It hasn’t been as dominating of a season for the Houston Texans (9-5) as last season, but they are attempting to finish the regular season strong.
The Houston Texans have already clinched the AFC South Division thanks to the lack of competitiveness from the other three teams. That doesn’t mean the Texans are done until the postseason.
Houston has several areas on their offense to tune up and their defense needs more stability. The good news is that the Texans returned a defensive leader just in time for the remainder of the season.
Texans get a leader back on defense
The Texans took a tough break right before the start of the season when they lost their leading linebacker Christian Harris due to a calf injury.
This past Sunday, Harris made his season debut against the Miami Dolphins. While he only played in 51 snaps, he managed to account for eight total tackles with four of them being solo tackles.
The Texans managed to get their third win in four games and their ninth win overall with a 20-12 home win over the Dolphins.
Harris is one of the most consistent defenders for the Texans in the last two seasons. He is one of the more efficient run-stoppers in the league. He was only behind linebacker Henry To’o To’o and safety Jimmie Ward for a total number of tackles.
Second-year head coach DeMeco Ryans talked about Harris’ return and how eager he was to get back on the field: “He was flying around, he was fast. He was sideline to sideline and made some nice tackles like he hadn’t missed a beat.
“He’ll be about to have a few things to continue to clean up, but I was impressed with the amount of snaps he was able to play. The plays he was able to make with him coming back after being away for such a long time. So I’m really, really, really impressed with just his outing.
“It was cool to see. He’s missed a lot of time, worked hard to get back and he did not want to come off the field. I tried to get him off the field, he didn’t want to come off the field.”
Harris returns at the right time
Harris returns with less than a month from the start of the 2024 postseason. This is a great time for Harris to get into game shape and collect a rhythm before the Texans are likely to host a home playoff game in the wild-card round. His return also comes at a good time as the Titans will have a brutal two-game stretch.
Houston will go on the road to take on the Kansas City Chiefs (13-1) in week 16 and then host the Baltimore Ravens (9-5) the following week. The Chiefs will be fighting for the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs. The Ravens will be fighting for the AFC North Divisional title.
Both teams will be grinding hard to accomplish their goals with just a few weeks to go. The Texan will finish the regular season at the Tennessee Titans (3-11) in a potential revenge game.
Harris’ return could make the Texans’ defense better in the next few weeks, just before the start of the postseason. Houston ranks ninth in points allowed per game (21.4), sixth in rushing yards allowed per game (196.9) and 10th in passing yards allowed per game (105.6). The Texans were already a dangerous team this late in the season, Harris’ return only makes them better.
