Houston Texans Clinch AFC South with 29-17 Win over Colts

For the second straight season the Houston Texans are off to the playoffs and for the second straight year they’re doing so as champions of the AFC South. Houston entered Sunday one of two teams in the AFC with a chance to win their division and unlike the Ravens, Houston jumped all their opportunity to not only rebound from a bad loss but things up at home.

Andrew Luck and the Colts came into the game with not only a chance to spoil the party for Houston but a chance to clinch a playoff spot for themselves. That hope remains alive for the team that is without a doubt the best story in football at the moment, but for now the glory belongs to Houston.

After getting just obliterated last week by the Patriots, Houston was looking to not only win the division this week but quiet their ever present critics. Since the Texans started the season undefeated and proceeded to get blasted by the Packers on Sunday Night Football, many have been saying the Texans aren’t the stout defensive unit we thought they were.

A lot of that had to do with losing Brian Cushing for the season, but even all these weeks after that, Houston can look scarily good as well as they can look painfully bad.

But on Sunday we got a steady and even dose of both. Houston jumped out to an early lead but allowed the Colts to claw their way back into the game. It wasn’t a photo finish by any means, but this Texans team looked like a playoff team. They were composed, they were balanced and they won.

You don’t need to be anything more than efficient in the playoffs, and that’s what Houston looks like on a bad day. No matter what happened before this, all eyes are on the future in Houston, a future that includes a trip to the playoffs and a shot at a title.