NFL Power Rankings, Week 16: Cowboys find their grove, 49ers stunned by Falcons
By Dan Parzych
10. Houston Texans (11)
The Houston Texans have proven to be one of the most difficult teams to figure out all year, but defeating the Tennessee Titans on the road to gain a full-game lead in the division was huge with only two games remaining.
One week after making a huge statement by defeating the defending Super Bowl champions in the New England Patriots, the Texans took a bit of a step back in Week 14 by suffering an embarrassing loss at home to the Denver Broncos.
With all due respect to the Broncos since the team deserves a ton of credit for upsetting the Texans the way they did, but this game seemed like a gift for Houston at first before coming up short.
At least by defeating Tennessee, the Texans will face less pressure for the final two weeks of action, and should be able to take advantage of hosting their division rivals at home during Week 17.
Houston saw plenty of key factors come into play during Sunday’s win, but Carlos Hyde (104 rushing yards with a touchdown on 26 carries) continuing to make a strong impact in the ground game has been big for the Texans this year.
Between Hyde’s ability on top of Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins continuing to be a top duo in the passing game, Houston will have the chance to make some noise in January if the opportunity is there.