The Houston Texans prevailed over the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-3 Sunday in Week 9 at Wembley Stadium in London. Getting to 5-3 on the season, combined with an Indianapolis Colts loss, has propelled Houston to first place in the AFC South and No. 7 in the power rankings.
Beating the Jaguars also gave the Texans one spot higher in the latest power rankings from USA TODAY’s For The Win.
The Texans will be on a bye in Week 10, so, they could possibly drop a few spots due to recency bias playing a factor in the power rankings. Nonetheless, finishing at No. 7 in the power rankings demonstrates how well the Texans have overcome the obstacles in late preseason that could have crushed their season, such as not having adequate blindside protection for Deshaun Watson, a viable option at receiver should Will Fuller and Keke Coutee get injured, and also a credible replacement at running back with Lamar Miller done for the year with a torn ACL.
Houston has solved all of their typical woes, the problems that hurt them in 2018. Now, they have brand new ones to overcome, such as losing J.J. Watt for the entire season and the health of the secondary.
