Background
On January 8, 2023, the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts went head to head in their final regular season game. Both teams were already eliminated from the playoffs, so they were playing to secure their draft pick.
The Texans had a chance to secure the number one draft pick with a loss, but they ended up beating the Colts 32-31 which caused them to give up the first overall pick to the Chicago Bears. Houston would get the second overall pick in the NFL draft, and that was used to select quarterback C.J. Stroud from Ohio State. They also traded for the third overall pick and selected defensive end Will Anderson from Alabama.
They also hired DeMeco Ryan to be the new head. He previously worked as the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. The Texans went into the season with a rookie head coach along with a rookie quarterback, in the process of beginning a new era with the franchise.
Historic Season for the Texans
C.J. Stroud finished with 20 completions out of 26 attempts for 264 yards and two touchdowns in the Texans’ 23-19 victory against the Colts on Saturday. He also had 20 rushing yards and a 134.1 passer rating. Nico Collins finished with nine receptions for 195 yards and one touchdown.
DeMeco Ryan and C.J. Stroud are the first rookie head coach and rookie quarterback to make the playoffs since the 2012 Colts (Chuck Pagano and Andrew Luck) and just the fifth in NFL history. Ryan has made an excellent case for NFL Coach of the Year, and Stroud has been the leading candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Stroud finished his rookie season with 4,108 passing yards, 23 touchdowns, and five interceptions along with a 63.9% completion percentage. He is the fifth quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 4,000 yards in their rookie season.
Nico Collins had a career-high in almost every statistical category. He finished the season with 80 receptions for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns. He is now the third player in franchise history to receive 1,200 yards in a season, joining Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins.
After winning 11 games in their last three seasons, the Texans finished this season with a 10-7 record. This is the beginning of a huge turnaround for the franchise thanks to the young talent and head coach.
What’s Next
Houston is in the playoffs, they will face the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC in the Wild Card round. They have won the AFC South division with the Jaguars losing to the Titans in the regular season finale.
Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images
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