Houston Texans: 5 players whose stock is on the rise

1. Brock Osweiler, QB

Matt Schaub, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Hoyer and now Brock Osweiler. This is the fourth season in a row that the Texans enter with a new starting quarterback.

For some reason, this is also the season with the loudest opposition to the starter. After Osweiler played well for Denver last season he decided to leave for Houston and was ripped by the Broncos general manager John Elway.

Of course Elway offered Brock a big deal, but not as big as Houston did (which is the norm when attempting to purge a player from a good team). Osweiler took Houston’s offer and Elway acted like a scorned lover. The media masses followed suit and decided Brock was too big a gamble.

Let’s just pretend though that the quarterback stayed in Denver. The Broncos would be favorites to repeat and everyone would be heaping praise on Elway for drafting Peyton Manning‘s replacement and grooming him. The truth is, Elway is a beloved figure and Osweiler is taking heat because he didn’t kiss up to him and Peyton at the end.

So the best revenge for Osweiler started to show Sunday as he had a beautiful night against the Arizona Cardinals. The first-year Texan completed 11-of-13 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. One of his two incompletions was a perfect pass that was dropped by Will Fuller, which would have made his night even better.

Osweiler had this solid outing against a team known for their defensive prowess. The Texans should be favored to repeat as AFC South champions because Osweiler is a huge upgrade over Brian Hoyer who helped lead them to that title last season.

must read: Houston Texans vs. Arizona Cardinals: Defensive Impressions

It won’t take long for others to see that once things get going in the regular season.