TheNFL season is officially back and the Houston Texansare set to embark on what could be the year to remember down at Relinat Stadium.
Not only does Houston feature the league's best defense, but the offense should have slightly turned the corner in several areas. Keylan Rutledge looks to be the face of the offensive line while there's promise in the run game with a revamped look headlined by newcomer David Montgomery and a surging second-year standout Woody Marks.
As quarterback C.J. Stroud enters his fourth season coming off a roller coaster campaign that ended in a crash-and-burn postseason, he'll need to prove he's worth the money. Houston has paid everyone else up for a new deal this offseason besides the 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year
and plans to hold steadfast until Stroud can prove he's ready for the next steps as a difference-maker at the game's most important position.
The Texans are set to begin the new season and reclaim the title of AFC South favorites with a home matchup against the Buffalo Bills at Reliant Stadium on Monday afternoon. Houston opened the week as a 3-point favorite after being the Achilles' heel of former MVP quarterback Josh Allen throughout his career.
With the 2026 season all but here, let's take a quick look at where the Texans sit among NFL power rankings throughout the major publications entering Week 1.
Nate Davis, USA TODAY: 10
From Davis: "A defense that ceded more than 300 yards just six times last year might need to be even better until QB C.J. Stroud and an offense already coping with significant injuries can find its footing. But that could be a tall order given some of the high-powered attacks the Texans will face in the next two months."
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: 11
From Pricso: "We know the defense will be dominant, so it's all about the offense. More specifically, it's about C.J. Stroud. He has to be better."
Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports: 10
From Schwab: "The Texans were lucky to replace injured Jayden Higgins with Kayshon Boutte. Apparently, there was no trade market for Boutte, whom the Texans got from the Patriots for a 2028 seventh-round pick. Boutte had 551 yards and six touchdowns last season and will have a role in the offense."
The Score: 11
From The Score: "The Texans lost Jayden Higgins to a season-ending injury but promptly traded for Kayshon Boutte to serve as the interim No. 2 receiver opposite Nico Collins. Houston has a championship-ready defense, but it just needs the offense to pull its own weight."
Josh Kendall, The Athletic: 7
From Kendall: "There’s no defensive line in the NFL more feared than the Texans’, which boasts an embarrassment of riches after adding Jadeveon Clowney to a group that already featured Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter. So we know the defense should be very good. The big question is what can C.J. Stroud do in Year 4 after his 2025 campaign ended with a terrible playoff performance. They may have to win games 17-14."
Brent Sobleski, Bleacher Report: 4
From Sobleski: "The Houston Texans will go as far as quarterback C.J. Stroud takes them. He doesn't need to operate at any MVP standard for the Texans to become a serious Super Bowl contender, either. Houston's defense is already good enough to place the team among the NFL's best. The quarterback simply needs to be better than what's been seen the last two seasons and closer to how he performed as a rookie."
Diante Lee, The Ringer: 4
From Lee: "The stage is set for Houston to join Philadelphia and Seattle as championship teams led by their respective defenses. The Texans’ starting defense is without any obvious holes, and they might have the best lineup of second-string defensive players in football. If edge rusher Will Anderson can make another leap in sack production, he could plant his flag as the best overall defensive player in the league. And if it’s not Anderson, the cornerback duo of Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter might lead the way for this unit in coverage."
Ralph Vacchiano, FOX Sports: 11
Super Bowl odds: +1800
From Vacchiano: "They had hope that WR Jayden Higgins would emerge as a much-needed No. 2 WR, but a torn ACL ruined that. Their league-best defense is going to have to do a lot of the heavy lifting again."
Conor Orr, Sports Illustrated: 3
From Orr: "My prospective Super Bowl champion begins the season at No. 3. No team on this list is infallible, and Houston’s skill-position injuries are mounting at a less-than-ideal time. I still think the Texans don’t need much from the offense; just an efficient running game and a managerial attitude when the defense isn’t destroying people. Too simplistic? Maybe, but OC Nick Caley called a better offense in 2025 than he was given credit for. "
D.J. Bien-Aime, ESPN: 10
From Bien-Aime: "If Stroud throws for 3,663 passing yards in 2026, he'll pass Deshaun Watson (14,539) and move into second place in Texans' history. Stroud (10,876) currently sits behind David Carr (13,391) at fourth overall, while Matt Schaub is well ahead at No. 1 (23,221). Another category to watch is passing touchdowns in franchise history. Stroud is third with 62, but if he goes nuclear and tosses at least 43 touchdown passes, he'll also pass Watson (104) for second. Schaub leads with 124."
Cole Thompson, Texans Wire: 9
From Thompson: "If football were a one-sided affair, the Texans would be the second-best team simply because of their potential record-setting defense. Danielle Hunter has just as strong a chance to win a Defensive Player of the Year Award as Will Anderson Jr., which tells you just how loaded Houston's front seven is. And that's not even mentioning potential All-Pro seasons from Azeez Al-Shaair, Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter. But football requires an offense to take the field and so most of the pressure for Houston's Super Bowl chances falls on C.J. Stroud's shoulders. He's going to have to show that the postseason was a one-time fluke and that growth under second-year offensive coordinator Nick Caley is on the horizon. No one is asking Stroud to be an MVP. If he can score 21 points, that might be enough.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: NFL power rankings round-up 2026: How do Texans fare entering Week 1?
