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Last Thursday night, the Houston Texans found themselves down 31-7 to the defending champions and ending up losing 31-20. That felt like a lifetime ago. Now, after the completion of Week One, the power rankings have been updated, and reflect where Houston fits in the rest of the league.
19. Houston Texans (0-1)
Preseason ranking: 16
Best rookie debut: CB John Reid
Without a first-round pick, the Texans don’t have a true impact rookie. Only two of the four rookies on the 55-man roster were active in Week 1. Reid, a fourth-round pick, was part of Houston’s four-man rotation at cornerback in the season opener against the Chiefs, playing 46% of the defensive snaps. Reid’s 32 defensive snaps topped second-year cornerback Lonnie Johnson’s playing time, as well. Texans head coach Bill O’Brien has praised Reid’s maturity and said he likely had the best training camp of any rookie. — Sarah Barshop
19. Houston Texans (0-1)
22. Houston Texans
That was a terrible showing in the opener. Now they have to face the Ravens, another contender. Deshaun Watson has to be better than he was last week - or else.
15. Houston Texans
Deshaun Watson can’t do it by himself . Too often, that’s how it feels when watching the Texans on offense. A play breaks down, and the quarterback does his dancing magician act behind the line, eyes always upfield in search of the big play. The genius of Watson is that sometimes, this works ... but not on Thursday night. Will Fuller did most of his damage after the game was decided, and Randall Cobb was virtually invisible in his Texans debut. Houston’s defense deserves credit for not allowing Patrick Mahomes to go wild, and new running back David Johnson moved like a veteran with something to prove, but these two teams exist in different worlds. Just like January.
18. Houston Texans
DeAndre Hopkins tweeted “Thankful” after the Texans got waxed by Kansas City. Thankful he got out of Houston via trade. And away from Bill O’Brien, we’d presume.
Fair or not?