Tag: 2024 Houston Texans season

All 32 NFL teams (including the Texans) ranked by FPI ratings

Here’s where the Houston Texans rank among all 32 NFL rosters based on their FPI rankings entering Week 16.

Fifteen weeks into the season, the Houston Texans (9-5) have a -0.9 Football Power Index (FPI) rating from ESPN, which ranks 12th in the NFL.

The Kansas City Chiefs (13-1), who play host to the Texans in Week 16, are ranked 10th with a 1.0 FPI rating.

FPI is “a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season,” according to ESPN.com. “FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 10,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule.”

So with that background in mind, here’s a look at how the league’s 32 teams stack up based on FPI going into Week 16 of the 2024 NFL season.

  1. Detroit Lions (12-2): 8.4
  2. Buffalo Bills (12-3): 7.3
  3. Green Bay Packers (10-4): 6.8
  4. Baltimore Ravens (9-5): 6.6
  5. Philadelphia Eagles (12-2): 5.1
  6. Minnesota Vikings (12-2): 3.5
  7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6): 2.6
  8. San Francisco 49ers (6-8): 2.6
  9. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4): 1.3
  10. Kansas City Chiefs (13-1): 1.0
  11. Washington Commanders (9-5): 0.9
  12. Houston Texans (9-5): 0.9
  13. Los Angeles Rams (8-6): 0.8
  14. Arizona Cardinals (7-7): 0.7
  15. Miami Dolphins (6-8): 0.3
  16. Cincinnati Bengals (6-8): -0.0
  17. Los Angeles Chargers (8-6): -0.0
  18. New York Jets (4-10): -0.3
  19. Seattle Seahawks (8-6): -0.9
  20. Denver Broncos (9-5): -1.2
  21. Chicago Bears (4-10): -1.7
  22. Tennessee Titans (3-11): -2.1
  23. Indianapolis Colts (6-8): -3.0
  24. Las Vegas Raiders (2-12): -3.9
  25. Atlanta Falcons (7-7): -4.4
  26. New England Patriots (3-11): -5.3
  27. Dallas Cowboys (6-8): -5.8
  28. Cleveland Browns (3-11): -5.9
  29. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-11): -6.0
  30. New Orleans Saints (5-9): -6.9
  31. New York Giants (2-12): -8.5
  32. Carolina Panthers (3-11): -10.1

The Texans will aim to improve their rating when they face the reigning Super Bowl champions on Saturday at noon CT. Houston remained idle in the FPI rankings since last week.

Saturday’s game will be nationally televised on NBC.

NFL comes to decision on Azeez Al-Shaair’s suspension appeal

Appeals officer Ramon Foster has upheld Houston Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair’s three-game suspension.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

The NFL has reached a verdict.

Azeez Al-Shaair won’t be suiting up for the Houston Texans anytime soon.

According to the league office, the NFL will uphold Al-Shaair’s three-game suspension for the hit against Jacksonville Jaguars Trevor Lawrence in Sunday’s win.

Al-Shaair, the Texans’ defensive captain, tried to appeal the suspension on Wednesday in a meeting with former NFL offensive lineman Ramon Foster. After further review, Foster upheld the length, meaning Al-Shaair won’t return until Week 18’s season finale against the Tennessee Titans.

During the second quarter on a second-and-7 play, Al-Shaair drilled Lawrence in the head as Lawrence was trying to slide, knocking him out and giving him a concussion. The hit led to a brawl between the two sides, eventually factoring into Al-Shaair’s ejection.

Since the incident, Al-Shaair has apologized for play on social media.  Lawrence was placed on injured reserve Wednesday afternoon, thus ending his season.

After the verdict,, Al-Shaair posted on social media, “IF YOU WANT ME TO BE YOUR VILLAIN, ILL BE YOUR VILLAIN! SEE YOU SOON…

Jon Runyan, the NFL’s vice president of policy and rules administration, wrote in his letter to Al-Shaair that the league deemed the hit “unacceptable” and that his “continued disregard” for rules governing player safety “will not be tolerated.”

“Your lack of sportsmanship and respect for the game of football and all those who play, coach, and enjoy watching it, is troubling and does not reflect the core values of the NFL,” Runyan wrote.

Texans general manager Nick Caserio called out the league Tuesday afrernoon for its language in its letter against Al-Shaair and asked for consistency in how it hands out suspensions.

“We’re talking about some of the commentary that has been made about his character, about the person that he is, about what his intentions are, from people who, quite frankly, don’t know anything about Azeez Al-Shaair,” Caserio said.

“Quite frankly, it’s embarrassing.”

Al-Shaair, who signed a three-year, $34 million contract with the Texans this offseason after a breakout year with the Tennessee Titans, will also forfeit $112,745 per game,