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Knocking off the defending champs in primetime was always going to be an uphill battle for the Texans, and yet their predictable loss to the Patriots has still triggered somewhat of a tumble this week in the national media’s various power rankings. Houston fell as many as 10 spots in USA Today’s list, while others held firm with no change at all. The Texans’ highest rank is a respectable 13, and their lowest rank sits all the way down at 22. Let’s just say that some of these analysts will agree to disagree.
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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 |
16
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13 (down 3)
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n/a
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| ESPN |
13
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13 (no change)
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Five times this season the Texans have replaced their quarterback at some point during a game. Unsurprisingly, the Texans are 1-4 in those games.
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| NFL.com |
17
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12 (down 5)
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Not the kind of showing the Texans desired in front of a national audience Sunday night. Yet, I have to agree with Cris Collinsworth on the NBC broadcast that the disruption Jadeveon Clowney caused represented a relevant development, even in a blowout. The key now is if Clowney can pull that off when it counts. Because if he becomes a force, Houston will be able to impose its will on teams defensively, even in January. And that might be with T.J. Yates at the helm, at least for some duration.
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| Bleacher Report |
17
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16 (down 1)
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Like the Colts, the Houston Texans could host a playoff game—a possibility that still exists now even after they were walloped 27-6 Sunday night by the New England Patriots.
How long they would stick around in that hypothetical home playoff game would depend on whether an offense quarterback Brian Hoyer leads is asked to come from behind. Sunday we saw what happens when the other team gets an early lead: As the pocket pressure increases, Hoyer's awareness and completion percentage dramatically decrease.
Basically, AFC South Winner X will last one game during the playoffs—especially if it's the Texans and they fall behind by any sort of significant margin.
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| Fox Sports |
18
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14 (down 4)
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J.J. Watt was somewhat ineffective in his first game playing with a broken hand -- it didn’t help that Bill Belichick opted to double-team him on every play. |
| USA Today |
22
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12 (down 10)
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They might feel pretty good about entrusting their season to T.J. Yates ... if the last three games were against Cincinnati.
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| Yahoo Sports |
14
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14 (no change)
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Another concussion for Brian Hoyer. That's not good. Football-wise, it's really bad having to start T.J. Yates on the road at Indianapolis with first place in the AFC South on the line.
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| CBS Sports (Prisco) |
16
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14 (down 2)
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They will play the Colts for first place this week in the AFC South. They might have to do it with T.J. Yates. Oh, boy.
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| Washington Post |
15
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14 (down 1)
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Even with the loss to the Patriots, the Texans will be playing for first place in the AFC South on Sunday at Indianapolis. They’ll probably have to rely again on T.J. Yates at QB with Brian Hoyer having suffered his second concussion in a span of a month.
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Average
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15.9
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13.6 (down 2.3)
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N/A
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Coming up this weekend is perhaps the greatest annual hurdle this franchise has ever faced – a road game in Indianapolis. The Texans have never beaten the Colts outside of Houston, and yet if they do so this weekend, they will once again be in the driver’s seat for the division…as if T.J. Yates needed anything else to add to his cult hero resume in this city.
Texans vs Colts coverage