Nearly every team in sports, including the really good ones, embraces the "no one believed in us" mentality at one point or another. But no one really believed in the Houston Texans entering this season (Except our own Brandon Anderson). Regardless of what anyone believed, the Texans are in the NFL Playoffs after three seasons of languishing at the bottom of the NFL standings.
Led by rookie head coach DeMeco Ryans and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, the first rookie coach and quarterback pairing to make the playoffs since 2012, the Texans finished the campaign with 10 wins — 3.5 wins higher than their 6.5 preseason win total and nearly as many wins as they had in the previous three seasons.
There are plenty of ways the Texans could play the "nobody believed in us" card. (For one, they didn't get a matchup in primetime until Week 18, despite a strong season.) But the biggest proof was in their preseason odds. The Texans were +550 to make the playoffs entering the season and only the Arizona Cardinals had longer odds.
They entered the season with +20000 odds to win the Super Bowl and had the same odds entering Week 9 despite a 4-4 record.
What's even more impressive than the Texans just making the playoffs is the fact that they can still win the AFC South depending on Sunday's outcomes. Their win against the Colts pushed one division rival out of the playoff race, but if the Jaguars lose Sunday, they will also be eliminated from playoff contention and the Texans will win the division.
Not to shabby for the NFL's second-biggest longshot.
