Where do the Texans land after beating the Cowboys?
The Houston Texans’ mid-season skid now appears to be over with their gradual, merciful defeat of the lowly Dallas Cowboys. Although, despite the large margin of victory, this Texans victory carried with it the hallmarks of every Texans game this season: a strong first half followed by a shockingly dormant second half, way too many field goals, and a sloppy offensive performance overall.
Thankfully for the Texans, running back Joe Mixon was running with a purpose tonight. Responsible for all of the offense’s touchdowns Monday night, Mixon finished with:
- 20 Carries
- 109 Yards
- 3 TDs
- 5.5 Avg.
- 2 Recs.
- 44 Yds.
It was a game for the ages for Joe Mixon, who’s now challenging Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry for that first team All-Pro position in the AFC. Who woulda thunk it! After all those successful years in Cincinnati, it’s now clear that Joe Mixon has plenty left in the tank, and may only be reaching the peak of his powers now!
Joe Mixon pulled out all the celebrations pic.twitter.com/soHcEX0p5o
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) November 19, 2024
What does this all mean for the rankings, though? Are the Texans gonna go soaring back up to the top of the heap, or will they stay in the middle. Let’s find out! Here’s where the Houston Texans are ranked in Week 12 in the 2024 NFL season:
NFL.COM:
11. Houston Texans (7-4) (Last Week: 12)
Nico Collins’ opening-play touchdown was called back, and it was emblematic of the Texans’ offensive night: plenty of encouraging signs, mixed with bouts of frustration and inefficiency. That said, Joe Mixon still paid off that opening drive with a 45-yard touchdown run, providing an important early statement in the wake of back-to-back losses for Houston. The first-year Texan fueled the offense with 153 scrimmage yards and three scores, while C.J. Stroud settled down after a bad early pick and Collins made an impact in his return from injury. But the offense only crossed midfield once from the 9:00 mark of the second quarter until Dallas turned it over on downs on its own 35-yard line with six minutes left in the fourth. Thankfully, the Texans’ defense was smothering, led by Danielle Hunter’s two sacks, Derek Barnett’s strip-and-score and Derek Stingley Jr.’s excellent coverage on CeeDee Lamb. This was a sigh-of-relief game for Houston, although it had a few testy moments between both teams. Rarely easy for the Texans this year.
– Eric Edholm
ESPN:
12. Houston Texans (7-4)
Week 11 result: Beat the Cowboys 34-10
Week 11 ranking: 13
Preseason hot seat: WR Stefon Diggs
Current temperature of hot seat: Hot
Diggs suffered a torn ACL in a contract year, as the former Bills receiver is a free agent after the season. He averaged 62 receiving yards per game, the third-lowest mark of his career. But he was still an effective No. 2 option for quarterback C.J. Stroud by being tied for the team lead in touchdowns (three) before he went down. He will be age 31 and coming off an injury going into next season, so his market will be murky
– DJ Bien-Aime
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED:
16. Houston Texans (7–4)
Last week’s ranking: No. 13
Last week’s result: beat Dallas, 34–10
This week: vs. Tennessee
After Cooper Rush coughed up a fumble leading to a knockout-blow defensive touchdown, this game stopped looking close. This is a “win your clunker” special for the Texans but I have a very conservative position on them in the power rankings thanks to an inescapable feeling that I shouldn’t trust them. C.J. Stroud has not hit triple digits on his passer rating since Oct. 13 now. Since Oct. 20, Stroud has thrown just two touchdowns to three picks.
– Conor Orr
THE ATHLETIC:
12. Houston Texans (7-4)
Last week: 13
Monday: Beat Dallas Cowboys 34-10
Seat temperature check: Cold
DeMeco Ryans is 17-11 in Houston after trouncing the Cowboys on Monday night. Former Ryans teammate J.J. Watt appeared on the “ManningCast” broadcast and said he wasn’t surprised by Ryans’ success. “I knew he would be a great head coach. We all did when we were playing together,” Watt said. “I bought my house in Houston across the street from him because if it was a good enough spot for DeMeco to live in, it was good enough for me. DeMeco was the perfect person to take this city back to the place where they were proud of their football team.”
Up next: vs. Tennessee Titans, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
– Josh Kendall
BLEACHER REPORT:
11. Houston Texans (7-4)
Last Week: 11
Week 11 Result: Won at Dallas 34-10
Week 11 brought with it the return of wide receiver Nico Collins to the Houston offense.
Ahead of Monday’s game, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud told reportersthat he was delighted to have his No. 1 receiver back on the field:
“I am very excited to have my guy back. I am just happy for him to be back with the team, be a part of the locker room again. They are in solitude, when players are injured, they are on their own. So, I am glad he is just able to be around the guys again and be able to do the sport that he loves to play.”
Collins wasn’t the star of Monday night’s blowout of an overmatched Cowboys team—Joe Mixon’s 153 total yards and three touchdowns stole that show. But the 70-yard touchdown Collins scored on the first play of the game (that was nullified by penalty) demonstrated what he brings to the Houston offense.
And for one game at least, the Texans again looked like a legitimate contender in the AFC.
Analyst’s Take
This game carries a fairly large caveat: The Cowboys aren’t good, and once their offensive line got banged up, Dallas couldn’t do anything offensively.
However, the Texans ended their losing streak in emphatic fashion, and with three straight games coming up against teams with losing records, Houston could be 10-4 when it rolls into Arrowhead for a potential playoff preview with the Chiefs in Week 15. – Davenport
– Gary Davenport, Maurice Moton, Kristopher Knox, Brent Sobleski
CBS SPORTS:
13. Houston Texans (7-4) (Last Week: 14)
They seemed to right things in the victory over the Cowboys on Monday night. Getting Nico Collins back is big for the offense.
– Pete Prisco
YAHOO! SPORTS:
12. Houston Texans (7-4) (Last Week: 12)
The Texans were lucky they were playing a horrendous Cowboys team on Monday night. They didn’t play particularly well. C.J. Stroud hasn’t looked good in weeks. The Texans are likely to win the AFC South, but they have to get much better to make any noise in the playoffs.The Texans were lucky they were playing a horrendous Cowboys team on Monday night. They didn’t play particularly well. C.J. Stroud hasn’t looked good in weeks. The Texans are likely to win the AFC South, but they have to get much better to make any noise in the playoffs.
– Frank Schwab
USA TODAY:
12. Houston Texans (12): Officially Lone Star State champs, they can just about lock up back-to-back AFC South championships by beating Tennessee and Jacksonville the next two weeks.
– Nate Davis
PRO FOOTBALL TALK:
13. Texans (No. 14; 7-4): Keep feeding Joe Mixon.
– Mike Florio
Average Ranking: 12.44 (Last Week: 12.67)
Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images
It looks like many pundits are starting to settle on a location for this season’s Houston Texans: right around #12. Not too good, not too bad, just barely outside of the top ten and firmly within playoff position. This comes as a disappointment to me and many other Texans fans that were expecting this year to be The Year, but there is still time left for Houston to hit their stride. Going back to last year’s memorable race into the playoffs, I recall Houston going through a similar rough patch against the New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, and Cleveland Browns while C.J. Stroud was in concussion protocol. Now, this year’s team doesn’t have the excuse of their starter being injured to account for their murky offense, but they do have Joe Mixon, who will go a long way towards helping a team get back on track. Despite the similar record as last year, I feel like this Texans team has a bit more secure footing than they previously.
What do you think, though? Will Houston slowly work there way back up into the top ten, or even top five? Or, are they stuck as a playoff also-ran for the rest of the season? Will C.J. Stroud dig his team out of the dirt, or will he sink as well? Let us know down in the comments below.
GO TEXANS!!!!