NFL 2016: Regular season grades for every team
By John Buhler
While people always seem to rip the AFC South for how incompetent it is as a division, let’s take the time to seriously appreciate how the Houston Texans became back-to-back division champions. It’s almost case study worthy.
Houston won the division despite losing its best player for the season in defensive end J.J. Watt, who needed back surgery in September. The Texans spent $72 million to sign free agent quarterback Brock Osweiler. He was statistically the worst starting quarterback of 2016 and was benched in favor of unproved Tom Savage early in Week 15 versus the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Houston leaned on Romeo Crennel’s outstanding defense and head coach Bill O’Brien’s ability to get his team ready to play in and win tight ball games. The Texans were elite defensively, dominant at home, and the class of the AFC South in divisional play.
When some teams say they are a quarterback away from contending for a Super Bowl, they’re usually delusional. That being said, Houston is really only a strong signal caller away from being an awesome team in the AFC. They may not win a playoff game, but the Texans have earned their right to be there. This team’s journey to back-to-back divisions crowns is borderline unbelievable given how important the quarterback position is in the modern era of the NFL.