Houston Texans NFL Power Rankings: Week 6

Where do the Texans land after their victory over the Bills?

They’ve done it again! One week after nabbing a last-second victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Houston Texans pull it off for the second time is as many weeks! Like many Texans game as of late, Houston’s offense started hot, leaned on wide receiver Nico Collins early (who exited the game early with an aggravated hamstring), and then clung onto that lead until the bitter end. Both games required one final, heroic drive by the Houston offense to take the lead with no time remaining: last week, it was a 1-yard touchdown pass to Dare Ogunbowale that exacted victory; This week, it was a phenomenal 59-yard game-winning field goal by Texans hero Ka’imi Fairbairn.

Fairbairn has been arguably the most important player on this team, and one of the most important kickers in the NFL at the time of writing. He scored eleven points in week one, thirteen points in week two, one point in week three, six points in week four, and then eleven points again in week five, good for 42 points on the season thus far. I mean, I’m not even the biggest fan of the field goal offense, but scoring 42 points just one month into the regular season is seriously impressive. I don’t give a lot of special teams pop on here, so acknowledging this performance from Fairbairn is more than deserved. Houston is fortunate to have a kicker of his caliber to fall back on. In a season like this, where points have been harder to come by than many of us expected, having a kicker that can turn nearly any drive into three points is more valuable than most of us will ever come to understand. Thank to him, we’re 4-1 instead 2-3.

So, where will that place the Texans? Beating a lowly team like Jacksonville by a hair wasn’t going to do much to their rankings, but now they’ve beaten the mighty Buffalo Bills! Where will Houston end up now? Here’s where the Houston Texans land in week six of the 2024 regular season:

NFL.COM:

4. Houston Texans (4-1) (Last Week: 5)

Sunday’s thrilling win came with a cost, as Nico Collins left the game following his 67-yard TD catch with a hamstring injury. It might not be a long-term ailment, but it did underscore how much the 25-year-old wideout means to this offense. After Collins left the game, C.J. Stroud threw a pick, lost a fumble on a strip-sack and averaged just 6.7 yards per attempt, even with Stefon Diggs stinging his former team with several big catches (five of 13 yards or more) following the injury. Houston’s defense was unrelenting against Josh Allen, and the Texans won the game with better end-of-half execution than the Bills in the final minute of the second and fourth quarters. This is still a team to be reckoned with, but Houston has been outscored 67-40 in second halves and still needs to learn to finish a little stronger.

– Eric Edholm

ESPN:

3. Houston Texans (4-1)

Week 5 ranking: 8

Fantasy surprise: WR Nico Collins

When the Texans traded for running back Joe Mixon and former All-Pro wideout Stefon Diggs, the expectation was that all the targets would have to share the rock. That has been far from the case as Collins has become the go-to playmaker for Houston and leads the league in receiving yards (567). The Texans’ passing attack flows through Collins, as coach DeMeco Ryans called him an “All-Pro” and quarterback C.J. Stroud called him “the best receiver in the league.”

– DJ Bien-Aime

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED:

8. Houston Texans (4–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 10

Last week’s result: beat Buffalo, 23–20

This week: at New England

There were a lot of very important and meaningful things that happened for the Texans in this game, but honestly, watching a player joyfully and carelessly pull off a beautiful RKO in the middle of a game tells me all I need to know about Houston and where this team is at. It’s a headspace that coaches work a lifetime to achieve.

– Conor Orr

THE ATHLETIC:

4. Houston Texans (4-1)

Last week: 7

Sunday: Beat Buffalo Bills 23-20

Nico Collins leads the league in receiving yards (567) and is tied for fifth in targets (45). He caught only two passes Sunday before leaving with a hamstring injury, but one was a 67-yard touchdown. After being drafted 27th, he’s 10th in the league in fantasy scoring (21.34 ppg). Collins’ competition for catches in Houston is increasing, though. Stefon Diggs is averaging 81.7 receiving yards in the last three games. Diggs still hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 1, though.

Up next: at New England Patriots, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

– Josh Kendall

BLEACHER REPORT:

4. Houston Texans (4-1)

Last Week: 5

Week 5 Result: Won vs. Buffalo 23-20

There was no shortage of subplots surrounding Sunday’s matchup between the Bills and Texans in Houston. It was a battle of two of the AFC’s top contenders. Stefon Diggs playing his first game against his old team. So on and so forth.

It was a back-and forth affair in which both teams made mistakes, but the Texans were able to gut out the win on a last-second field goal, impressing head coach DeMeco Ryans in the process.

“It wasn’t all pretty,” Ryans said. “But it’s the way you finish at the end and I’m proud of the way our guys finished.”

Diggs admitted to reporters after the victory that this game was a bit more personal than he let on.

“I’m not going to sit here and act like it was just regular,” he said. “It meant a lot to me, and it was reassuring that the guys around me knew that it meant a lot to me, even if I didn’t say it. I just try to just keep it poised and treat every week like it’s the same … but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t mean a lot.”

This was a game the Texans led 20-3 before the Bills came charging back. There are things the Texans need to clean up moving forward. Next week’s trip to Gillette Stadium should offer an opportunity to do that, but things tighten up from there—trips to Green Bay and Dallas and a home date with the Detroit Lions will all be stiff tests.

Still, the Texans passed in Week 5. And at the moment, that’s all that matters, although if star wideout Nico Collins (hamstring) misses significant time, that could be a problem.

– Gary Davenport, Maurice Moton, Kristopher Knox, Brent Sobleski

CBS SPORTS:

3. Houston Texans (4-1) (Last Week: 3)

They seem to find a way each week to win close games, which is a sign of a good team. We still haven’t seen their best yet.

– Pete Prisco

YAHOO! SPORTS:

5. Houston Texans (4-1) (Last Week: 7)

Ka’imi Fairbairn has hit an absurd eight field goals of 50 yards or longer in just five games this season. He has hit 67-of-71 field goal attempts and 54 of 55 extra points since the start of the 2022 season. He’s one of the reasons Houston is a Super Bowl contender.

– Frank Schwab

USA TODAY:

8. Houston Texans (Last Week: 13): Their record (4-1) is impressive. But the only division leader to be outscored by more than 10 points is probably a few breaks from being 1-4, and the injury concerns continue mounting with WR Nico Collins about to miss time with a bum hamstring.

– Nate Davis

PRO FOOTBALL TALK:

4. Texans (No. 6; 4-1): It’s not too early to circle the Week 16 game at Kansas City as potentially determining the site of the No. 1 seed.

– Mike Florio

AVERAGE RANKING: 4.78 (Last Week: 7.11)

Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images

---

Now that’s what I’m talking about! Now that the Texans are one of four teams left with either zero or one loss on the season, they’ve have quickly found themselves in the top five of nearly all rankings. The only analysts referenced here not to put Houston in the top five are USA Today’s Nate Davis and Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr. Nate Davis makes a good point of pointing to Houston’s point differential and wide receiver Nico Collins injury, two worrying factors for a team that is supposed to be unstoppable. I think Pete Prisco of CBS Sports puts it best, though: “We still haven’t seen their best yet.” Ultimately, all of the anxiety and speculation around the 2024 Texans comes back to this. Even during the games, from the Chicago game this victory over Buffalo, we are still waiting to see Houston put all of the pieces of this brilliant roster together. So far, it hasn’t mattered much, but what will Houston do when they face a team that demands perfection? Well, the dramatic drop in penalties is a great step in the right direction, but there is still work to be done until I can comfortably say that this is the best team in the NFL.

What do you think, though? Is CJ Stroud hiding his true powers until they’re needed, or is Houston still going through some growing pains? Let us know down in the comments below!

Go Texans!!!