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The one team nobody will want to see in the 2025 NFL playoffs
As we prepare to enter Week 14 of the 2025 NFL season, the playoff picture is slowly crystallizing.
Comprising a mix of perennial contenders and upstart outsiders, the race for the Lombardi Trophy is as hard to predict as it has ever been.
Yet one team stands out as the one nobody in the AFC will want to draw come January due to their combination of ruthless defense – including a quarterback-hassling pass rush – an improving offense, a blend of young and experience, and postseason scalps already to their name.
With a 7-5 record and riding a four-game win streak that includes impressive victories over the Buffalo Bills and the Indianapolis Colts, the Houston Texans currently sit just outside the wild-card bubble, but they look every bit like a team ready to make a deep postseason run.
Houston Texans are set for deep postseason run
Their defense, statistically the stingiest in the league through midseason, allows roughly 258 yards per game, putting them at the top of the NFL in total defense. That dominance is no fluke: this unit combines suffocating coverage with an edge rush that’s among the most feared in football.
On the outside, veteran Danielle Hunter continues to terrorise quarterbacks, recently earning AFC Defensive Player of the Week honours after a 3.5-sack, four-tackle-for-loss performance.
Next to him, the youthful fire and explosiveness of Will Anderson Jr. has blossomed into a full-blown breakout season. Together they form the most feared and relentless pass-rush tandem in the league.
Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
In the secondary, cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. – still just 24 – has developed into arguably the best player in the league in his position, blending elite speed and instincts with a growing physicality.
Under head coach DeMeco Ryans, the unit flows with cohesion: the pass rush compresses the pocket, edge rushers finish the play and the secondary bails out teammates with picks or pass break-ups.
Offense hasn’t been Houston’s calling card in seasons past, but that is changing. Quarterback C.J. Stroud – recently cleared to play after a concussion – is rediscovering his rhythm, connecting sharply with veteran receiver Nico Collins and a promising rookie receiving duo in Jayden Higgins and Jaylen Noel.
In their 20-16 win over Indianapolis last time out, Stroud threw for 276 yards and Collins hauled in 98 receiving yards en route to a gritty division-tightening triumph. Meanwhile, the ground game and play-action provide balance, keeping even aggressive defenses honest.
It all comes together to form a rare blend. Houston can smother opposing passing games, collapse the pocket, generate turnovers and – when strung together – turn playoff games into pressure cookers.
Their recent run includes shutting down elite quarterbacks, holding arguably one of the league’s best offenses to under 20 points in their win over the Colts, while also draining momentum and composure from opponents late in games.
For playoff-bound teams hoping for a smooth path through the wild-card round, drawing the Texans might feel like a mugging. With a stout defense, rising offense and a coaching staff that knows how to win close games, Houston could spoil any contender’s January plans.
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