle of the list – while their defense might be championship caliber, they continue to be held back by a mediocre offense. Until Houston proves their offense can reliably maintain possession of the football and score a few more points, they will remain in the middle the league, doubted and ignored. Just how they like it!
What do you think, though? Do the Texans deserve more praise for their incomparable comeback in the middle of the season, or are the power rankers right to remain unsure of the product in Houston? Will Houston be able to overcome their sloppy offense and make the playoffs, or are they flying too close to the sun? We may find out for sure next weekend when they travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts in the first of two pivotal AFC South games, but as for now, leave your comments, opinions, and prognostications down in the comments below!
GO TEXANS!!!
