In a season where the Houston Texans started 0-3 and have crawled all the way back from the bottom to now sit at 12-5 and the 5th seed in the AFC, it can be traced back to one game that sparked the Texans' flame.
In a week 10 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, down 29-10 going into the fourth quarter with backup quarterback David Mills in, something unprecedented happened. The Texans would score 26 points alone in the fourth quarter to win 36-29.
Texans' nine-game winning streak is a perfect storytale ending to the 2026 season
If the Texans had lost, they would have fallen to 3-6, with C.J. Stroud expected to miss two more weeks. Without that historic comeback victory, their record could look much different.
That game not only started their 9-game winning streak but also showed everything a team needs for postseason success. The Texans have found ways to win one-score games, something that has haunted the team over the last few seasons. Out of the nine games, 7 of those came down to just a single possession, but this time in favor of the Texans.
The 0-3 start to the season, all of those losses by one possession, and being put in a horrible start to the season would change every game after to be a must-win, as stated by Head Coach DeMeco Ryans, “We've been in that mode for a while now. Every game has been important for us. Everything has been about all the marble. That's what it's been.”
The Texans have won these games in many different ways, whether through an offensive explosion against the Arizona Cardinals or by leaning on the defense to close it out against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Texans have been tested in every close game scenario during their win streak, and DeMeco Ryans, entering the playoffs, doesn’t want to start doing things differently. “We know it's win or go home, everything is on the line, everybody understands that. For me, when you get into these games, you don't start trying to do something that you haven't done before. You just lean in on what you've been training for from training camp. You lean in on that and you do that the right way, that puts you in position to win the game.”
The Houston Texans have gained valuable experience during the regular season. In the wildcard round on Monday Night Football, they will face Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. This matchup will determine if the lessons they've learned about winning can be applied in the high-pressure environment of a playoff game.
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