See where Texans stand in midseason relevance rankings
The Houston Texans are still one of the most relevant teams in the NFL despite an injury riddled season.
Samford University’s sports analytics department has released their own NFL midseason relevance rankings for all 32 teams.
They had released NFL relevance rankings before the season started and the Houston Texans’ were ranked No. 11.
In the latest study, the Texans have moved up one spot to No. 10 and improved by seven percent.
Here’s how the data was collected:
"By analyzing how 7.1 million U.S. sports fans are connected to teams, sports brands, events, athletes and sports reporters, the center was able to develop the NFL Relevance Ranking for every team. Relevance over time is incredibly important for American sports teams as it accurately conveys how emotionally connected fans are to their teams."
I would imagine that the Texans moved up due to how well they were playing with rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson under center.
The teams that made the biggest jumps were the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers who improved by 14 and 13 percent.
The Chargers moved up from No. 29 to No. 26. This is interesting given the fact that the city of Los Angeles hasn’t necessarily embraced them. But they do have an exiciting team with players like Philip Rivers and Joey Bosa.
When it comes to the Rams, they have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL and are currently in first place in the NFC West. With the Seattle Seahawks banged up with injuries, they just might win their division, which could improve their ranking by the end of the season.
The teams with the biggest drops are the Arizona Cardinals and the Chicago Bears.
The Cardinals fell six percent and this is likely due to the fact that many people expected them to contend for the NFC West. But an injury to running back David Johnson put a damper on those hopes.
Next: Texans place Ryan Griffin on IR, activate C.J. Fiedorowicz
Comment below and give us your thoughts on the Texans’ ranking.