The Houston Texans are getting a little credit for their effort against the Cleveland Browns.
According to Nick Wojton of the Touchdown Wire, the Texans rose two spots in the power rankings to No. 27 after their 31-21 loss to the Browns that saw starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor injury his hamstring. Rookie Davis Mills took over at halftime and led the Texans with eight passes on 18 attempts for 102 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
Last week: 29
A slight bump up for the Texans because they did keep the game close and lost by 10 to the Browns (covered that spread). But now starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor is out for a few weeks so it’s tough to imagine Houston staying this high for long in any power rankings.
In the rest of the AFC South, the Tennessee Titans went up from No. 17 to No. 13 after leaving the Pacific Northwest with a 33-30 overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks. The Indianapolis Colts stayed at No. 22 following their 27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who fell 23-13 to the Denver Broncos, moved up one place to No. 31 because of how terrible the New York Jets still are.
Houston gets a shot to gain more respect when they host the 2-0 Carolina Panthers on Thursday night at NRG Stadium.