The Houston Texans might be the youngest franchise in the NFL, but that hasn’t stopped the team from developing quick rivalries with other squads.
While the Houston Texans don’t have the benefit of longevity like certain other franchises in the NFL, that doesn’t mean the league’s youngest franchise hasn’t established fierce rivalries with other teams over the past 18 seasons of its existence.
Consider that the league’s oldest rivalry, Chicago Bears/Green Bay Packers, started nearly a century ago in 1921. Those two teams have faced one another 200(!) times in the regular season and postseason combined since both clubs were born.
By contrast, the Texans have played the most total games against the Indianapolis Colts, having faced their AFC South rival 37 times now (36 times in the regular season and once in the postseason).
Spoiler alert though: We don’t have Indy listed in our No. 1 spot on this list.
So, who do we have? Well, you’ll have to read on to find out.
Honorable Mentions: Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints
5. New England Patriots
Outside of the Texans’ three division rivals, there are only six teams that Houston has faced a double-digit number of times in the regular season and/or postseason.
Those six teams are the Cleveland Browns (10 regular season meetings), Baltimore Ravens (10 regular season meetings and one playoff meeting), Kansas City Chiefs (10 regular season meetings and one playoff meeting), Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders (11 regular season meetings and one playoff meeting), Cincinnati Bengals (10 regular season meetings and two playoff meetings), and New England Patriots (10 regular season meetings and two playoff meetings).
Their records against those six teams are as follows: Browns (7-3 regular season), Ravens (2-8 regular season and 0-1 postseason), Chiefs (5-5 regular season and 0-1 postseason), Raiders (7-4 regular season and 1-0 postseason), Bengals (6-4 regular season and 2-0 postseason), and Patriots (2-8 regular season and 0-2 postseason).
What do these numbers tell us, and how do they inform this ranking?
Well, they tell us that of the teams the Texans have faced the most over the years outside of the AFC South, they’ve had little trouble dispatching the Browns, Raiders, and Bengals. They’ve split their regular season all-time series with the Chiefs, and though the lone playoff meeting between these teams ended in heartbreak for the Texans last year, it was at least very competitive for a while.
Houston has been neither dominant nor competitive even against the Ravens or Patriots though from a historical standpoint. The 2-8 record against both clubs is clearly root cause for frustration if you’re a Texans fan looking at these two bullies in the AFC.
While Baltimore certainly deserved a spot in our Honorable Mentions section, we have to give the edge to New England — not only because of the extra playoff loss, but also because of the ties between Bill Belichick and Bill O’Brien.
4. Dallas Cowboys
This rivalry benefits from a longer history that predates the Texans’ formation at the turn of the millennium.
Back then, the Houston Oilers and the Dallas Cowboys played each other more frequently. In fact, they played one another 39 times before the Oilers moved to Tennessee in 1997 and became the Titans two years later.
Granted, 31 of those 39 meetings occurred in the preseason. Overall, the Oilers went 13-18 against the Cowboys, including a 3-5 mark in the regular season.
That said, the Oilers’ history obviously belongs to the Titans now.
It’s still important to consider it as a background and launchpad for the current rivalry between the Cowboys and the Texans, however, considering the close geography between Dallas and Houston within the state of Texas.
Moreover, these are the only two NFL franchises currently located in the Lone State State (though San Antonio once was heavily rumored to be a destination for the Raiders before they relocated).
Since the Texans’ birth in 2002, these two clubs have faced one another 11 times in the preseason and five times during the regular season. Houston is 6-5 in the preseason and 2-3 in the regular season.
Of note, the most recent two meetings between these franchises in the regular season both ended in overtime, with Dallas taking a 20-17 home win in 2014 and Houston claiming a 19-16 home win in 2018.
This rivalry is colloquially referred to as the Battle of Texas, the Texas Governor’s Cup, or the Governor’s Cup.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars
It only stands to reason that the Jacksonville Jaguars should hold a spot on this list as one of the Texans’ three main rivals in their own division.
Playing their inaugural season in 1995 along with the Carolina Panthers, the Jaguars don’t really predate the Texans by much — just seven seasons, in fact. In case you’re curious, the only other team that shares this kind of relative “newness” in the NFL is the Baltimore Ravens, who began official league play in 1996.
The Jaguars and Texans have gone head-to-head 36 times now in the history of both franchises. All 36 meetings have occurred in the regular season.
Of Houston’s three AFC South rivals, the Jaguars are listed here and listed first. Why? Because they really haven’t been nearly as competitive against the Texans as the Colts and Titans.
Houston is 23-13 all-time against Jacksonville — good enough for a .639 winning percentage.
The Texans have a better winning percentage all-time than that against just six other teams: the Dolphins (.889), Buccaneers (.800), Lions (.750), Browns (.700), Raiders (.666 including playoffs), and Bengals (.666 including playoffs).
Moreover, the Texans have won 15 of their past 20 against the Jaguars, including eight of their last 10 meetings.
This “rivalry” has been rather one-sided of late, and that probably won’t change anytime soon as long as Deshaun Watson remains quarterback in Houston.
2. Indianapolis Colts
The Houston Texans have their worst divisional record against the Indianapolis Colts.
Over the course of 36 regular season meetings between these two AFC South rivals, Indy has gone 27-9 against Houston. They also lost their lone playoff meeting against the Colts after the 2018 season, dropping their postseason head-to-head record to 0-1.
All of this translates to a .243 total losing percentage for the Texans against the Colts.
For context, Houston has a worse all-time losing percentage against just five other teams: the Vikings (.000), Eagles (.000), Patriots (.166 including playoffs), Ravens (.181 including playoffs), and Giants (.200).
For many years, it was Peyton Manning who made life miserable if you were a Texans fan. From 1998 to 2011, Manning was QB1 of the Colts — meaning he led Indianapolis against Houston 20 times.
Manning and the Colts went 17-3 against the Texans during those 20 contests … and in one of those three Houston wins, Manning didn’t even play because of neck injuries and surgeries (Kerry Collins did instead).
Thankfully, Manning departed for Denver and then retired from the league altogether.
Since he left Indianapolis, the Texans have been more a bit more competitive against the Colts, but not by much. Houston has gone 6-10 against Indianapolis since 2012 … and that doesn’t include a brutal 21-3 home loss that Deshaun Watson suffered to Andrew Luck back in a 2018/2019 Wild Card game.
The Texans have done an excellent job of winning the AFC South division title of late.
Now, they need to focus on beating their rivals to the north more frequently as well.
1. Tennessee Titans
While a convincing argument can be made that the Indianapolis Colts should be viewed as the primary rival for the Houston Texans, we’ll give the edge to the Tennessee Titans in this list.
Why? For a number of reasons actually.
For starters, the Titans used to be the Houston Oilers. Bud Adams founded the team way back in 1960 and had the franchise playing in the Houston metropolitan area for two decades before rumors started to swirl that Adams was considering relocating his team.
Things kicked into overdrive when Adams expressed his displeasure with the Oilers’ accommodations at the old Astrodome. Frustrated that his vision wasn’t getting realized, he threatened to move the team to Jacksonville at the end of the 80s, and then finally pulled the trigger on a move to Nashville during the 90s.
Clearly, there’s some history here that could be considered bad blood.
Many longtime Houstonians will recall that their hard-earned tax money went into the Astrodome renovations, and many felt betrayed to learn that Adams still decided to move the team less than 10 years after these renovations were completed.
Beyond the historical ties between these franchises and the fact that the Titans were once Houston’s team and took all of the Oilers’ historical records, achievements, and accomplishments with them out the door and up to Tennessee, there’s also the simple fact that these two teams share a division in the AFC South.
And while the Texans have largely beaten up on the Jaguars and been beaten up by the Colts since the inception of the franchise, Houston’s all-time record against Tennessee is substantially more balanced and competitive.
The Texans are 17-19 against the Titans in 36 regular season meetings. In fact, these two rivals have split their season series four straight years now, with each going 3-1 at home during this recent span.
What do you think?
Do you agree with our list, or would you have re-ordered it? Perhaps you’d even swap one of these five teams out for someone else?
Let us know in the comments section what your reactions are — just make sure you make a good argument too!