Here is a sentence that I’ve never been able to factually type before, ever — for the third consecutive season, the Houston Texans are on their way to the NFL playoffs! In the three previous attempts to get to a third consecutive postseason — 2013, 2017, 2020 — the Texans not only failed to accomplish that feat, but they finished with three of their worst records in franchise history. In 2013, they went 2-14. In 2017, they went 4-12, and went 4-12 again in 2020, the COVID season.
All DeMeco Ryans did was pull his team out of an 0-3 nosedive to start the 2025 season, and rattled off 10 wins in 12 games, and most importantly, has his team playing like the best version of “Texans football” in the 24 season history of the franchise.
The latest chapter fo this 2025 season was a Saturday afternoon, 20-16 victory over the playoff bound Los Angeles Chargers, in which the Texans were up 14-0 in the first six minutes, and held on for a tough road win. On the heels of the Texans clinching their ninth playoff appearance in franchise history, here were this weekend’s winners and losers:
WINNERS
4. Woody Marks
Woody Marks’ stats for the game, like many games this season, were fairly pedestrian. Marks had 71 yards on 19 carries, 19 carries that averaged an underwhelming 3.7 yards per carry. On the season, Marks is averaging a mediocre 3.5 yards per carry. Yet, late in games, Marks has come up huge with tough, physical, chain moving runs to close things out. On the Texans’ final two drives, they leaned heavily on Marks for a combined nine carries. On those carries, Marks only tallied 26 yards, but when the Texans needed a first down to close out the game, Marks had an eight yard run on 1st and 10, and a two yard run on 2nd and 2, which allowed the Texans to take a knee the rest of the way. Marks is a closer.
3. Derek Barnett
Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter play a majority of the game at defensive end for the Texans, but they do get rest every now and then. If the Texans can get sacks on the possessions where Hunter and Anderson are resting, that’s house money. Well, on the Chargers’ second series of the third quarter, substitute DE Derek Barnett had back to back sacks on 1st and 2nd down, forcing a 3rd and long, and eventual punt. At a point in the game where the Texans’ offense had gone dead, yet still leading 14-3, the Texans needed to get off the field quickly, and Barnett dialed up two huge pass rush moves to oblige. Huge plays from a cagey veteran.
2. Henry To’o To’o
Last week, against the Raiders, the Texans were without captain and middle linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. Al-Shaair is usually the backer who has the “green Dot,” which refers to the dot on the helmet, meaning he’s the one who gets the formation calls from DC Matt Burke. With Al-Shaair out, it was To’o To’o with that added responsibility. The end result was the sloppiest defensive performance of the season, complete with a subpar performance from To’o To’o. On Saturday, Al-Shaair was back, and To’o To’o, free of the added “green dot” responsibilities, was free to run around and crack skulls and not worry about added duties. To’o To’o had a team leading 12 tackles, and was all over the field.
1. DeMeco Ryans
The win last week against Las Vegas, the Texans’ 10th of the season, already cemented some unprecedented Texans head coaching territory for Ryans. Now, he’s piling on. Here is where we are now. Ryans is:
- First Texans head coach to win 10+ games in three seasons, and he’s done it in three CONSECUTIVE seasons
- First Texans head coach to make the playoffs in three consecutive seasons
- Eight game winning streak is second longest in Texans history
- Second head coach since 2000 to start 0-3 in a season and make the playoffs
- One of four NFL head coaches to win 10+ games in each of the last three seasons (Sean McDermott, Nick Sirianni, Sean McVay are the others)
DeMeco Ryans is the best head coach in Texans history. Sorry, Gary. Sorry, Bill. (Not sorry, Culley. Not sorry, Lovie.)
LOSERS
4. Final three quarters version of C.J. Stroud
Through the first six minutes of the game, Stroud was 4-4 for 142 yards and two long touchdown passes to rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. It looked Stroud was on his way to a statement game and blowout win, back in his hometown. Then, the Chargers made a few adjustments, started disguising some things, and the rest of the way, Stroud was 12-24 for 102 yards and two disgusting, 2nd quarter interceptions. That’s a hideous 26.74 passer rating. The one positive, after the first six minutes, is that Stroud took no sacks on the day.
3. Nick Chubb
Saturday was Nick Chubb’s 30th birthday. The Texans’ birthday present to him, evidently, was the one carry they gave him, for one yard. Happy birthday, Nick. Jawhar Jordan now has your job.
2. Dalton Schultz
Let me be clear about one thing — Dalton Schultz has had an outstanding season for the Texans. I thought he deserved more consideration than he evidently received for the Pro Bowl, where he wasn’t even named an alternate. However, in this particular game, he was the focal point of two of the more damaging plays to the Texans’ efforts. On the fourth drive of the game, Schultz made an eight yard catch to make it 3rd and 2 at the Chargers’ 41 yard line. However, he got caught shoving Chargers DT Teair Tart after the play, and the 15 yard penalty short circuited the Texans drive. Then, on the Texans’ first drive of the second half, Schultz caught what would have been a chain moving reception for a first down, but fumbled the ball backwards out of bounds, and instead it became 3rd and 4. One play later, the Texans were forced to punt.
- Indianapolis Colts
Heading into Week 18, the Texans can still win the AFC South. It would have been far easier to accomplish that, though, if the Colts had been able to knock off the Jaguars at home on Sunday. Admittedly, it’s tough to bank on 44 year old Philip Rivers to do your team a service, and for a guy who’s played two weeks of football since 2020, I guess he performed admirably. Unfortunately, Rivers threw an ill-timed interception to set up the Jags’ go head score in the fourth quarter, and now the Texans are counting on the Titans to beat the Jags, along with the Texans beating the Colts, to seal up their third straight AFC South title. Regardless, though, division title or no division title, there will be postseason football involving the Texans.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.