Houston Texans’ new era of football has arrived

“We’re fighting our tails off every day to make sure y’all walk around with Texans gear pride; y’all walk around with that swag that we walk around with when we get a W.”

That’s what rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud said after a statement victory on Sunday, 30-6 over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pride in the Houston Texans — it’s a concept that’s felt unfamiliar, if not impossible, for the city of Houston the past few years.

A nightmare situation with their former franchise quarterback. A front office that was tampered with by a former character-coach. Five coaches in the past four seasons. Records of 4-12, 4-12 and 3-13-1 over the past three seasons.

All of a sudden, maybe none of that matters anymore. New Houston coach DeMeco Ryans has the squad at 2-2 a quarter into the season, firmly in contention for the AFC South, and the team delivered an absolute statement victory.

DeMeco Ryans has a statement win on the resume.

The Houston Texans are blowing out the Pittsburgh Steelers and about to pull even at 2-2 this year #WeAreTexans

— John Crumpler (@JohnHCrumpler) October 1, 2023

It was already supposed to be a special Sunday at NRG stadium. Franchise legend J.J. Watt was in town for his Texans Ring of Honor ceremony and the team was wearing their fan-favorite “Battle Red” alternate jersey tops with matching helmets. However, few would have expected that the most special part of the day would happen on the field.

Stroud threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns with zero turnovers. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik found creative ways to run the ball and called a beautiful game. Receiver Nico Collins continued his breakout season to the tune of seven receptions for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns. The offensive line allowed no sacks. Ryans’ heralded defense absolutely bullied Kenny Pickett, to the point Houston doubled Pittsburgh’s offensive yardage on the day 451 to 225 yards.

The near perfect performance from Houston’s young team and staff has opened up questions that fans weren’t expecting to ask this season and almost radically changed expectations overnight. Whether or not the team can continue their insane momentum is to be seen, in addition to their ability to win meaningful games into December. Regardless, it feels fair to make this statement.

The next era of Houston Texans football has arrived.

Texans coaching has done a terrific job on both sides of the ball over the last two weeks schematically. This is such a QB-friendly offense and the run game has improved. Defensively, DeMeco Ryans has confused QBs and taken away what opposing offenses want to do.

— Lance Zierlein (@LanceZierlein) October 1, 2023

Stroud is on pace to win Offensive Rookie of the Year by a landslide, his 1,212 yards rank 4th in the NFL and he could become the first rookie in league history to throw for 5,000 yards at this pace. He’s shown remarkable poise in the pocket, a command for the playbook, pinpoint accuracy, and secondary creation skills that are as good as they come for a quarterback’s first year.

Many speculated that the Ohio State offense had restrained Stroud’s full skillset and that exponential growth was possible in the right offensive system. Still, this is happening faster than anyone ever expected.

“C.J., he’s doing it on a week-to-week basis and making those
changes, and he’s very dialed in with the preparation and what we’re asking him to do. So, it’s impressive to see a young guy make those adjustments from week-to-week and it’s just a credit to C.J. and what he’s done throughout his career.” Ryans said. “Even at Ohio State, you saw improvement — I always said from game one to his final game — you’re seeing that week in and week out for us throughout the season.”

It’s very possible to think that Houston will have a top-10 quarterback in the NFL in Stroud by the end of his second season, if not the end of this year. Some, like ESPN commentator Robert Griffin, believe he’s already well on his way there.

For all the discussion that Houston needed a No. 1 wide receiver, Collins has proven to be that and more. The former 2021 third-rounder’s 428 receiving yards rank only behind Justin Jefferson, Puka Nacua, Tyreek Hill, and Keenan Allen. He ranks only behind Jefferson in receptions over 20-plus yards with 10 on the season through four games.

Collins is dominating with strong hands, decisive routes, and a size/speed combination that classic No. 1 wideouts typically deploy. His utility all over the field makes his own Julio Jones tape-study comments suddenly much more palatable. This comes alongside receivers Robert Woods and rookie Tank Dell emerging as extremely viable secondary options to Collins.

Houston’s receiver usage looking pretty clear through 4 games:

+ Collins (81.2% of routes) and Tank (75.7%) are your outside receivers
+ Woods & Metchie are running over 40% of their routes from the slot
+ Bobby Slowik hunts matchups everywhere

It’s working great #WeAreTexans pic.twitter.com/m3zzIxSF8h

— John Crumpler (@JohnHCrumpler) October 2, 2023

In the big picture, Slowik has created an offense that could have him in head coaching conversation should this pace continue into 2024. His blocking schemes have protected a young quarterback and the general concepts play to Stroud’s strengths on almost every down. This has come without his full offensive line and it’s fair to imagine that the playbook will even further open up when Laremy Tunsil, Tytus Howard, and Juice Scruggs return.

Going forward, Ryans knows the task at hand is to find ways to keep the No. 2 overall pick upright.

Said Ryans: “The biggest thing for us is just — after the first couple weeks — making sure we protect the quarterback, and we understand the type of plays that C.J. can make when he has time. So, that was the main emphasis for us. Bobby and his staff have done a great job of attacking that head on and putting them in a great position to make plays.”

Bobby Slowik reaches deep into his bag for what should be the dagger against Pittsburgh.

Devin Singletary passes to Dalton Schultz. Houston leads 23-6 in the Battle Red #WeAreTexans pic.twitter.com/uXfcKKosFb

— John Crumpler (@JohnHCrumpler) October 1, 2023

That’s just the offense.

Houston’s defense hasn’t yet been domineering statistically under Coach Ryans, but they’re trending in the right direction. They capitalized off mistakes to win in Jacksonville and put together a beautiful performance to stuff every attempt from Pittsburgh to make it to the endzone. This has all come with various amounts of missed time between linebacker Denzel Perryman, safety Jalen Pitre, safety Jimmie Ward, and cornerback Derek Stingley.

From a developmental standpoint, the fingerprints of Ryans are everywhere with the group. Rookie linebacker Henry To’oTo’o is emerging as an every down starter and improved each game in Houston’s defense. Will Anderson, the third overall pick, has come exactly as advertised in terms of both motor, pass rushing and run defense. The 1.0 sack doesn’t yet reflect Anderson’s skill, but his impact is certainly felt in pressures, pass rush win-rate, and how he’s opened up multiple sack opportunities for teammates as Jonathan Greenard leads the team with 3.0 and Jerry Hughes has 1.0.

I’m not a trench expert, but maybe more than a TE on Will Anderson? pic.twitter.com/nWjoOUPRN1

— Jeremy Branham (@JeremyBranham) September 26, 2023

This is a unit that is only going to improve as Ryans has more time to acclimate everyone to the “SWARM” standard. It’s a defense that could be truly scary with another round of talent infusion in the 2024 off-season.

Still, none of this is guaranteed to last.

Stroud could begin to hit expected rookie road bumps. Teams may begin to game plan for Collins as more than “just another wideout.” Slowik’s magic will certainly face obstacles as defensive coordinators have more tape on the group. Opponents will continue to test Houston’s shaky run defense before trying their talented secondary. It’s a difficult league to win in consistently and they’ll have to continue improving to do so.

That doesn’t mean this moment isn’t worth celebrating for the Texans faithful. Even if it won’t be perfect, there’s ample belief both internally and nationally that they’ll find a way to continue trending in the right direction.

A turning point in both the perception and expected performance of the franchise.