Not long ago, I said that if the Texans wanted to be playoff contenders, they had to prove that they could show up in the big, out-of-division games. Houston made a statement last week against the then undefeated Bengals, and kept rolling along this week with a 24-17 win over a tough Jets team.
Having won their last three games, the Texans are now 5-5 and tied atop the AFC South. So what can we take away from this impressive win to get back to a .500 record?
Pick 1: The Texans Are Who We Thought They Were On Defense
It took them a while to get warmed up and up to speed, but it looks like the Texans defense is finally what we thought it would be, and they’re dominating at the best 
possible time. In the midst of the toughest part of their schedule, the Texans are showing that they can hang with anyone because of that defense.
While the Jets haven’t been blowing people away offensively this season, they have been a strong, playoff-caliber team. Being able to force two fourth quarter turnovers against a team like the Jets is huge for a team gaining confidence at the right time.
Pick 2: Finishing Games
My biggest question about the Texans during this tough stretch of the season was, “Can they finish games?” Competing in games is one thing, but finishing them against strong teams is what makes you a playoff contender.
It looked pretty dicey when the Jets scored to make it a one-possession game with decent time left in the fourth quarter, and three-straight three-and-outs from the offense didn’t give me much confidence in the Texans’ ability to finish that football game. But backed against the wall, the Texans were able to force an interception to seal the game. This team showed a lot of poise in the win on Sunday.
Pick 3: Wildcat Action
If you told me that the Texans were going to implement a successful wildcat offense this week, I would’ve laughed in your face. With Cecil Shorts III at the helm, though, the wildcat offense ended up resulting in some important and successful plays for the Texans offense.
Shorts went back to his quarterback days with a beautiful pass to Alfred Blue, and the direct snap and read action runs created some big first downs for the offense. Shorts and Grimes made this scheme work phenomenally, and we can only hope for more of the same offensive creativity in the coming weeks.
Pick 4: The Man, The Myth, The Legend
This isn’t really news, but it needs to be said. JJ Watt is an absolute superhuman beast. In what many people are calling a quiet year for Watt, he’s still blowing up plays and 
leading the league in sacks, adding two more to his total on Sunday.
The biggest reason for Watt being even more of a presence in the last couple of games is that he’s finally got support from his teammates. There’s really only so much one man can do, even if he is superhuman like Watt. With the emergence of players like Mercilus, McKinney, Demps, Cushing and others on defense, Watt is now freer than ever this season to do what he does best: tear up offensive lines. Watt is getting more and more penetration through the line as others continue to step up. This is a very good thing.
Pick 5: Unfortunately, Hotlanta isn’t so Hot
Houston did their part for the AFC playoff picture by beating the Jets, and it looked like Atlanta was going to hold up on their end as well against Indianapolis. Unfortunately we forgot one thing, which is that the Falcons are kind of horrible right now.
Matty Ice and that entire offense is absolutely ice cold, and they haven’t been able to close out a game since their 5-0 start. So, of course the Colts were able to come back and beat the Falcons, thanks to the ageless wonder that is Matt Hasselbeck. The good news is that the Texans looked significantly better against better competition.
Pick 6: Yates Solid, But Stick With Hoyer
TJ Yates has been solid for the Texans, and dropped an absolute dime to DeAndre Hopkins for a big touchdown. That being said, there shouldn’t be a quarterback controversy between Yates and Hoyer.
When Hoyer comes back healthy, he is the starter, and that’s all there is to it. Sure, Yates has done well for Houston, but he hasn’t done anything that Hoyer wasn’t doing. In fact, Hoyer has been doing more than people give him credit for. He’s a great game manager and this Texans team trusts him. They trust Yates as well, but Hoyer has completed nearly 60-percent of his passes this season and has a 13-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
I understand that the temptation is to stay with Yates or put pressure on Hoyer to perform, but the best thing this team can do for Hoyer is make him feel secure. Forcing him to live in fear of every snap isn’t the answer, because then you’re just asking for failure. Let this guy play, and I think he’ll be a good leader for this team. Plus, he knows the secret formula is just to throw the ball to Hopkins a lot, which is smart.
