It looks like the Texans were able to flush out last week’s bad loss to the Dolphins and rebound against the division rival Titans. Houston moves to 3-5 on the season after a much-needed 20-6 win over Tennessee.
Even though the Texans are still two games below .500, this win may prove to be incredibly important for their playoff hopes.
Pick 1: At The Top Of The Bottom
It’s been almost unanimously determined that the AFC South is the worst division in the NFL this season. But do you know what? That’s totally fine! In fact, it’s actually a 
really good thing for the Texans.
With Indianapolis taking on the undefeated Carolina Panthers tonight, there’s a pretty decent chance that the Texans will find themselves tied with the Colts atop the division at the end of the day. It’s not going to take a miraculous record to win the AFC South this year, which means the Texans certainly have a good shot at the playoffs. They just need to make sure they play their last three games of the season, which are all division games, well. Throw in one or two more non-division wins, and you could be talking about a 7-9 or 8-8 record that would be enough to make it to the playoffs.
Pick 2: About That Non-Division Schedule…
Winning a couple of their remaining non-divisional matchups is going to be an incredibly tough task for the Texans when you take into consideration exactly who they have to play. Houston’s next five games are all against non-divisional opponents, all of whom present a tough challenge.
The Texans next five games will be against the undefeated Bengals, the Jets, the Saints, the Bills, and the currently undefeated Patriots. That’s why winning the remaining three division games is so important. Stealing a 2-3 or 3-2 record over the next five games isn’t going to be easy.
Pick 3: Hey! It’s the Houston Defense!
They’re back! Seven sacks, three forced turnovers, and just 211 total yards allowed. Well it’s about time! The backbone of this team’s winning formula isn’t forcing Hoyer to heave it almost 40 times per game, nor is it anything to do with the offense in general.
This team wins games because of its defense, and that defense finally showed up big time on Sunday. Sure, it’s the Mariota-less Titans, but the point is that the confidence and tenacity was there for really the first time this season. On a day where the offense struggled to get things going, the defense decided to step up, but they need to stay at this level for the rest of the season in order to keep winning.
Pick 4: Watt and Mercilus Bring The Heat
JJ Watt and Whitney Mercilus accounted for six of the Texans seven sacks in Sunday’s game. What does this 
mean for the Texans? Well, it means that their pass rush was finally able to make plays and create pressure like we expected it to.
It was just a matter of time before Watt broke through, but Mercilus has been consistent all season and has really seemed to come into his own on that defense. If this pass rush can keep up the pressure, Hoyer and the offense won’t need to be called on so much.
Pick 5: Hoyer Being Smart With The Ball
Brian Hoyer may not put up Pro Bowl-type quarterback 
numbers, but he’s been making one number count so far with the Texans: his number of interceptions. So far in his tenure with the Texans, he’s done a good job taking care of the football, and when this team is functioning the way it should, that’s all you can ask for.
Against Tennessee on Sunday, Hoyer went 23-of-35 for 235 and two touchdowns. A decent amount of those completions were on smart check downs that picked up solid yardage. He knows he doesn’t need to force it downfield all of the time, and his game management could pay dividends for Houston.
Pick 6: Playoff Contender?
Okay, so the Texans are actually in decent position right now to possibly make the playoffs. But are they a playoff contender? As of right now, I’d have to say that this is a team that can make the playoffs because of their division, but isn’t necessarily a contender.
However, we’ll learn a lot more about the Texans and their playoff potential in these next five games. The combined record of their next five opponents is 25-10. If the Texans can come out of these next five games with a 3-2 record, then I would say they are definitely contenders. If they go 2-3, I think they could contend. But if they go 1-4, I think they may have a chance to make the playoffs, but won’t be contenders. It’s time to see what this Texans team is made of.
