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The Houston Texans dropped near No. 20 in the latest local power rankings.
According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, the Texans dropped to No. 19 in his latest NFL power rankings ahead of Week 2.
The Texans couldn’t stop the run or protect Deshaun Watson at Kansas City, where they lost a fourth consecutive opener.
McClain originally had the Texans ranked No. 11 before their 34-20 loss to Kansas City in the Thursday night opener at Arrowhead Stadium. Being unable to stop the run and failing to ignite the deep passing attack factored into the Texans’ loss, and subsequently their drop in the power rankings.
The Tennessee Titans moved up one spot from No. 9 to No. 8. The Jacksonville Jaguars jumped from No. 24 to No. 13 thanks to their 27-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts, who dropped from No. 15 to No. 23 in the power rankings.
The Texans have a tough challenge ahead of them going against the Baltimore Ravens, who trounced the Cleveland Browns 38-6 in Week 1. Houston at least gets the benefit of playing the Ravens at NRG Stadium, though with no fans.
Nonetheless, receiver Brandin Cooks remains confident.
“I’m confident,” Cooks said. “Confident going into last game. I think going into this game, we’ve got that same confidence. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to execute throughout the week so you can continue to keep that. I think we’ll definitely do that.”
If the Texans can beat the Ravens, they will even their record at 1-1 and should take a few leaps in the power rankings.