It's been a wild offseason for everyone in the NFL. Some teams got better. Some teams got worse. Worst yet, some teams may have stayed the same. The Houston Texans are certainly one of those teams. We're hoping they fall into the first category, but we need to see how things play out to truly know.
The Texans made some big moves, and it's not out of the realm of possibility to believe they're not only the front-runner for the AFC South, but for a deep playoff run come 2025. So it's not shocking to see some outlets name them as the team to beat in their division for this upcoming season.
One of those outlets Pro Football Focus (PFF) believes that the Texans are going to win the AFC South in 2024. An achievement that, if they do pull it off, will make them back-to-back champs. That's not an easy thing to do. PFF goes on to explain why they have the Texans winning the division, saying;
""AFC SOUTH: HOUSTON TEXANS
The Texans enter the summer months as the favorite to win the AFC South after going 10-7 in C.J. Stroud‘s and DeMeco Ryans’ first season in town.
From Week 8, they went 7-4 and ranked top-20 in basically every offensive and defensive category as a team. It feels like that roster got so much better this offseason, as well, with additions such as Stefon Diggs, Danielle Hunter, Azeez Al-Shaair, Joe Mixon and Denico Autry.
This division is always wildly unpredictable — as evidenced by the Texans winning it last year — so don’t count the Colts or the Jaguars out. But the Texans came out on top last year and only got more talented this offseason, so they’re the team we have the most confidence in.""
Calling the AFC South "unpredictable" however may be the most accurate thing you could say. There are some divisions, like the AFC North, that have four teams that could all take home the crown. Other divisions, like the AFC East, have a clear front-runner in the Buffalo Bills, but the Miami Dolphins could certainly take the crown, as could the New York Jets.
The AFC West belongs to the Kansas City Chiefs until someone can take them down a peg or two. The AFC South, however? While we want to believe the Texans are in firm control of the division, we can't say for sure that's the case. The Jacksonville Jaguars narrowly lost the division last year, and the Indianapolis Colts nearly won the division with a backup quarterback.
Both teams seemingly got better this offseason, but did they get better than the Texans? That's something we'll find out as the season progresses.