#10

Oakland Raiders at Houston Texans
January 7th, 2017
NRG Stadium, Houston TX

Fans of other NFL teams are probably laughing that I would put this win in our all time top 10 best games. The Texans beat a busted handicapped Raider team that lost it's star quarterback Derek Carr and pro bowl left tackle Donald Penn and were playing with backup Connor Cook making his very first NFL start(the first quarterback in NFL history to make his debut in a playoff game). Even though the circumstances devalue this win for sure I still feel like this was a victory to be proud of for my team. You see, I was seeing the Texans through a completely different view than what the media had presented to the nation that 2017 season. I don't watch football with an eye on my fantasy team(not a fan of Fantasy Football) so the fact that the Texans were the lowest Touchdown-Per-Game scoring team(1.6 TDs per game avg) to make the NFL playoffs since the 1934 New York Giants didn't really bother me. Honestly seeing what I seen watching every play the team had in 2017 I didn't understand why they were such a laughing stock of the NFL that year. I mean, I understand Brock Osweiler sucked but at some point it felt like it just became a cool trendy thing to trash him, like hating Nickelback or Roman Reigns or something. At some point that shit becomes a fun thing to join in with.

What I seen though was a defense that was a real treat to watch, a defense that everybody counted out when they lost JJ Watt for the year early on. Without Watt the crew came together down the stretch and eventually led the league in fewest total yards allowed. This Texans team was nowhere near as bad as they were made out to be. If you listened to the media and everybody online you would have thought the Texans were a 2-14 team in 2017 but Brock Osweiler went 8-6 as a starter and in this game against the Raiders the guy poured all he had out onto the football field and helped us not lose a game that we desperately needed to win. 

The Texans defense had a real field day against the Raiders offensive line and inexperienced quarterback in this playoff game. Whitney Mercilus shined like one of the best defensive stars in the NFL with 2 sacks and a constant barrage or pressure. Jadeveon Clowney had a signature playoff moment with his tipped pass interception that set up the Texans first touchdown in the first quarter, a 4 yard run by Lamar Miller that put Houston up 10-0. A big punt return put Oakland in Houston territory to help set up a 38 yard scoring drive to cut Houston's lead to 10-7 late in the first quarter. 

For all the shit everyone talks about how Houston got a pass in this game because of Carr/Penn's injuries, I feel like the real turning point of the game happened on a series where neither of those guys would have ever even been on the field even if they were in the game, the Texans 95 yard drive in the second quarter. This was the Texans first and only scoring drive from behind their 10 yard line all season. I'll give Brock a pass for his 2017 performance just because of this drive. He hit CJ Fiedorowicz for an 18 yard pass on the first play of the drive, then again for 17 yards two plays later to move into Oakland territory. Then on 2nd and 12 he hits Hopkins for 13 to put us into field goal range to go up 13-7. On the Texans next drive Brock tucked it and ran for 12 yards on a 3rd and 6 play to convert for a first down. On the Texans final possession of the first half Brock completed huge passes that pretty much iced the game, a 19 yard pass to Will Fuller, then a beautiful 38 yard bomb to Hopkins followed by his 2 yard touchdown pass to Hopkins 2 plays later to give Houston a 20-7 lead. 

Brock Osweiler could have easily lost this game for Houston but instead he helped give us a 20-7 lead, forcing the Raiders backs against a wall playing with a debuting quarterback on the road against the top defense in the NFL. It was over. This was big because the Texans had wounded pride following that 30-0 loss to the Chiefs the previous year, an all time low for the franchise that seen JJ Watt cut down with an injury and our stadium invaded by Chiefs fans. We desperately needed this win to heal the wounds of Bryan Hoyer throwing 4 interceptions and fumbling 5 times(15.9 rating) in the 2015 playoffs, so for that I'm thankful for Brock putting in the performance that he did. I still think he wasn't quite as bad as everybody made him out to be, yeah he was bad, but I felt like O'Brien could have did a better job of making chicken salad out of the chicken shit he was dealt and a lot of his failure was due to 2 of his 3 main receivers being rookies(one of which was a quarterback in college) and a severely flawed offensive system and possibly a dramatic power struggle between head coach and GM that doomed him to failure from the start.

For all that talk though I feel like this game was won and lost with one particular matchup that nobody really talked about or probably even watched, that's Duane Brown squaring off against 2016 NFL Defensive Player Of The Year Khalil Mack. Brown eliminated Mack's pass rush and gave Brock Osweiler the time he needed to make those critical throws. Had Mack been able to disrupt Osweiler and force a few bad throws I could easily see the Raiders creating a few turnovers and making this a real close game. Sometimes I wonder what the hell people are looking at when football is on TV, all I heard about last year from Texans fans and others online was how washed up Duane Brown was but here he was dominating the DPOY in a playoff game, fuck fantasy football, that's real football right there. This was a feel good win and sweet revenge for that rigged horseshit game in Mexico and I really think the Texans would have still whooped the Raiders ass even with Penn and Carr healthy. This win was our 3rd playoff victory which should not be taken for granted, this gave us more playoff wins since we entered the league in 2002 than the Cowboys(2), Redskins(1), Lions(0), Rams(1), Dolphins(0), Bills(0), Bengals(0), Browns(0), Raiders(2), Chiefs(1), and has us tied with the Bears, Vikings, Buccaneers, Titans, and Jaguars, that's half the fucking NFL for crying out loud. 

Full Game
Game Highlights

#9

Houston Texans at New England Patriots
September 24th, 2017
Gillette Stadium, Foxboro MA

I said in my writeup about the Texans vs Seahawks 2017 game that it was the best game in the NFL last year. What I meant was that the Seahawks game was 1B and this week 3 battle against the Patriots was 1A. THIS was the 2017 NFL GOTY in my opinion. It's maybe a little weird that the 2 games we lost(in such frustrating fashion) would rank so high in this top 30 but I felt like those games were just that fucking good, two of the best the franchise was ever involved in win or lose. I felt like this game against New England was just slightly better than the one in Seattle because New England was the better team, hell Tom Brady is the best of all time, Bill Belichick is the best of all time, the Patriots have completely and utterly dominated the NFL ever since the Texans entered the league in 2002. They are the Empire and Deshaun Watson was fucking Luke Skywalker in this game. 

Watson's touchdown run against the Bengals in his first NFL start lit a fire under the whole team. The next week on the road in New England against the G.O.A.T.'s(the defending Super Bowl Champions and eventual AFC Champions), in only his second start of his NFL career, Watson gave Texans fans real hope like we've never felt before. It all started with his 29 yard touchdown pass to Bruce Ellington, a masterful throw with unbelievable touch, just rewatching it gives me goosebumps. That touchdown put Houston on top 10-7 at the end of the first quarter. Tom Brady hit his second TD pass of the day to put NE back up 14-10 but the Texans answered back with a field goal and a fucking glorious Mercilus to Clowney strip sack for a touchdown that put Houston up 20-14. The Great One responded with his third touchdown pass of the game to put New England back on top 21-20 at the half. 

A fourth touchdown pass from Brady put New England up 28-20 early in the third quarter but Watson worked a magical performance for a rookie quarterback, leading Houston on 3 scoring drives, a 10 play 70 yard drive capped by his second touchdown pass followed by two more drives that produced field goals to take a 33-28 lead with just 2:24 left in the game. It was all the time that Brady needed though, he hit Brandin Cooks with a 25 yard touchdown pass with just :23 seconds left on the clock. A 2 point conversion made it a 36-33 lead for New England. Watson had another chance with a hail mary bomb into the end zone in the last play but the pass was intercepted. 

Watson completed 22 out of 33 passes for 301 yards and 2 touchdowns while Brady went 25 of 35 for 378 yards and 5 touchdowns. Jadeveon Clowney has 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 5 tackles and the touchdown on the Mercilus strip sack. Altogether the Texans sacked Brady 5 times. Maybe it's recency bias ranking this so high but I feel like this game will be even more fondly looked back on as time goes on. This was the NCAA Champion winning quarterback taking on the defending Super Bowl winners in their own house and his performance was truly eye opening. What was also great about it and one of the reasons why I had it over the Seahawks game was because JJ Watt was in it. He didn't have any sacks but he played his ass off and it was great to see him back on the field. Even though the end result tore my heart out, I do believe this was an instant classic. 

Game Highlights

#8

Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans
November 18th, 2012
NRG Stadium, Houston TX

Coming in at #8 on the countdown is a great overtime game from perhaps the peak of the franchise, a game that produced one of the greatest plays/moments in Texans history, one of the biggest crowd pops in NRG Stadium history, and one of the all time greatest single game performances in all of NFL history, I'm talking about "Andre's Game". The Texans have never been riding as high as they were going into this week 11 game against the Jaguars in 2012. Houston was 8-1 coming into this(the best record in the NFL at the time) the city was buzzing over it's team and a crowd of over 71,676 fans packed into NRG, one of the biggest crowds in the history of the stadium up to that point. 

The underdog Jaguars came into NRG looking to pull off the huge upset over the heavily favored Texans. A 67 yard touchdown pass from Chad Henne to Cecil Shorts put Jacksonville up 14-7 early on. Both teams fought it out to a 17-17 tie going into the half. A Josh Scobee field goal and 2 more Chad Henne touchdown passes gave the Jaguars a 34-20 lead early in the fourth quarter. Matt Schaub led Houston on a fourth quarter comeback to tie the game with two truly excellent drives, the first of which being a 14 play 80 yard march to the end zone to cut the deficit to 34-27. The Texans next possession seen Schaub complete 7 consecutive passes for an 8 play 90 yard drive from their own 10 yard line. Schaub hit Garrett Graham for a 5 yard touchdown pass to tie the game 34-34 with just 1:34 left in the game. Houston's defense held the Jaguars and forced them to punt in their final possession, setting up a potential game winning 35 yard completion from Schaub to Andre Johnson that put Houston into field goal range but Texans kicker Shayne Graham missed the 47 yarder as regulation time expired. 

In overtime both teams traded field goals and remained deadlocked at 37-37. The Texans got the ball with one last chance with 2:30 left in overtime when Matt Schaub hit Andre Johnson on a screen pass that was taken 48 yards to the house. This was one of the greatest plays in Houston Texans history that produced one of the loudest crowd pops I've ever heard for a Texans game. The crowd tore the fucking roof off of NRG Stadium when Dre made this play, it still gives me goosebumps. Andre outran the entire Jaguars defense, strapped this team to his back and carried them to victory. Johnson finished the day with 14 receptions and 273 receiving yards, franchise record for the Texans and the 12th best single game receiving performance in 98 years of NFL history(9th best at the time).

This game maybe should have been a bit higher since it was truly one of the best the team ever played, a dramatic 4th quarter comeback win with one of the greatest finishes to a game ever in team history. I dropped it down just a few notches though because there was really nothing on the line in this game, the Jaguars were a 1-8 team that the Texans should have destroyed that day instead of going down to the final 2 minutes of overtime. Nonetheless the victory put the Texans at 9-1 on the year. It was a great time to be a Texans fan, especially one that had been along for the ride for the 10 years leading up to that point. They went on to win their next 2 games on the road to get to 11-1 but they fell apart down the stretch and fumbled away home field advantage by losing 3 of their last 4 games. Make no mistake about it though, at one point during that 2012 season this team was truly something awesome and maybe one of the best teams to not win an NFL championship in NFL history.  

Full Game

#6(Tie)

Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans
October 17th, 2004
The Coliseum, Nashville TN


#6(Tie)



Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans
November 28th, 2004
NRG Stadium, Houston TX

As hard as I tried and as thoroughly as I weighed these two wins over the Titans from 2004 I just can not under good judgement put one game over the other. So I'm cheating and calling this a tie and covering both games in this one writeup. It's been well documented already in this thread that I dislike the Tennessee Titans franchise more than anything in all of sports. I got Texas running in my blood so I just could not be one of these squirrely folks that jumped on the Titans bandwagon when they were one of the coolest trendiest NFL teams in 1999-2000. I'll admit, those uniforms were tight and fresh when they debuted in 1999, Steve Mcnair and Eddie George and Javon Kearse were awesome and entertaining to watch, plus I always loved Bruce Matthews one of the greatest Oilers ever, but the way they packed up and left Houston the way owner Bud Adams did just left a sour taste in my mouth. 

So when the Texans entered the NFL in 2002 I suddenly had a hometown football team, I had a dog in the fight, something that I had forgotten what had felt like. I fell head over heels in love with the Texans instantly from the first time I seen that sweet ass logo of the bull head with the Texas flag colors and the lone star as the bull's eye was just fucking awesome. As much hype as the Texans first game against the Dallas Cowboys got, to me the games that were circled on that inaugural season schedule with big red ink was the two games against the sell out Titans. How fucking poetic would it be and how much egg on the face of all these cuckold Texas Titans fans for the expansion Texans to whoop up on their sell out asses, it was all I ever wanted. The only problem was the Titans were so much better than the Texans those first 2 years. We played them tough in the first game in 2002 and the last game in 2003 but fell just short. Going into 2004 a Texans win over the Titans became like my White Whale. 

The Texans first win over the Titans was such a huge deal for me. It was one of the most feel good satisfying wins I've ever experienced as a football fan. I think it felt so good because we had to wait 3 years for it. The fact that it happened in their own stadium in Tennessee was just fucking perfect, and I'd do anything to be able to see Bud Adams face when it happened. David Carr moved the ball right down the field on the Texans opening possession but the Titans defense held them to a field goal. The Texans defense intercepted Steve Mcnair on each of the Titans first two possessions. A David Carr fumble set Tennessee up for the 10 yard touchdown pass from Mcnair to Drew Bennett that put the Titans up 7-3 early in the second quarter. Carr put together a 74 yard drive capped by a 20 yard touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney to put Houston back up 10-7 but the Titans tied it back up 10-10 with a field goal shortly thereafter. Carr hit Andre Johnson for a huge 30 yard completion to set up the go ahead field goal just before the half, giving Houston a 13-10 lead. 

Both teams defenses completely dominated the 3rd quarter. The Texans made a stand with their first possession of the 4th quarter. Carr hit Andre Johnson with a pair of huge 13 yard completions to set up a 4 yard touchdown run by Jonathan Wells that put Houston up 20-10. I think I was on my feet watching the game on the verge of a heart attack for the rest of the game. It's crazy to think about it because it seems like this win didn't really mean anything to anyone but me. Mcnair was intercepted for the 4th time that day on the Titans next drive and that was it, it was over, we finally fucking did it.

It was the sweetest win ever, my not even 3 year old team went into the Coliseum in Tennessee and whooped the Titans ass in front of all their fans. To make it even sweeter this win put us at 3-3 on the season(and was a pretty devastating loss for the Titans, sending them to 2-4). It was the first time we didn't have a losing record, we were right there in the mix of things with what seemed like a very bright future ahead of us. This was about as excited about the Texans I had ever been in all of their first 8 or 9 years of their existence. The defense sacked Steve Mcnair 3 times and intercepted him 4 times while David Carr had a 92.8 rating on the day with 266 yards while Andre Johnson only had 4 catches, but they were 4 critical catches that helped win the game. This whole crew that was a part of this win will forever be a part of my own personal Texans Ring Of Honor in my heart. Nobody ever talks about this game at all let alone as if it were a big deal or some type of monumental moment in Texans history, hell I can't find ANYTHING about it online, to me though this was one of my favorite games in NFL history and one of my favorite moments in the Texans 16 year history.

Texans first win over Titans NFL Primetime Highlight

I just can not label David Carr a bust. When you look at the lack of offensive talent around him during those first 5 years in Texans history I don't know how anyone else can either. He was a victim of circumstance expected to carry an expansion team on his back as a rookie. As a rookie Carr took a beating and set new NFL records for most times sacked in a season, yet he was so tough that he was one of only 3 quarterbacks in the entire NFL to start all 16 games for his team that year. Under the circumstances I'd say he actually did ok, he gave us some huge wins like the win over Dallas and the first win over the Titans. His peak of his career I think was during that 5 week stretch when the Texans were hot in September-October 2004, during that stretch of 5 games the Texans went 4-1 with that lone loss being the overtime shootout against Minnesota where we almost came back from a 21 point deficit. During that 4-1 stretch Carr went 96 of 150(64%) for 1,375 passing yards 7 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Things fell apart for the Texans after that 4-3 start, they ended up losing 3 straight to fall out of the playoff picture at 4-6. The Titans came into NRG Stadium for a rematch in week 12. I started to rank this game over the week 6 game because it was just a better overall game and it was our first win over the Titans at home in Houston the town they sold out on, plus completing a season sweep over the Titans was equally as big a deal to me as the very first win over them. In the end though I just could not differentiate these two victories, they were equally as sweet and should be tied and perhaps even higher on this countdown now that I think more about these games for this writeup.

The rematch seen the Titans looking for payback for their embarrassing loss at home earlier that year. They came out hot and took a 14-0 lead on 2 Steve Mcnair touchdown passes. The Texans were able to put up a field goal at the end of the first quarter but the Titans looked to put them away with Mcnair's third touchdown pass putting them up 21-3. A 7 yard touchdown run by Jonathan Wells cut the deficit to 21-10 at the half. The Texans pulled off the comeback with 2 David Carr touchdown passes in the second half. How poetic was it that it was Gary Walker, the only man to play for both the Houston Oilers and Houston Texans(he played in some of the last games in the Astrodome for Jeff Fischer's Oilers in 1996) caused the fumble that set up the Texans go ahead score late in the third quarter? After Walker got the ball back for the Texans with them down 21-17 at the end of the third quarter Andre Johnson made one of my favorite catches of his whole career, a one handed catch with a Titans defender all over him holding his other arm. The touchdown put Houston up 24-21 going into the fourth quarter. 

Steve Mcnair rallied the Titans on an 80 yard drive on the Titans ensuing possession, driving them all the way down to the Texans 11 yard line before he was sacked and lost a fumble. The Titans got the ball back and had another chance to break my heart as Mcnair drove them into Texans territory. Marlon Mcree picked Mcnair off to save the game. The Texans rubbed it in with a fucking glorious 41 yard touchdown run by Dominick Davis/Williams to complete the season sweep 31-21. Carr had another phenomenal game going 21 of 30 with over 200 yards and a rating of 96.7 as he pulled the Texans back from a 21-3 deficit. It's a shame there is no video footage to be found anywhere online for this game and only a small handful of pics. These remained the only Texans wins over the Titans for the first 6.5 seasons, they went on to lose the next 7 games against Tennessee(we went 2-11 against them in the first 13 games) so these two wins always did and always will mean a lot to me as a Texans fan. 

2004 was such a great fun season for me as a Texans fan, this sweep over the Titans was a big part of it but that team was really fun to watch that year. We played the Chargers and Packers(division winning playoff teams that year) tough and had both of them beat before losing in dramatic fashion. We swept the Titans and the Jaguars and played the Vikings in a phenomenal GOTY contender overtime shootout. Carr looked like he was on track to being a great franchise quarterback while Dominick Davis/Williams(he changed his last name) was excellent that year and Andre Johnson was one of the brightest young stars in the NFL. The defense when on was one of the best in the league, Jamie Sharper led the NFL in tackes during that 3 year stretch from 2002-2004 while Aaron Glenn played about as great as any defensive back in a Texans uniform ever has. It all fell apart in 2005 and it just wasn't the same team going forward but man I have nothing but fond memories for that 2004 season. 

#5

Houston Texans at Detroit Lions
November 22nd, 2012
Ford Field, Detroit MI

When the Houston Oilers died so did a lot of my family's love for the sport of football. Other than one of my uncles I'm the only real Texans fan in the family(another uncle I have that lives in Houston goes to the games with my aunt a lot but he's a Redskins fan, the Texans are like his secondary team). The Oilers vs Chiefs 93 AFC Divisional Playoff game was the last time I can remember everybody getting together to watch a game, the whole Shinobi fam clan. For Thanksgiving 2012 we all got together for the first time in a long time and it just so happened that the 9-1 Texans were on the tube that day against the Detroit Lions. This was a special Texans game to me because it was the first time I got together with all of my family and watched a Texans game with everybody since that 93 Oilers vs Chiefs playoff game. It was a sentimental deal in that regard but it was also a spectacular football game that took place when the Texans were at an all time high as a franchise. 

You know it's a great Texans game when the very first play is a JJ Watt sack! The Lions took over and went up 24-14 about midway through the third quarter. Houston came back and tied it up 24-24 going into the fourth quarter. Detroit answered back and went up 31-24 in the fourth quarter and their defense held Houston on the ropes until the final 2 minutes. The Texans got the ball on their own 3 yard line with a little over 7 minutes left and they put together the greatest drive in Texans history, driving 97 yards on the back of Andre Johnson. Johnson made huge catches over the middle of the field to keep this drive alive, including a 13 yard reception on 3rd and 8 on our own 5 yard line followed by a 23 yard reception that put us in Detroit territory, then a 16 yard reception on 4th and 7, then a 12 yard reception on 4th and 10. It was one of Andre's finest moments, this coming just 4 days after his 273 yard performance against Jacksonville where he single handedly won the game for us with the 48 yard touchdown in overtime. Here Andre was responsible for 61 of the Texans 97 yard trek downfield, and it was 61 hard earned yards, catches across the middle of the field in no mans land where most receivers dare not go.  

Arian Foster ran in the game tying score to send it into overtime tied 31-31. Both teams missed field goals in overtime. The Texans got another chance after Schaub hit Andre for another 23 yard gain to move Houston into field goal range where they won it on a 32 yarder for the win 34-31. The Texans got a bit of help by some bad officiating but I don't give a fuck, this team has been screwed by the refs so many time they owed it to us but it doesn't matter, this was still a great win in a great game, that 97 yard drive was glorious pure Andre in his prime. Andre finished the day with 9 catches for 188 yards while the more popular Calvin Johnson of Detroit finished with 8 catches for 140 yards and did not carry the Lions on his back for a 97 yard drive that eventually won the game. Andre was better than Calvin. 

Full Game

#4

Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals
December 11th, 2011
Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati OH

When the Texans launched in 2002 I never would have thought we would have to wait a full decade to see them in the playoffs. If I had a farm I would bet that sum'bitch that 2005 was going to be our year, then in 2008, and again in 2009, and by god 2010 when we started 2-0 I thought it was a stone cold lead pipe lock but the defense fell apart and finished dead last as the Texans fell to a 6-10 finish. In 2011 the Texans brought in Wade Phillips to run the defense, this was the son of Bum Phillips the beloved Houston hero that coached the Oilers in the Luv Ya Blue era. All those years of waiting finally paid off in 2011 as Wade's defense carried the team to a 5 game winning streak where they never allowed more than 14 points. It all looked like it was going to fall apart again as we lost Andre Johnson for a bulk of the season and then lost Matt Schaub for the year. It all came down to one game in week 14 on the road in Cincinnati against the 7-5 Bengals. The Texans could secure their very first ever playoff appearance with a win and if the Saints beat the Titans. 

The Texans fell behind 16-3 at halftime after rookie backup TJ Yates struggled in the first half. The Texans turned the ball over twice and missed a field goal in the first half. It looked bleak playing with a backup rookie quarterback on the road down 16-3 without the backbone Andre Johnson,  who was out with a hamstring injury. Tight end Owen Daniels stepped up and made some absolutely huge catches in this game to keep drives alive and keep the Texans decade long playoff hopes alive. Wade Phillips defense came up with a huge fumble on Cincy's first possession of the second half, setting up a 6 yard touchdown pass by TJ Yates to cut the deficit to 16-10. The Bengals put together a long drive to add to their lead with a field goal to go up 19-10 with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. Geno Atkins strip sacked TJ Yates to give Cincy the ball back early in the fourth quarter but big plays by Jonathan Joseph forced a 3 and out.

Yates was able to pull it together to lead Houston from their own 2 yard line to set up a field goal that cut the Bengals lead to 19-13 with just over 5 minutes left in the game. The defense was able to hold Cincy and give the Texans one more shot at making the playoffs, setting up a dramatic 80 yard drive with 2:33 left on the clock. Yates hit Owen Daniels for 3 massive completions to keep the chains moving. The drive looked to be dead in it's tracks when Cincy forced a 3rd and 15 with just :44 seconds left on the clock. TJ Yates carved out his spot on Texans lore with one of my favorite plays in the history of the franchise, a big time 17 yard run for the first down that put us on Cincy's 23 yard line. A pass interference call set the Texans up on the Bengals 6 yard line where Yates hit Kevin Walter for the go ahead touchdown. The extra point sealed it at 20-19 with 8 seconds left on the clock. Finally after 10 years the Texans were going to the playoffs for the first time. 

I'll always love TJ Yates for this game and that 17 yard run for the first down. He pulled off the 4th quarter comeback win and put Houston in the playoffs for the first time, I think I might have teared up a little bit, it was a long time coming. Yates threw for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns while Owen Daniels had 7 catches for 100 yards receiving and played a major role in that game winning drive. Rewatching the game for this writeup it wasn't THAT great of a game but I guess you would just have to be in my shoes that day loving this team as much as I did and having to wait 10 years to see them in the playoffs it was a special moment and still to this day one of my favorite Texans games/wins. 

Fans reaction to game winning TD in Houston

Full game winning drive

#3

Houston Texans at Washington Redskins
September 19th, 2010
Fed Ex Field, Landover MD

I grew up in a Houston Oilers family but one of my favorite uncles was a big Redskins fan. I think maybe he got caught up in the Skins runs to Super Bowl championships in XVII and XXII, when they dominated the NFL in 1991 his love for them was in full force. He passed that love on to me by watching some of the Redskins games in 92 with me. I thought they were really cool and I LOVED Mark Rypien, to me seeing what he did in Super Bowl XXVI he was like a NFL version of Bret Hart(my favorite wrestler), the Excellence Of Execution! So I really had 2 favorite teams in the early 90's, the Redskins and the Oilers. My love for the Redskins grew as the Oilers began their decline and eventual demise starting in 1994. In 1995 my family moved out of Houston and into northeast Texas where all these fucking backwards hillbillies were in full Cowboy-mania mode, which only made me love the Redskins even more since their rivalry with Dallas was one of the best in all of NFL history. Some of my favorite games of all time where the 2 HUGE upsets where the Redskins took out the eventual Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys in that 1995 season. 

I can say I was a bigger fan of the Redskins than the Oilers during those last 2 years in 95 and 96. I was totally into that 1996 Redskins team, which got off to a 7-2 start and came just inches away from making the playoffs(fell to a 9-7 finish and got eliminated from playoff contention by a last second field goal against the Cardinals in second to last game, they finished the season absolutely destroying Dallas though). After we lost the Oilers in 97 I was full fledged Redskins fan, and a very passionate one too. Even when the Texans launched in 2002 I stayed loyal to my Skins, I loved both teams almost equally from 2002 to 2004. As Houston declined in 2005 the Redskins brought back Joe Gibbs and had some of my favorite players in the NFL, Clinton Portis, Chris Cooley, Sean Taylor. The Redskins run to the playoffs in 2005 was about as emotionally invested as I've ever been in any sports team of any kind, it was epic. Then in 2007 after Sean Taylor was killed in the middle of the season and they rallied to win their last few games to make the playoffs again I was fucking bleeding burgundy and gold throughout all of that shit. Those were some great times and some great football memories right there. 

After Joe Gibbs left the Skins following the 2007 team it was all downhill for my love of that football team. They were always 1B behind my hometown football team but when they started bringing in Mike Shanahan and Donovan Mcnabb and Albert Haynesworth they really started to lose me. With that said, they were still my boys and still had some of my favorites in Portis and Cooley. In 2010 my two favorite football teams hooked it up in week 2, both of them were 1-0, and the game had an interesting backstory with Texans head coach Gary Kubiak going toe to toe with Mike Shanahan, whom he coached under as an assistant from 1995 to 2005(where they won 2 Super Bowls in 97-98). What unfolded has absolutely got to be one of the most underrated forgotten all time classic games in NFL history. 

Two Clinton Portis touchdowns gave the Redskins a 20-7 lead at the half. A 22 yard touchdown pass from Mcnabb to Chris Cooley putu Washington up 27-10 with a little under 4 minutes left in the third quarter. Matt Schaub led Houston on a 78 yard drive that turned the momentum of the whole game. A 50 yard catch and run by Arian Foster set up a Matt Schaub touchdown pass that cut the deficit to 27-17 going into the fourth quarter. Another big time 35 yard completion from Schaub to Kevin Walter set up a field goal that cut Washington's lead to 27-20 with 11:15 left in the game. Washington looked to put it away when they drove into field goal range on their next drive but the kick was blocked! It all came down to the final 3 minutes, Houston got the ball back on their own 19 yard line down 27-20. Schaub hit Andre Johnson for 29 yards on 3rd and 10. The game came down to 4th down with 2:11 left on the clock. Matt Schaub scrambled and hit Andre Johnson in the end zone for one of the greatest catches of his career, a 34 yard touchdown catch that tied the game 27-27. 

It was easily one of Andre's finest moments, at his peak of dominance after leading the NFL with 115 receptions and 1,575 yards in 2008 and then leading the league again with 101 receptions and 1,569 yards in 2009, I truly believe in this very moment when he made this catch in week 2 of the 2010 season Andre Johnson was flat out one of the baddest motherfuckers that ever played in the NFL. The Texans went on to win it in overtime with a field goal 30-27 to go 2-0 for the first time in franchise history. Matt Schaub threw for 497 yards while Mario Williams sacked Donovan Mcnabb 3 times and Andre Johnson had 12 catches for 158 yards.

Today I honestly can say I really don't feel much love for the Redskins anymore. Last year I passed on watching Cowboys vs Redskins games to watch the 4-12 Texans play meaningless games. While they are easily my favorite team in the NFC I just have no love for Washington in my heart anymore, and when I try to figure out what happened it all kinda traces back to this game. This was such a fucking phenomenal game that I remember just being ecstatic about from start to finish, my two favorite teams dueling it out in an all time classic that I'll never forget. 

Game highlights

The Catch

#2

Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans
January 7th, 2012
NRG Stadium, Houston TX

It is really hard for me to not put this game at #1, our very first playoff appearance in the 2011 Wild Card in front of what was at the time the biggest crowd in NRG Stadium history(71,725). This game was 10 long years in the making. Having to wait that long I think made this a sweeter moment than say if the Texans had made the playoffs in 2005 or 2009, having to grind through those extra years to earn this made it that much more priceless. The electricity in the stadium that day was unbelievable. During the intros the city of Houston had a moment where we got a piece of OUR Oilers history back as the legend Bum Phillips was introduced as the honorary team captain. Bum walking out and the reception he got from Texans fans was one of the greatest moments in the first 16 years of Texans history. 

It drives me nuts that the Titans are officially recognized with the Oilers history, Bum Phillips never would have gotten a response like that walking out at the Coliseum for a Titans game in Tennessee. The only reason why the Titans have Oilers history is because Bud Adams was a fucking clown, now that they have changed their uniforms to further distance themselves from the Oilers lineage it's even more of a joke that all those Oilers memories are officially owned by the Titans. I'm a firm believer that whenever an NFL franchise drags ass and moves out of town all that history and all those memories were bought and paid for by the city they are leaving behind and that's where all that shit should stay. This is why shit like this Bum Phillips moment and Deshaun Watson sporting the Warren Moon jersey give me the feels. 

This game was a monumental moment for this franchise, a moment where we could hold our head up high and be proud. The whole game really was like a dream come true from start to finish. A 52 yard pass interference call set up the Bengals opening touchdown run by Cedric Benson early in the first quarter. The Texans next drive featured Owen Daniels holding on to a catch after getting absolutely hammered. Arian Foster ran for 44 of the Texans 65 yard trek down the field, including the 8 yard touchdown run that tied the game 7-7 with 5 minutes left in the first quarter. Both teams traded field goals in the second quarter to knot it up at 10-10 and then JJ Watt turned the whole tide of the game with one of his greatest plays of his career, a huge interception at the line of scrimmage followed by a 29 scamper into the end zone. 

JJ Watt's touchdown put Houston up 17-10 going into halftime and turned NRG Stadium upside down. The crowd noise and a tight Texans defense held Cincy scoreless for the rest of the game. TJ Yates hit Andre Johnson for a 40 yard touchdown pass late in the 3rd quarter to end the competitive phase of the game, giving Houston a 24-10 lead and giving Andre Johnson a well deserved moment that he had earned through 9 years of staying loyal to this team and this city when he could have easily packed it up and went to play somewhere better for more money. 

Arian Foster got in on the action to put the stamp on it all with a 42 yard touchdown run that sealed the 31-10 victory, the Texans very first playoff win in front of a raucous record setting hometown crowd. It was literally a perfect dream game where all the team's stars shined, Andre Johnson, Arian Foster, JJ Watt all had big moments, Jonathan Joseph had a phenomenal game, the offensive line ruled, Brian Cushing dominated, and TJ Yates further stamped his spot in Texans lore by not only sealing the Texans first division title and playoff appearance but also our very first playoff win. 

TJ Yates went 11 of 20 for 159 yards 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, Arian Foster ran the ball 24 times for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns, Andre Johnson had 5 catches for 90 yards, and the defense sacked Andy Dalton 4 times. The Texans went on the road in Baltimore the next week and the season came to an end with a 20-13 loss. A lot of Texans fans look back at this 2011 season as the one where we probably had our best chance to make it to the Super Bowl, even more so than the 2012 season. As much as I love TJ Yates I don't think there's any question we would have done better in Baltimore in that AFC Divisional playoff game with Matt Schaub's experience. That defense was even better in 2011 than they were in 2012, Brian Cushing should have probably been DPOY that year, looking back at the season he had in 2011 reminds me of just how crushing of a blow it was to lose him for the season in week 4 of the 2012 season.

Full Game

#1

Dallas Cowboys at Houston Texans
September 8th, 2002
NRG Stadium, Houston TX

I've really enjoyed seeing the Texans make new fans over the years. I don't think I've ever seen as much Texans stuff out in the wild here where I live as I have this Summer. I've seen a lot of Texans stickers on trucks and cars this Summer, probably more so than ever. I'm absolutely tickled pink that I'm no longer the only Texans fan on PW(Todd ). At the gym I work out at I noticed a dude wearing a Texans shirt. I wasn't sure if he was a fan or if he just found the shirt somewhere until one day when I was getting ready to run home(the gym is about 2 miles from my house, sometimes I'll walk up there for a warm up and then run home for some cardio). Ole dude asked me if I needed a ride home as he passed me and then mentioned that he seen my Texans keychain, sure enough he's a big fan. Now it's kinda cool but kinda awkward when we see each other in the gym, I kinda like to avoid eye contact with others in the gym but at the same time I'm not used to having another Texans fan around here so I'm giddy about talking about my team with somebody in the gym(but trying to hide my giddiness to maintain my tough guy image!). 

Texans fan base seems to come in waves. You got those who got into the Andre Johnson/Arian Foster team in 2011-2012, then you got the JJ Watt'ers who got into the team when he was red hot in 2014-2015, and now we've got the Deshaun Watson'ers. I fucking love it. Me, I consider myself a 2002 OG Texans fan though. I grew up around Houston until I was about 11 or 12 we moved up to the Northeastern part of the state around 1995 and it was fucking Cowboy mania around here. In 2002 I ran away from home at the age of 17 and went back home to Houston, where I eventually moved in with my uncle and aunt. We went to the very first 2 Houston Texans pre-season games and I can't imagine there was ever such an electric playoff-like atmosphere for any NFL preseason games like those games had. The Texans had the whole city buzzing at that time and it coincided with just a really fun and exciting time in my life so needless to say I was totally invested in the week 1 game against the Dallas Cowboys. 

America's Team, The Team of the 90's, these were things I got sick and tired of hearing. I was maybe jealous of the Cowboys success I guess because it happened at the time when my Oilers fell apart and then left town altogether. I disliked the Cowboys so much that I grew to love the Redskins. For the new Houston Texans to make their official debut against the Cowboys was fucking huge. I recently watched through the 2002 Cowboys season of NFL Hard Knocks and they built their entire training camp that year from day 1 gearing up for that first game against Houston. 

The vibe in the stadium for this game was just unreal. NFL football was back in Houston and it was a huge party in NRG Stadium that night. I don't think Jerry Jones or Bud Adams or anyone in the NFL expected the city of Houston to fall so in love with the Texans so fast. I honestly think Jones and Adams had big plans for Houston to be like a home away from home for their teams, that shit went out the window on day 1, hell Texans-mania was running wild in the fucking preseason! 

The Texans took the opening drive down the field and scored the very first touchdown in franchise history with a 19 yard pass from David Carr to Billy Miller. An Aaron Glenn interception set up a Texans field goal that put us up 10-0 early in the second quarter. Dallas finally got on the board with a field goal before the half to cut Houston's lead to 10-3. A 46 yard touchdown run by Michael Wiley tied the game at 10-10 late in the third quarter. The biggest memory that stuck with me about this game through the years is without a doubt the 65 yard touchdown from Carr to Corey Bradford in the 4th quarter that put Houston up 17-10. I was watching this game in an apartment complex on the corner of Westhiemer and Eldridge Parkway in Houston and when they scored this touchdown you could hear people in the apartment up stairs above me and next door beside me making noise hootin' and hollerin' and stompin on the floor in celebration. It was a glorious moment. The Cowboys got pinned back against their own end zone later on where Gary Walker(former Houston Oiler) and Seth Payne took down Quincy Carter for a safety that sealed the victory 19-10. 

This was such a big time way for the Texans to debut. Sure the Cowboys were not the same team they were in the 90's but we're still talking about a team that had Emmitt Smith, Larry Allen, Roy Williams, Darren Woodson, etc. This was Americas Team taking on a team that had been put together completely from scratch just a few weeks prior to this game. After what we had been through as Houston football fans this was such a great fuck you to the world, the Texans were Texas' football team, they were our football team. Houston is real authentic Texas, Dallas is like somebody transplanted New York/LA to Texas with everybody walking around in Cowboy halloween costumes. 

One of my favorite things about the game rewatching it now 16 years later is Jerry Jones' reactions throughout the game. He starts off watching chewing on his fingernails from a luxury suite. Then after the first half he's down on the field cheering and nervously trying to rally his boys. After the game is over the look on his face is absolutely fucking priceless. A few years ago Jones admitted on a radio interview that this loss was one of three times that he was brought to tears as the Cowboys owner. 

“That loss brought me to tears. It was because we had such a base of fans, we’d go down there when they were the Oilers ... and we knew we had a big base. We were big supporters, huge supporters of Houston getting that franchise back, but that loss killed us. That will always be there for me.”

-Jerry Jones(2014 radio interview)

So for me going through those dying days of the Oilers and living through the launch of the Texans while living in Houston at the time, it's hard for me to put any Texans game over this one as the best of all time. This was a really special victory and maybe a big reason why I've been a diehard Texans fan literally from day 1. Maybe you just had to have been there in Houston in 2002 to feel that buzz, I don't know, but it's hard for me to imagine any game to ever top this one unless we win the Super Bowl.

So there you have it. This wraps up my journey as a Texans fan for the last 16 years. As we get ready to start year 17 this upcoming weekend this project has made me realize how the Texans have been a major part of my life and how my life has been eerily similar to their on field success. They launched when I was 17 and had a lot of exciting things happening, then reality sank in and they struggled as a young franchise just as I struggled as a 18-19 year old kid trying to make it out on my own. Shit bottomed out for the Texans in 2005 just as they did for me in real life as I went through a devastating split with the mother of my son. I rebuilt in 2006-2007 as a 21-22 year old just as the Texans did on the field those years, then in 2008-2009 I was knocking on the door of success and it felt like big things were going to happen only to bottom out again in 2010. Then I got my shit together and was riding high in 2011-2012 just as the Texans were on the field only for things to completely fall apart like never before in 2013 when I lost my little sister. We've been rebuilding and trying to get it together ever since then and things are getting better all the time. The Texans have been something I've been passionate about for over half of my life, through the highs and the lows, I fucking bleed steel blue and battle red.

Full Game
Texans First Win Feature

Great work Shinobi. Learned so much about the franchise from these posts. Awesome stuff.

Now that this is officially done I intend to use this thread as a catch all Texans diary with thoughts about games and happenings going on with the team from here on out, this way I can always have it all in one place to go back and look at it down the road(or as long as this forum lasts).

Starting off with Andre Hal being lost due to being diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma. This really has me gutted, I've been a fan of his since his rookie year where he played a lot better than a 7th round draft pick had any right to. I really thought he had a bright future as an impact player in our secondary and I really think losing him is a pretty big blow to the team overall even though looking at the stats maybe doesn't seem like that big of a deal. He was a damn fine player and one of my guys, I'll always remember him for the 2 interceptions against the Titans in that glorious smashing last year, those picks really set the tone for that game. I desperately hope everything turns out ok for him and and he can make a comeback to the team.

My official prediction for the Texans this year, honestly I wouldn't be surprised if we were terrible. Deshaun Watson is The One for sure but I think this season has the possibility for him to be like that scene out of The Matrix where Neo couldn't make the jump from the building, they all start questioning if he's the one and Morpheus is all like man it's ok because nobody can make that jump, The One is The One but it's not going to be an instant success we've got some work to do to get him there. That Texans team last year down the stretch was the worst I've seen this team ever play in 16 seasons, I think the expansion 2002 or 2003 squad whoops that 2017 Texans team that took the field the last few weeks last year, hell I think the 2005 team takes them, definitely the 2013 team eats them up. Fuck, I think had we rematched The Browns we would have lost! They were that bad. I've watched every play that Bill O'Brien has called in 4 years here and I'm just not convinced that he's cut out to be an NFL head coach. And without Cushing, Hal, or Fiedorowicz, no running game, a questionable offensive line and secondary, I'm honestly kinda scared about this year. The wish for everybody to stay healthy is a fucking pipe dream with this team, it's almost guaranteed we are going to lose some impact players for some time, this could very well be another 4-12 year, maybe even worse. I wouldn't be surprised if this is a 3-13 or 4-12 year for us, maybe Watson can drag us to 7-9 or 8-8 I wouldn't be surprised at all and that would be ok.

I wouldn't be surprised but that's not my official prediction. I have tempered expectations for this year more so than any year in a while but I also have this funny feeling in my gut about this year too. Watson is The One, my official prediction: 14-2, Super Bowl Champs! I ain't even fucking playin'! If Bill O'Brien can pull that off not only will I eat crow I'll bite the fucking head off of a live one Ozzy style, lets do this fucking shit! 

The end of that post had me genuinely LOLing.

Good idea to stick us in our own thread, we'd be probably piss everyone eventually in GD threads.

I'll take 10-6 and a play-off berth. I agree it's a big year for O'Brien. Supposedly the entire playbook was revamped over the spring and none of those plays were used pre-season. O'Brien knows he needs to get Watson out of trouble and will scheme around that idea.

Defensively I think we will be good. Our front 7 is loaded and our secondary has picked up Mathieu, the Kayvon Webster addition may work nicely also. I think a defense like ours paired with a high-ceiling QB-WR partnership of Watson and Hopkins wins us more games than we lose. I'm confident.

I think people are definitely getting carried away. Seems to be NFL analysts as opposed to Texans fans. Texans fans are cautious, a lot of analysts are predicting worst-to-first. I think we have to remember we're in a division with one SuperBowl-caliber team, one play-off caliber team and a team with Andrew Luck at QB. Tough division.

Sept 3, 2018 12:10:19 GMT Todd said:

I think people are definitely getting carried away. Seems to be NFL analysts as opposed to Texans fans. Texans fans are cautious, a lot of analysts are predicting worst-to-first. I think we have to remember we're in a division with one SuperBowl-caliber team, one play-off caliber team and a team with Andrew Luck at QB. Tough division.

Yeah Jacksonville scares me, those losses to them last year looked like they had our number and possibly will have our number for a few years to come. I hope not. 

If Bortles can bottle how he played in the play-offs, they alongside the Rams are the best young team in football. I like the coaching there too, the way they looked after Bortles in the play-offs was really excellent, they are loaded everywhere and defensively they are almost entirely young and almost entirely Pro-Bowl caliber. Really a frightening defense.

Tennessee have a lot of good young players also. They probably need a little more from the quarterback but they are solid and will win plenty of games.

Yeah it wouldnt surprise me one bit if we go like 1-5 in the division, we always lose in Indy, and i think Vrabel will give Titans an advantage against us with insider info on our defense similar to the Tony Dungy Bucs against his former Vikings in 98-99, he knew their biggest weaknesses and knew exactly what they would fall for and exactly how to exploit it.

Apr 15, 2018 11:31:46 GMT Big Pete said:

What surprises me most is that Moneyball didn't inspire Nobi to fantasy book the Houston Texans. I've been an avid reader of your Houston Texans thread, it's one of the best reads on this here site, but I want a spiritual successor about all the players you wanted to bring to Houston. The good, the bad, the ugly.

I've been thinking about this ever since you posted this but never had the time to put any thought into a hypothetical alternate revision history fan fic style, lets do this, first for 2002 I'm trading second round pick and first round pick from 2003 and swapping spots with New Orleans in a late round to get Ricky Williams. I believe that was feasible considering what Miami traded New Orleans to get Ricky, they were only a few spots above our second round pick. Ricky was on the trade block and was a Texas legend so why the hell not.

Also in reality Gary Kubiak and Wade Phillips were both candidates for the Texans coaching job in 2001, they went with Dom Capers over them. I can understand why since he put such a competitive team together in Carolina his first two years but even without hindsight if you had asked me who I wanted between Kubiak and Capers in 2001-2002 I'm taking Kubiak all day long, I never really even knew he was a Houston guy either.

First pick in 2002 draft, instead of David Carr, lets take Jullious Peppers, who is an impact player from day 1 and tips the scales for a defense that has Jamie Sharper, Aaron Glenn, and Gary Walker already. Only drawback from taking Kubiak over Capers is that we don't get Vic Fangio as DC, so maybe we go with Wade Phillips as first Texans HC? He's Bum Phillips son for crying out loud, lets go with him and star Texas running back Ricky Williams it'll be like Bum and Earl Campbell next generation! Peppers, Sharper, Walker, Glenn on a Wade defense sounds great.

For quarterback we take David Garrard in the 4th round, let him develop as backup in 2002 playing behind Tony Banks. Also believe Mark Rypien was still a free agent in 2002 so him in a #11 Texans uniform gives me the fucking goosebumps. Also believe Michael Westbrook was out there as a free agent wide receiver, we would need him since losing our 2nd round pick in the Ricky trade means no Jabar Gaffney, Westbrook was pretty good in Washington though maybe better than Corey Bradford and Jabbar Gaffney.

With that I believe David Carr goes to the Panthers with the 2nd overall pick, they needed a QB really badly and Carr was way better on paper than any of the other ones that went in the first round that year, without an obvious pick in Peppers on the board anymore I believe they take Carr. Then what happens to Andre Johnson if Texans have no first round pick in 2003? Maybe Andre falls to New England with the 13th pick, what kind of career does The GOAT have playing with Brady for 12 years? I think he breaks Jerry Rice records.

With this alternate history it's blasphemy because we lose Andre but I think it would have been a better team in 2002 and 2003, maybe 6-10 in 2002 first year and 8-8 in 2003. Of course we lose Ricky to pot in 2004 but we had Dominick Davis rise up during that time so we're ok. In hindsight the expansion team wasn't ideal scenario for a rookie QB to develop as a starter so should have spent a few years putting the pieces together on offense while a strong defense carries the team early on. Would have been set to take a franchise QB in the 2004 draft, Phillip Rivers or Eli Manning but David Garrard was actually playing pretty damn good so maybe wouldn't have needed one. Anyways yeah this turned out way longer than I intended it to be but good times. :lol:

Some great news: www.profootballrumors.com/2018/09/texans-andre-hal-remission

I figured my "diary" would be a more appropriate place to share this so I had to dig it up. Making new Texans memories with my little 3 year old niece and almost 1 year old nephew on Christmas setting them up with their new jerseys:



Seeing them in Texans gear brought so much warmth to my heart last night, I love these pics so much.

2018 has been my 17th year as a Texans fan and what a year it has been. Deshaun Watson has stepped up and become The One that I hoped he would be, in his first real full year as a Texan he is 3 TD's away from tying Schaub's single season record, he's like a hundred yards shy of like the 2nd or 3rd most passing yards in a single season, while the game to game performances by Hopkins all fucking year long have been unreal. This has seriously been one of the greatest single season performances I've ever seen by a Texan, right up there with JJ Watt's 2014 season. The play where he won the game against the Cowboys there is an amazing little moment after the play when the crowd is going ape shit and he gets up with this look on his face it's unbelievable.

Also JJ Watt returned to us this year and I feel like I'm watching a living legend when he's on the field. This team was so blessed when we got Watt.

It's been a very good year but it's not over yet we got to win the Super Bowl, it can happen, it will happen, I believe it

What a fucking season this turned out to be. I got my whole family hyped about the Texans this year. It all started with the Cowboys game I watched with my dad and my youngest brother and they were hooked from there, everybody got together to watch a lot of Texans games with me this year and we made some great new memories. This was definitely one of the best seasons we ever had. Just wanted to enter a log into my diary here to note a few things:

Started 0-3 and finished on an 11-2 run including 9 game win streak longest in franchise history. 11 wins is second most in franchise history behind only the 2012 season(12-4).

Won 5th AFC South Division title in the last 8 years(this year AFC South had more victories than any other division in league)

Defense ranked 4th in the NFL in fewest points allowed(tied the 2011 team for the highest ranking in franchise history)

Defense ranked 3rd in fewest rushing yards allowed

According to Profootballreference.com's "SRS" rating system(which factors in strength of schedule, performance etc) this was the second best Texans team in franchise history behind only the 2011 squad.

402 points scored this year second most in franchise history behind 2012 season.

316 points allowed this year fourth best in franchise history

Deshaun Watson 4,165 passing yards is 3rd best for single season in franchise history behind Matt Schaub's 2010(4,370) and 2009(4,770) seasons.

Watson's 26 touchdown passes is 2nd most in single season in franchise history behind only Matt Schaub's 29 in 2009.

Watson's 9 interceptions is the fewest ever by any Texans qb that started all 16 games in a season

Watson's 103.1 passer rating is the highest ever for any Texans qb that started all 16 games in a season

Watson's 5 fourth quarter comebacks and 5 game winning drives most ever for a Texans QB in a single season(he ranked 2nd in the NFL in both categories this year)

Watson's 68.3% completion percentage ties David Carr's(!) 2006 franchise record for highest completion percentage by Texans QB who started all 16 games in a season.

Deandre Hopkins 115 receptions ties Andre Johnson's single season franchise record set exactly a decade ago.

Hopkins 1,572 receiving yards is 3rd most single season receiving yards in franchise history behind only Andre's 2008(1,575) and 2012(1,598) seasons.

Hopkins finished 3rd in NFL in receptions with 115, more receptions than Antonio Brown(104) and Julio Jones(113), Hopkins had more touchdowns(11) than Julio Jones(8) and more receiving yards than Antonio Brown(1,297), who no-showed the Steelers finale against Cincinnati like a diva when his team needed him to try to make the playoffs. Hopkins on the other hand carried the Texans on his back this year there is no doubt at least in my mind that he is the best in the NFL right now in 2018-2019. Hopkins was must-see TV this year, it was very much like JJ Watt in 2014 you just stayed glued to the Texans games to see what he was going to do next.

JJ Watt's comeback has been one of the best things about the Texans season to me. Seeing him wreck that Giants game got me fired up about football. Watt finished the year with 16 sacks, 2nd in the NFL behind Aaron Donald(20.5), he finished tied for 1st in the NFL in forced fumbles(7, tied with Dee Ford). So a guy like Khalil Mack coming off of all the media of his trade you heard a lot more about him being a DPOY candidate this year than Watt but Watt finished with more sacks, more tackles, more QB hits, more tackles for loss, and more forced fumbles than Mack(they both had 4 passes defended). Aaron Donald will most likely win DPOY and I don't really have a problem with that(he did finish with more sacks, more tackles for loss, and more QB hits than Watt) but Watt did finish with more forced fumbles, more passes defended, and more tackles than Aaron Donald. So I definitely think Watt is being undersold this year because he's not playing in LA or Chicago, he's better than Mack and just as good if not better than Donald and yet you just don't hear his name mentioned with those two.

Going into the playoffs for the 5th time this will be the 8th playoff game in Texans history, since the 2002 realignment when we entered the NFL that gives the Texans more playoff appearances than Oakland(2), Jacksonville(3), Cleveland(1), Buffalo(1), Miami(2), LA Rams(4), Arizona(4), San Francisco(4), Tampa Bay(3), Detroit(3), Chicago(4), and Washington(4), while tying us with Tennessee and the Jets. If the Texans can beat the Colts in the Wild Card game(and the Bears lose) that will give Houston more playoff victories since 2002 than almost half(15) of the opposing 31 NFL teams(we currently have more than Cowboys, Redskins, Lions, Rams, Dolphins, Bills, Bengals, Browns, Raiders, and Chiefs and are currently tied with Bears, Vikings, Buccaneers, Titans, and Jaguars)

Can't wait for the playoffs. We got Watson and a top 5 defense we got a chance to win the Super Bowl right now, fuck the media Go Texans!