Houston Texans: What’s next after gaining sole possession of first place

The Houston Texans defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars. In doing so, they took over sole possession of first place in the AFC South, here’s what’s next.

The Houston Texans entered Sunday’s game in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC South with the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Titans faced off against the Chargers in London and lost. So, going into the matchup with the Jaguars, the Texans knew if they won, the AFC South lead would be theirs.

The Texans jumped off to a fast start when Jadeveon Clowney jumped on a fumble by Blake Bortles on the Jags opening drive. Unfortunately, the Texans couldn’t convert this opportunity into a touchdown and Ka’imi Fairbairn nailed yet another field goal. The Texans then finished off the first quarter with more defensive stops and another field goal.

In the second quarter, the unthinkable happened. The Texans actually scored a touchdown in the red zone. More than that, Lamar Miller ran in his first touchdown of the season. The Texans defense also continued to completely shut down the Jaguars offense.

Heading into halftime, the Houston Texans were leading 14-0 which is the first time the team had shut out an opponent in a half this year. The second half was more of the same and the Texans even forced a quarterback change, much to the delight of the Dolphins. The game ended 20-7.

Sure, this Jaguars team was bad on Sunday but it also showed how much the Texans have grown this season. The little things that were causing the Texans to lose games have now flipped and are allowing them to win games.

The Texans absolutely still have things to work on. They wouldn’t have lost the first three games of the seasons of there weren’t issues to be resolved but they also wouldn’t have won four games in a row if they weren’t starting to figure them out.

This was the Texans best game of the season and now they are in first place. So, now that the Houston Texans have sole possession of first place in the AFC South, what’s next?

The Texans have a quick turn around this week and will take the field against the Dolphins this Thursday in NRG. Dolphins quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, is out for another week so that means they’ll be fielding none other than Texans “legend” Brock Osweiler.

It’s safe to say the Texans know Osweiler’s weaknesses pretty well. The Dolphins share a 4-3 record with the Texans but their play in recent weeks has dipped while the Texans have been improving. So there shouldn’t be any issue dispatching this faltering Dolphins team on short rest.

After that, the Texans will take on the Broncos in Denver. They have a solid defense led by Von Miller but they have been struggling this year so the Texans shouldn’t have any problem taking care of them. If all goes as it should, the Texans should easily enter their bye week with a 6-3 record.

More from House of Houston

• Are you the 2021 FanSided Sports Fan of the Year?
• Houston Texans: 4 reasons Romeo Crennel is right coach right now
• Astros-Twins Wild Card Series: 5 things to know as MLB postseason begins
• Houston Texans: The Most Underrated Sports Drought Ever
• Houston Texans: J.J. Watt’s early case for NFL Hall of Fame

Out of the bye, the Houston Texans have what likely may be their hardest or one of their hardest matchups left in the season. Washington currently sits atop the NFC East and have been playing good football this season. The other game that may give the Texans fits is another NFC East resident, the Eagles. They’ve struggled this season a little bit but there’s no way the reigning champs stay down for long.

In all honesty, with the way this team is improving and the strength of their remaining schedule, it’s pretty easy to see the Texans having a solid end to the season. Now, we’re talking double-digit wins with a realistic chance to finish this season 11-5 or 12-4. In actuality, the Texans could win out but that would be pretty unbelievable.

The Houston Texans are currently on a four-game winning streak with two games left before their bye week. They’ll look to continue to stay on their hot streak this Thursday against the Dolphins.