It was last January, after the Texans were, once again, knocked out in the divisional round of the playoffs, DeMeco Ryans made no bones about it. The Houston Texans must take their franchise to “new heights” in 2025. Ryans’ definition of “new heights,” his own words, meant getting to the AFC title game, at the very least. 

Early this season, as the Texans got off to a painful 0-3 start, it felt like there was a better chance of us following the 2026 mock drafts than watching scoreboards in a playoff hunt. However, four straight wins, fueled by an elite defense, have the Texans getting “team nobody wants to face” buzz. It’s one of the best kinds of buzz!

Currently, though, there is one big problem. Despite the four game winning streak, the Texans find themselves on the outside looking in for the AFC playoffs. As of today, they are the 8th seed, one spot out of the playoff hunt. Fortunately, the schedule sets up nicely for a playoff berth, at the very least, as a wild card team.

Dig a little deeper, though, and you’ll see why there is a whole lot more to this story and this season. There are five very, VERY good reasons why the Texans need to go on a run in these final five regular season games and get inside the velvet rope of the NFL postseason. Here they are:

5. At least two, if not more, of the “Big Four” quarterbacks are trending to be out of the postseason

Any preseason quarterback power ranking for 2025 listed the following four signal callers as the best in the NFL, in some order — Joe Burrow, Pat Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and reigning MVP Josh Allen. Right now, Burrow just returned from injury to a 4-8 team, and Mahomes and Jackson are both leading 6-6 outfits. Add in that Jackson is clearly banged up and not himself. Allen is the leader in the clubhouse ion this group with an 8-4 Bills team that is trending to being a wild card. If the Texans win the division, they could get these quarterbacks at home, if indeed one or more make the postseason. This may not happen again next season. Take advantage. 

4. The 1, 2 and 3-seeds in the AFC have almost NO playoff experience 

Additionally, with the elite quarterbacks hovering around the playoff fringe, the top three AFC teams are all skippered by quarterbacks with little to no playoff experience. The Patriots, Broncos, and Jaguars are led by Drake Maye, Bo Nix, and Trevor Lawrence, respectively. Of those three, Maye is the only one playing at an elite level. Combined those three quarterbacks have played in three playoff games and won one (Lawrence). C.J. Stroud has played in four playoff games and won two himself. Again, huge opportunity. 

3. In going on a late season run, the Texans can put a stake through the heart of a dynasty 

This bullet point actually begins on Sunday, when the Texans travel to Kansas City for Sunday Night Football. The two teams have had very similar seasons, with all 11 losses between the two teams coming by one score or less. These are two very good football teams, despite the pedestrian 13-11 record combined. However, the Texans are in the better spot for the postseason, and dealing the Chiefs a seventh loss on the season would send their playoff odds plummeting further than they’ve already plummeted since Week 1. The Texans can put the stake in the heart of the dynasty that some would argue the Texans birthed back in January 2020, when they blew a 24-0 lead to the Chiefs in a playoff game.

2. If they make a run, the Texans likely make the Colts look very stupid

On the day of the NFL trade deadline, the Colts decided to take a massive swing and, being in desperate need of help in their secondary, traded two first round picks for former All Pro Sauce Gardner. It’s a move that a team makes when they feel like they can win a Super Bowl. Worth mentioning, this is the first time any team with Daniel Jones at quarterback has felt like they can win a Super Bowl. Two high picks, not to mention inheriting Gardner’s contract, is a major gamble. Since the trade, the Colts are 1-2, Jones now has a fractured fibula, and Gardner himself limped off the field Sunday versus the Texans with a calf injury. The Texans surpassing the Colts and leaving them in the dust would make the Gardner trade look exceedingly dumb, and we love that! 

1. A playoff run means that C.J. Stroud’s next contract will be much easier to swallow

The fifth and final reason has more to do with the offseason than the regular season or postseason. Chances are, the Texans and C.J. Stroud agree to a contract extension this coming offseason, and it will be for near top-of-market money, which these days is around $55 million to $60 million per year. Barring a run deep into the postseason, there will be Texans fans nervous about paying Stroud. A trip to the AFC title game, or beyond, likely means Stroud did some things to justify the exorbitant price tag for his services. Thus, we all live happily ever after, until next season.

This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

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