Why the Texans have a real shot at winning the AFC South

Yahoo Sports Daily hosts Caroline Fenton and Jason Fitz are joined by Eddie Maisonet of the Houston Chronicle to discuss why the Houston Texans have a shot at winning the AFC South. Watch the full episode of Yahoo Sports Daily on YouTube or YahooSports.TV.

Video Transcript

D’Amico’s all gas, no brakes.

I mean, I, since being here, It’s been very clear he’s got players to absolutely buy in.

They talk about Swarm all the time, and, um, in every press conference, Every interview shows swarm mentality, being unified.

Uh, as an entire unit, and like going to the wall.

For your brother.

Like, its just everything DAmicos been Preaching!

It’s been really cool.

Uh, the Texas players have recently been going into the archives.

The Texas social media brought out the old Demio Ryan celebration from back in the University of Alabama using the sledgehammer, and now, You can see the Texas players recreating the celebration.

Um, during big plays.

And I actually think it’s a real testament to D’Amico.

He doesn’t really get discussed much As far as the elite coaches are concerned.

And given the situation and circumstances.

At the start of the season, breaking in a new offensive coordinator, Dealing with a disheveled offensive line, um, then your quarterback goes out and gets Hurt, like the fact that the team is not wavered, and they’re still in a position to Potentially become AFC South champions again, It’s right there in front of them.

This defense is stifling.

I think we need to talk about it evenly.

Better than the Broncos, as one of the best, if not the best in the league.

What makes this defense so elite?

Yeah, I mean, you spoke so highly about them.

I mean, you did the work for me.

I think that the thing that I see, uh, more than anything else, Uh, last week against the Colts was so fascinating because you think of Will Anderson And Daniel Hunter as these two jackals, uh, as pass rushers, Right?

And then, what did Will Anderson do?

Like, he’s rushing right through the middle, he’s plowing straight through the center.

In the guard, uh, causing chaos.

And, like, you know, He’s starting to, uh, remind folks he could be a multi-dimensional, Uh, uh, player on that defensive line.

And so, when youve got Daniel Anderson, youve got, Uh, Aziz Al-Hair, roaming the field, playing sideline to sideline.

And then you think about anytime that ball goes up in the air, Uh, it’s not only there, interestingly, but you’ve got Kamari Lassie.

You’ve got Kaylin Bullock; that becomes really scary.

And I think the Texans have proved themselves.

They are, If not the best, one of the best defenses in the NFL right now.

How do we go from a couple years ago, CJ Stroud having the best rookie season ever Seen now, people legitimately sit here and say, Maybe they’re better with Davis Mills at the quarterback position.

Like, what went wrong there?

Yeah, I, uh, there are a couple of different factors there.

I think when you have a backup, uh, uh, like, Like Mills, uh, believe it or not, I feel like people don’t like, Uh, folks who are a bit all over the place.

And I think Stroud, He is a boom-or-bust type player at times.

And I think that rookie season he was booming.

He was, He was booming big time.

And I think, given that they’ve had such a shift in offensive coordinators, And now, um, that offensive line is so rickety, they’re asking him to actually do Patrick Mahomes-like things, like playing hero ball, um.

All the time, and Patrick Mahomes can do it.

CJ Stroud isn’t there yet, and he might not ever be that type of player.

And that’s no knock.

Patrick Mahomes is Moses at quarterback.

He, he, he parsed the scenes all the time.

And so, you know, they need stability now in the worst way.

And Stroud, I also think, is still finding himself as a quarterback.

We’re, this 2025 season is so fascinating to me because we’re looking at Sam Darnold.

We’re looking at Baker Mayfield, we’re looking at all these rehabilitation efforts, Uh, projects that are finding ways to thrive.

And I think CJ Stroud, where he is now, is clearly still finding himself a bit Quarterback.

Why the Texans have a real shot at winning the AFC South

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