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The Texans pulled off perhaps their most stunning win in years last night as they knocked off the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals on the road in prime-time. Now jointly sitting atop the AFC South at 4-5, the national media saw fit to give Houston one of the biggest ranking bumps of the week. Take a look at where they stand according to most major outlets.
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Website
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Rank
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Last Week
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Comments
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| SB Nation |
20
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24 (up 4)
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n/a
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| ESPN |
22
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27 (up 5)
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The Texans are now one of three teams to have three different players throw a touchdown pass this season. The Texans have used multiple quarterbacks in four different games.
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| NFL.com |
23
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28 (up 5)
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Let any team in the NFL hang around long enough, and you'll get beat. The Texans hung tight in a 6-3 game, with blanket coverage and coaching ultimately making the difference in a matchup between teams with strikingly different talent levels. (On offense, Houston won with T.J. Yates, Alfred Blue and C.J. Fiedorowicz.) Look who's tied for first!
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| Bleacher Report |
23
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29 (up 6)
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The Texans did more than beat Cincinnati, handing an undefeated team its first loss. They knocked off the Bengals with T.J. Yates as their quarterback during the fourth quarter. You know, the same fourth quarter when he lofted a ball in DeAndre Hopkins' direction, and despite nearly perfect coverage the wide receiver made a spectacular one-handed catch.
And with that we have a 4-5 team tied for the lead in its division.
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| Fox Sports |
18
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25 (up 7)
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We finally got a glimpse of the dominant defense that we thought we would see from the Texans all season long. If they can keep the momentum going on that side of the ball, they will emerge as the favorites in the AFC South. |
| USA Today |
21
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29 (up 8)
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Can't imagine they'd be first-place team if they'd had to bring Ryan Mallett out of bullpen instead of T.J. Yates.
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| Yahoo Sports |
23
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25 (up 2)
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Since getting blown out at Miami on Oct. 25, the Texans haven't allowed a touchdown in two straight games. It'll be hard to win consistently unless the offense has a similar turnaround, but a big upset over the Bengals is a big step.
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| CBS Sports (Prisco) |
21
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25 (up 4)
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They are tied for the AFC South lead. The defense is starting to round into form after a slow start.
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| Washington Post |
15
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21 (up 6)
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The defense played very well Monday in Cincinnati, albeit with some help from the Bengals. Somehow, the Texans are a first-place team (or at least a tied-for-first-place team). They didn’t do much on offense but QB T.J. Yates made the most of his relief appearance and WR DeAndre Hopkins provided a fantastic catch for the game’s lone TD.
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Average
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20.7
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25.9 (up 5.2)
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N/A
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Just a few short weeks ago, the Texans were almost universally regarded as the worst team in the NFL. Less than a month later, they are right in the thick of the playoff hunt. How’s that for a turnaround?
Jets vs Texans coverage