Some things are bigger than wins and losses. The Houston Texans found that out on Saturday afternoon.
For Houston, Saturday's Wild Card win over the Chargers was a moment of vindication. They were division champs that somehow ended up as home underdogs to the Chargers and came into the game wildly disrespected by everyone whose job it is to pick football games.
No one believed in them. It was truly the Texans vs. the World!
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But Joe Mixon knew better. Joe Mixon knew that the Texans weren't going to no-show the Nickelodeon game, and that the pundits simply didn't understand what the Texans and Spongebob did. They weren't about to get slimed on national television.
Joe Mixon is officially your 2024-2025 NVP Award winner
And your NVP is... pic.twitter.com/pTPzvznBr6
— NFL (@NFL) January 12, 2025
So what did Mixon do? He simply ran for over 100 yards (106, technically) on 25 rushes and a touchdown. He also had maybe the best moment from the entire game, stiff-arming Chargers safety Deane Leonard into the ground and immediately being enshrined in the YouTube stiff arm Hall-of-Fame in the process. It was electric. I don't know if the award comes with a plaque or anything, but if it does, we absolutely know what picture Nickelodeon will use.
This is the kind of award that can change seasons -- and that's not a joke. The Chiefs will pretend they're not worried, but you have to imagine it's daunting to know you're going to be facing the NVP winner, and also a team that seems to be hitting its stride at the exact right time. Kansas City has faced a lot of tough teams as they've become the NFL's modern dynasty, but none of those teams have featured the Wild Card NVP.
It makes you wonder how Andy Reid and company will change their scouting this week. That's not a dig at the award, either, as even though it can be construed as nothing more than a kid's trophy it's the context around it that should worry the Chiefs and give fans in Houston reason to believe this team is for real.
Mixon winning the NVP isn't a joke, it's truly validation that this team is capable of special things.
So not only did the Texans win a playoff game, but they took home some hardware as well. On top of that all, they reminded everyone of who the Chargers really are – a NVP-less team that deserved to be slimed on TV. Now that the NVP is in Houston where it belongs, the sky's the limit.