Category: 2024 NFL season

Texans CB Derek Stingley Jr. named AP first-team All-Pro

Derek Stingley Jr. is now only known as ‘All-Pro Sting’ after a breakout 2024 season.

Derek Stingley’s breakout 2024 season is finally getting its proper recognition.

The third-year Houston Texans cornerback was named has been named an Associated Press First Team All-Pro, the AP announced Friday.

Stingley, 23, is the first Texans player to earn first-team All-Pro honors wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in 2019. He’s the first defensive player to earn the accolade since three-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt in 2018.

Stingley, the former No. 3 overall pick in 2022, proved to be one of the league’s best defenders after setting records in 2024. He started all 17 games in coverage and posted career-high numbers in tackles (54), passes defensed (18) and tackles for loss (four).

Stingley also notched five interceptions, which tied his career-high from 2023. His five turnovers were tied for the team-high with rookie safety Calen Bullock and ranked as the fourth-most in the NFL this season, while his 18 pass breakups stood as the second-most in the League.

According to NextGenStats, Stingley allowed the lowest passer rating (56.9) and lowest completion percentage (46.7%) among cornerbacks who played at least 400 coverage snaps this season.

But his breakout game in Week 15 likely sealed the accolade. Against the Miami Dolphins in man coverage against Tyreek Hill, Stingley recorded five tackles, including two for loss, two interceptions and two passes defensed, becoming the first cornerback in NFL history to record two interceptions and two tackles for loss in a game.

For his efforts he was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week, marking the second of his career.

Stingley becomes the first cornerback in franchise history to earn AP All-Pro First Team honors.

Stingley, along with wide receiver Nico Collins, offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and running back Joe Mixon were all named to the Pro Bowl roster. The standout defensive back also made the NFLPA All-Pro team following the 2024 season.

The Texans take on the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on CBS and Parmount+.

Texans getting healthy at right time before showdown with Chargers

For the first time in the 2024 NFL season, the Houston Texans should have both starting linebackers.

Barring a last-second switch, the Houston Texans should be as healthy as possible for Saturday’s showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers.

No, Jalen Pitre, Jimmie Ward, Tank Dell, and two-time All-Pro receiver Stefon Diggs aren’t walking into the building, but the defense should have Christian Harris and Dencio Autry back.

It will have back linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who was suspended for three games after an illegal hit on Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

And Will Anderson Jr. is nearing 100% for the first time since Week 9 after resting in Week 18’s regular-season finale. The same goes for defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi, who’s suffered a roller coaster of injuries this season, costing him time.

Houston’s injury woes won’t decide the outcome of Saturday’s game, but they could factor into the scoring. The Texans have been limited on the defensive end for weeks, especially at linebacker, with Harris and Al-Shaair out for multiple weeks.

For this first time this season, the projected starting duo will be on the field for the first time. When Harris initially returned in Week 15, Al-Shaair was still suspended.

When Al-Shaair returned for a 23-14 win over the Tennessee Titans, Harris was out because of an ankle injury.

Offensively, right guard Shaq Mason will miss his third consecutive game. He’s been out since suffering a knee injury in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and has not participated or been out at drills.

Wide receiver John Metchie III is listed as questionable for Saturday’s showdown with a shoulder injury suffered last week against Tennessee. The No. 3 target did not practice Tuesday but returned in a limited capacity on Wednesday.

He was a full participant on Thursday, which means he’ll likely go even in a limited capacity opposite Nico Collins and Diontae Johnson.

Kickoff from NRG Stadium is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on CBS and Paramount+.

PFF names one Texans former first-round pick as its top trade candidate

Kenyon Green should be on the move this offseason after three seasons with the Houston Texans.

Kenyon Green needs a fresh start after three underwhelming seasons with the Houston Texans.

Pro Football Focus agrees, which is why the publication tabbed the offensive lineman as Houston’s top trade candidate for the 2025 NFL offseason.

Green, a two-time All-American at Texas A&M, was expected to anchor the interior offensive line as a promising run blocker with upside in pass protection. Three seasons, three injuries and a slew of lackluster games later, the former No. 15 overall pick has moved down the depth chart in place of former starting right tackle Tytus Howard.

In his two healthy years, Green has recorded PFF overall grades of 37.7 and 38.6, struggling as both a run blocker and in pass protection. In fact, Green was the third-lowest-graded offensive lineman in the NFL this season (minimum 500 snaps). The sad truth is that Green’s inability to develop has severely hindered Houston’s interior offensive line and, thus, the team’s offensive efficacy. – PFF.

Houston plans on addressing its offensive line woes this offseason, but it starts by trimming away the current pieces. Shaq Mason is likely a cap cut after struggling to regain his 2023 form. Howard could also be on the move if the plan is to move former second-round pick Blake Fisher outside to right tackle permanently.

But Green, who still could have two years left on his deal, might be worth trading, espeically since teams are always looking to bolster their trench depth.

Texans general manager Nick Caserio assuredly understands that his team’s interior offensive line needs to be totally revamped, and that would theoretically leave Green on the trade block. One would expect Green to have supporters throughout the league, given his age (23) and strong career at Texas A&M not long ago.

The Texans have been linked to multiple offensive line prospects in the first round entering the pre-draft process, including Alabama’s Tyler Booker and Arizona’s Jonah Savaiinaea.

Currently, the Texans could be in line to replace three starting linemen for 2024. Green, however, is not one left in consideration.

History on Texans side in wild-card round because of kickoff time

Believe it or not, the Houston Texans should be thankful for the early wild-card kickoff time vs. the Chargers.

Some might view an early kickoff time in the playoffs as an insult.

For the Houston Texans, it feels natural heading into Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. kick against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Texans return to the postseason for the eighth time in franchise history. For the eighth time, they’ll be the first game of the afternoon, airing this season on CBS and Paramount+.

That’s not a negative when looking at the team’s success on Saturdays. While the Texans are still trying to advance to their first-ever conference championship, they’re 5-2 all-time on wild-card round week and are currently riding a three.

Fresh off a 23-14 win over the Tennessee Titans, Houston has regained a much-welcomed spark. Expectations from the outside are quite dim, but internally, players still see a path to New Orleans and potentially a Super Bowl title.

“We’re going to bring our style of football, our brand of football on Saturday regardless of what any one of those talking heads’ opinion is about us,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “It really doesn’t drive or change our approach.”

Second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, who’s struggled to regain the pedigree of his rookie season, said he’s embracing being counted out before a whistle has even blown.

“I kind of like being the underdog,” Stroud said. “I’ve been the underdog a lot of my life and my career, so it’s actually comfortable for me.”

With a win, the Texans would improve to 6-7 all-time in postseason games. Barring an upset, Houston would return to Arrowhead for a redemption arc tale against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Texans CB Derek Stingley Jr. named to the NFLPA All-Pro team

Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. is garnering high praise from his peers entering wild-card round weekend.

Derek Stingley Jr.’s breakout season is being noticed among his peers.

The third-year Houston Texans cornerback was named a first-team All-Pro cornerback by the NFLPA as part of the third-annual tradition. He joined fellow Defensive Player of the Year candidate Pat Surtain II as the starting cornerback after helping Houston’s defense respond in 2024 en route to a playoff berth.

Stingley, the former No. 3 overall pick, finished the regular season as arguably the league’s top cornerback. In 17 games, he totaled five interceptions, 12 pass deflections and 54 tackles.

His five turnovers were tied for the team lead with rookie defensive back Calen Bullock. Among cornerbacks, Stingley ranked fourth, trailing only Baltimore Ravens’ Marlon Humphrey, Minnesota Vikings’ Byron Murphy and Pittsburgh Steelers’ Donte Jackson.

Listed below is the first-team defense, voted on by players following the conclusion of the regular season:

  • DL Chris Jones – Kansas City Chiefs
  • DL Jalen Carter – Philadelphia Eagles
  • EDGE Trey Hendrickson – Cincinnati Bengals
  • EDGE Myles Garrett – Cleveland Browns
  • NT Dexter Lawrence – New York Giants
  • LB Roquan Smith – Baltimore Ravens
  • LB Fred Warner – San Francisco 49ers
  • S Xavier McKinney – Green Bay Packers
  • S Kyle Hamilton – Baltimore Ravens
  • CB Patrick Surtain II – Denver Broncos
  • CB Derek Stingley Jr. – Houston Texans

NOTE: PLAYERS WHO MISSED 5 OR MORE GAMES AS OF WEEK 15 WERE INELIGIBLE.

The Texans return to NRG Stadium for a showdown against the Los Angeles Chargers on wild-card round weekend this Saturday at NRG Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

The game will be nationally televised on CBS and Parmount+.

All 14 playoff quarterbacks (including C.J. Stroud) ranked by Total QBR

Here’s where C.J. Stroud stacks up in total QBR compared to the 13 remaining quarterbacks entering wild-card round weekend.

Going into the wild-card round weekend, Houston Texans second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud has a Total QBR rating of 50.2. He ranked 24th among primary starters in the regular season.

Among those in the hunt for a Lombardi Trophy, Stroud ranks 14th out of the 14 passers left standing.

Stroud’s traditional passer rating this season was 84.0, which ranked 14th among QBs in the playoffs this year.

Unlike a traditional passer rating, the Total QBR “incorporates all of a quarterback’s contributions to winning, including how he impacts the game on passes, rushes, turnovers and penalties,” according to ESPN.

The metric takes into account scenarios that a traditional passer rating overlooks and considers “a team’s level of success or failure on every play to provide the proper context and then allocates credit to the quarterback and his teammate to produce a clearer measure of quarterback efficiency.”

With that context in mind, here’s a look at how Stroud stacks up against the NFL’s playoffs quarterbacks going into the first round of the NFL postseason.

NFL playoff QBs ranked by Total QBR

  1. Lamar Jackson, Ravens: 77.5
  2. Josh Allen, Bills: 77.2
  3. Jayden Daniels, Commanders: 70.6
  4. Jordan Love, Packers: 69.2
  5. Jared Goff, Lions: 68.5
  6. Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs: 67.9
  7. Jalen Hurts, Eagles: 65.6
  8. Justin Herbert, Chargers: 65.3
  9. Matthew Stafford, Rams: 64.9
  10. Baker Mayfield, Bucs: 61.8
  11. Sam Darnold, Vikings: 60.6
  12. Bo Nix, Broncos: 57.2
  13. Russell Wilson, Steelers: 51.3
  14. C.J. Stroud, Texans: 50.2

Stroud and Co. will look to upset Justin Herbert (No. 8) and the Los Angeles Chargers in their playoff showdown on Saturday at NRG Stadium on CBS and Paramount+.

Announcers set for Chargers vs. Texans wild-card weekend showdown

Here’s who’s on the call for the Texans and Chargers entering the wild-card round weekend.

The Houston Texans return to NRG Stadium on Saturday afternoon for a winner-take-all showdown against the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round.

Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CT on CBS and Parmount+. Ian Eagle (play-by-play) and Charles Davis (analyst) will serve as the crew in the booth. On the field,  Evan Washburn (field reporter) will conduct interviews and provide injury updates from the sidelines.

The Texans aim to keep their wild-card round winning streak alive against a surging Bolts roster on the riser. All-time, Houston is 5-2 in the first round of the playoffs. The Texans also are riding a three-game winning streak, including last year’s 45-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

With a win, the Texans would likely own the last seed in the postseason if all goes according to plan. The Baltimore Ravens host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday evening while the Buffalo Bills kickoff Sunday’s three-game set at home against the Denver Broncos.

If both teams win, Houston would hit the road to face off against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round. But sights are on securing a win this weekend despite being a 5.5-point home favorite.

“We’re here now, let’s go play,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “For me, nothing else matters. It’s how you’re playing right now. Are you playing your best ball going into the playoffs? That’s what matters most. And are you able to consistently keep up with that when you are in the playoffs? Can you continue to play good ball?”

Houston last faced off against Los Angeles in a home back during the 2022 season.

When did Quinn realize the Commanders’ culture was changing?

Dan Quinn recalls a specific time when he saw the Commanders come together.

When Dan Quinn was named Commanders coach last offseason, those who knew him predicted he would change the culture.

The Commanders’ fan base was not overly impressed with the hire and the discussion of the team’s culture, as Quinn’s predecessor had often referenced the team’s culture as well.

The head coach was asked Wednesday when he first noticed the team culture was changing.

After a win over the Bengals on Monday Night Football, the team did not return to Ashburn but flew directly to Arizona, where they worked all week for the Cardinals game.

“We were still really new as a group together, and so I thought spending a whole week to stay there, that was, I’d say, a step in the right direction,” Quinn said Wednesday.”

The Commanders bought into Quinn’s business trip and played perhaps their most focused and clean game of the season, drilling the Cardinals 42-14, raising their surprising record to 3-1.

“If you have standards about how you do things together, then you have to live those on the best of days and the hardest of days. And so, creating a standard together was an important part of creating a culture because it’s how we do our business together.”

After surprising the NFL by going 7-2 in the first half of the season, the Commanders suddenly lost to the Steelers, Eagles, and Cowboys, falling to 7-5. How would they respond?

“It’s how you practice, how you meet, how you do things together,” Quinn stated. “And so, that doesn’t happen overnight, but it does take time with people doing it together.”

“So, after our third loss to come back, knowing that many others would’ve said, ‘Hey, why don’t you just see what happens and where it goes.’ And we did the opposite of that, and we stepped right into improvement and getting better, and that’s what our culture is about. Handling the difficult times, knowing there’s more work to do, and going for it.”

Quinn shared that Doug Williams had told him that while in Arizona, he observed that after team meetings concluded, “there were a lot of guys hanging out together.”

Quinn had observed, “The quarterbacks were just in an office, away from me, going through things together. And so, coaches, players enjoying spending time together I think is a big deal.”

It is a big deal because you go to battle for your friends more eagerly than you do for your fellow employees.

Cowboys All-Pro believes Texans are ‘doomed’ vs. Chargers in wild-card round

Micah Parsons is one of the countless voices who is not buying into the Texans’ chances of winning on Saturday against Los Angeles.

The Houston Texans have plenty of doubters entering their Saturday showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Dallas Cowboys All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons is one of the vocal oppressors.

While Parsons might have a close-knit relationship with second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, he also is a competitor. From a competitive standpoint, the fourth-year do-it-all defender is quite confident that the AFC South champions are down and out before kickoff.

“I’m going with the Chargers,” Parsons said during the latest episode of his podcast ‘The Edge With Micah Parsons.’ “I think the Chargers have the most momentum going into this game. Their defense [has] been playing lights out. You know, you look at it, Justin Herbert’s been playing great.”

Parsons gave credit to Houston (10-7) for winning the AFC South, but also pointed out that the team initially built to hang with the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens has changed since Week 1.

“Texans [are] another team who’s battled injuries, but I think the Chargers are gonna win this game. I’m going take the Chargers.”

Parsons might be a rival toward the opposing Lone Star State roster, but his logic is far from flawed. Houston’s dealt with a slew of significant injuries, including the season-ending losses of receivers Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell, defensive back Jalen Pitre and safety Jimmie Ward.

Houston limped into the bye week after 13 straight games and also closed out December with two losses to playoff-bound rosters.

Meanwhile. the Chargers have been one of the league’s hottest teams, closing out the regular season with three straight wins, including double-digit wins over the Raiders and Patriots.

While Parsons can predict Houston will be a one-and-done in the postseason, at least the other Texas team made it. What did the Cowboys finish this year after shoring up the No. 2 seed a season ago?

Hopefully the 7-10 record is enough to satisfy Parsons. Houston, meanwhile, looks to shock the world on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at NRG Stadium.

They’re all bought in, even if Parsons has sold his stock.

“Noise is always going to be there,” Stroud said. “It’s a part of sports. It’s always evident in this sport. They said the same thing about us last year when we played the Browns (in the playoffs). I’m not saying it’s last year, but we went out there and did what we had to do to win. ”

Texans vs. Chargers injury report: Latest updates, news for Wednesday

Here’s the injury report for both the Texans and Chargers following Wednesday’s practice.

Here are the full injury reports from Wednesday’s practice for the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers ahead of their wild-card round showdown on Saturday at NRG Stadium.

Houston Texans (10-7)

DID NOT PRACTICE