The Houston Texans, a team that entered the new NFL season with high expectations surrounding them and their chances to make a deep run later down the line, wound up dropping the ball in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills in a 31-36 loss at home.
The offense was better than expected, the defense was worse than expected, and after a devastating giveaway in the fourth quarter to end Houston’s chances at a comeback win, many analysts and pundits covering the league have now made a bit of a knee-jerk reaction surrounding where the Texans stand amongst the NFL.
Let’s sort through a brand-new batch of consensus power rankings to see just where the Texans stack up across various media outlets heading into their Week 2 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Last Week’s Ranking: 3rd
Conor Orr dropped the Texans by a pretty steep five spots. They were once heralded as true Super Bowl contenders–– and have more than enough time to reclaim that spot in the top three in the weeks ahead–– but Orr seems to have some questions for C.J. Stroud moving forward.
“A new C.J. Stroud? An old one? Yes.”
Last Week’s Ranking: 10th
Nick Shook seems to have more of an optimistic tone surrounding the Texans’ chances in the weeks ahead. At the very least, though, this one was a disappointing result for Houston to face in their season opener, and might be the perfect “early wake-up call.”
“Few teams experienced a more crushing heartbreak in Week 1 than the Texans, who fought back and forth with the Bills for four quarters. Houston had a chance to win the game in the final minute but saw it vanish in an all-too-familiar fashion, with a C.J. Stroud fumble. Stroud largely played well otherwise, and David Montgomery produced an excellent Houston debut, but the vaunted defense failed to live up to expectations, a disappointing result that should serve as an early wake-up call.”
Last Week’s Ranking: 10th
Within ESPN’s polling amongst analysts and beat writers, the Texans fell outside of the top 10. However, D.J. Bien-Aime highlighted David Montgomery’s debut in Houston against the Bills–– ultimately leading to 79 combined yards and three total touchdowns.
“Montgomery, who was acquired via trade from the Lions in March, finished with the most touchdowns in a debut in Texans franchise history. He had three touchdowns and 79 total yards (60 rushing and 19 receiving), as Houston scored its most points in a season opener under coach DeMeco Ryans. Overall, the Texans finished with 124 rushing yards on 32 carries, which helped create more passing lanes for quarterback C.J. Stroud en route to 287 passing yards. Montgomery said, “That’s going to be our identity.”
Last Week’s Ranking: 7th
Chad Graff and Josh Kendall had one clear takeaway from this game: this defense is beatable. Considering the Texans were on the opposing end of 36 points, more than they’ve seen since DeMeco Ryan’s first season as head coach, it’s hard to argue that right now.
“[The defensive] side of the ball is supposed to carry this team. Even though the Bills had the ball for under 24 minutes of game time, the Texans’ usually dominant defense still got gashed at home. C.J. Stroud was better Sunday than in the playoffs, which is the last time we saw him, but his strip-sack in the final seconds cemented Houston’s loss.”
Last Week’s Ranking: 11th
Pete Prisco seems to have already sold his stock on the Texans’ elite defense, dropping them further outside of the top 10.
“So much for the idea that this defense would be like the 1985 Bears. They didn’t look good in losing to Josh Allen and the Bills.”
Last Week’s Ranking: 11th
Ralph Vacchiano places the Texans at their worst ranking among most media outlets by far. They’re ranked 14th, which comes, obviously, as a result of Houston’s poor defensive outing.
“I know they were playing the Bills, but giving up 36 points and 409 yards? What happened to the best defense in the NFL?”
Last Week’s Ranking: 3rd
Mike Florio seems to be the one name on this list who hasn’t overreacted to the Texans’ slow Week 1 performance. Granted, he was one of the highest on this list before this weekend’s game by placing them within the top 3, but they now sit just one spot lower at 4th.
“Scoring 31 points should be more than enough for that defense.”
Last Week’s Ranking: 6th
A steep dropoff for the Texans from PFF and Bradley Locker, which has some pros and cons. On one hand, they now fall outside of the top 10, and their defense now has a lot more questions than they did before the season. On the other hand, their new and improved offense did also answer the bell pretty nicely, which is a good sign for what’s ahead.
“Houston’s season opener against the Bills was a double-edged sword. On one hand, its beleaguered offense looked much better, averaging 0.083 EPA per play and gaining 25 first downs. On the other, the Texans’ defense was astonishingly carved up while generating only 13 pressures. DeMeco Ryans’ defense shouldn’t play this badly again, which means Houston is that much more of a contender ifC.J. Stroud & Co. can sustain this type of efficacy.”
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