The Houston Texans Earn 10th Win in Season Finale With Win vs Titans
The season finishes on a high note as the playoffs are next
The Houston Texans finished the regular season 10-7 for the second consecutive season. The final score was 23-14 but it wasn’t that close.
Here are 11 observations from the regular season finale.
Kudos to DeMeco Ryans. He executed his desired plan perfectly. He wanted to get the bad taste out of his mouth from the Christmas beatdown at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. They did just that on the first drive. It was a nearly flawless drive with only an official’s mistake and a rush for no gain as the only slight hiccups. The nightmare was if the offensive ineptitude from this season reared its ugly head or someone was injured. Those things didn’t occur. It was the sixth time this season the opening offensive drive was a touchdown for the Texans.
C.J. Stroud had a nice drive. That is all I wanted him to play if the Texans indeed started him. He was crisp and accurate. He found his best receiver multiple times on the drive. The only operational hiccup seemed to be the referee failed to reset the play clock. Stroud heads into the playoffs on a high note after a season where he failed to replicate his rookie excellence. He must be better than his typical performance from the regular season if the Texans are to go deep in the playoffs.
Nico Collins was excellent on his one drive finishing up another successful season for him. The Pro Bowl wideout caught a touchdown and finished with 1,000 receiving yards. He was better game-to-game than his breakout campaign last year, but his overall numbers are lower due to his five missed games.
Joe Mixon got his 1,000 yards rushing. He joins Derrick Henry as the only other active running back to get at least 1,000 yards in five or more seasons. Mixon has been a revelation for the Texans this season and if he is a force in the playoffs the Texans have a chance to win more than just a game in the playoffs.
The new offensive line performed fine. They were good on the opening drive and