Tonight, the Houston Texans begin their quest to compete in their first ever Super Bowl. Because the team has a defense which has proven historic, setting franchise records for fewest yards and points allowed in a season, hopes are high. The hot team – riding into the NFL playoffs on a nine-game winning streak – will brave cold temperatures on the road in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers and future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers await.
Despite the team beginning its pursuit in unfriendly confines, the promise of a deep playoff run is real and exciting. In Vegas, sports books are being inundated with bets on the Texans’ chances to win this Monday Night Football’s contest and then additional playoff games. At home, fans are flooding social media with support and predictions of what was once considered impossible, a berth in the NFL’s biggest game, after starting the season with three straight losses. The squad has turned H-town into “Swarm City,” a mashup of head coach DeMeco Ryans’ football philosophy and the Houston Rockets championship moniker, “Clutch City.”
Anyone who’s ever been to a Houston Texans football game knows music is a huge part of said event. Going back to Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls on Parade,” the song which defined the D which featured franchise legends like J.J. Watt and Ryans, to “Turn Down for What,” the Lil Jon song that blared whenever Watt made an incredible play (it blared a lot, y’all), to “Houston Pt. 2,” the current fight song by Houston’s own Slim Thug, music has helped spur the athletes and fans who create the Houston Texans experience.
With a team that feels as if it could be the one which brings years of pro football futility to a merciful end – a long history of playoff heartbreak dating back to the Houston Oilers’ losses to the very franchise the Texans will try to unseed tonight – we need some fresh fight songs to rally our hopes and the Texans to the promised land. And we went to the players (okay, their Instagram pages) to choose those songs. Go Texans!
Will Anderson, Jr. : “Who You Foolin,” Gunna
One of the stars of this historically stingy defense is defensive end Will Anderson, Jr. The third overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft (right behind teammate, C.J. Stroud) has been wreaking havoc upon opposing offenses since he geared up in Texans’ red and blue. But, 2025 has been exceptional for the standout. He’s notched career highs in nearly every major football metric at his position. This weekend, Anderson and teammate Derek Stingley, Jr. were named Associated Press First Team All-Pros, the first time two Texans have earned those honors since Watt and DeAndre Hopkins were named in 2018.
Anderson is a bright star with a huge future in the league. Looking at his social media pages, you’re as likely to find Bible scripture as a song which inspires him. We scrolled a bit and found “Who You Foolin,” by Georgia rapper Gunna in the mix. The song is a great fight song because it expresses a “started from the bottom, now we here,” sentiment, one which mirrors the defense’s and the franchise’s respective journeys. Lines like “We don’t need no one vouchin’ for us,” (you hear that, Stephen A. Smith?!) and the overall theme of being the true, authentic thing fire us up.
Derek Stingley, Jr.: “Turning Page,” Sleeping at Last
We admit, you will never hear this one cranked to ear-deafening levels in the fourth quarter at NRG Stadium. It’s a tender love song by Sleeping at Last, indie/ambient artist Ryan O’Neal’s project. We culled it from the Instagram page of Anderson’s fellow AP First Team All Pro Derek Stingley, Jr. “Sting” and his fiancée Annabella Campagna featured the song in a post announcing they’re having a baby this spring. Congrats!
So, yeah, probably not the first choice for dance routines by the Houston Texans Cheerleaders. But lines like “I’ve waited a hundred years, but I’d wait a million more for you,” resonate hard with Houston pro football fanatics, we who have waited a hundred years (okay, only 24) for the Texans to (possibly, hopefully, please God let it happen) reach the “Superb Owl.” The beautiful song ends with the lyric, “With a whisper, we will tame the vicious seas, like a feather bringing kingdoms to their knees.” Most observers know there’s nothing whispery or feathery about the Texans’ hard-hitting defenders, but we do love the idea of bringing opponents to their knees.
Henry To’oTo’o : “Sittin’ On Top of the World,” Burna Boy
Linebacker Henry To’oTo’o doesn’t just have the NFL’s coolest name (or does that belong to teammate John Christian Ka’iminoeauloameka’ikeokekumupa’a Fairbairn?), he also has one of the Texans’ most music-forward social media pages. There were a few songs to choose from for this bit, but we liked Burna Boy’s “Sittin’ On Top of the World” best, for a few reasons. Start with the title, the place the Texans hope to be come February. Also, we’re digging the global vibe the Nigerian singer-songwriter gives.
The truth of this song is that it’s more suited for sexy time than game time. But we can Kama Sutra those “get wild” and “it’s your time, baby” references to match the pursuit of a Lombardi Trophy. After all, in both cases you’re trying to score.
C.J. Stroud: “Introduction,” Belly Gang Kushington
If the Texans do have a successful playoff run, it’s going to take more than just defense to make it happen. Enter C.J. Stroud, the Texans’ third-year quarterback. Stroud and the offense will have to play clean football with no turnovers. They’ll have to chew up some clock to allow the defense some rest on the sidelines. And, if the playoffs mimic the season, they’ll need to score more than 20 points a game to give the team a fighting chance to advance.
We are Stroud stans and are especially hopeful he and the team truly have their coming out party this playoff season. So, “Introduction,” – nabbed from a post the QB made way back during training camp – seems like a good fit. Georgia rapper Belly Gang Kushington’s song boasts lines like “this is my year,” and “I wanna break my wrist off in the fuckin’ bowl.” Probably not a Super Bowl reference, we concede, but still, sounds good, right? Is this the year we get an “Introduction” to the Super Bowl? We hope to play this banger when the confetti is raining down on Stroud and teammates at a victory parade a month from now.
J.J. Watt: “Good Days,” Rodell Duff
Mentioned previously in this article, Texans’ Ring of Honor member – and soon to be Pro Football Hall of Famer – J.J. Watt. We don’t give a damn that Watt stopped playing for the Texans awhile ago, that he finished with another pro football franchise or that he now announces games for network TV, in our minds he will forever be a football Houston Texan. So, we scrolled his page to find this golden nugget, “Good Days,” by Rodell Duff.
Not only do we consider Watt a forever Texan, we consider him a forever Houstonian. If you don’t know who Duff is, let J.J. introduce you (via an Instagram post featuring his own lovely family). Duff has 300,000 monthly Spotify listeners, so maybe he’s not (yet) as famous as some of the other artists mentioned here; but, he’s a Houston, Texan if there ever was one. A self-taught musician born in Trinidad & Tobago who grew up here and writes and performs country-tinged tunes. How Houston is that?
The 2023 song applies because of hopeful lyrics like, “These are the good days, these are the good nights, doin’ our best and livin’ our best life.” We hope to play it loud and proud come Super Bowl Sunday, but tbh, that’s the kind of line we should all get hyped about, whether our football team wins or loses.
This article appears in Private: Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026.