At the end of his postgame press conference, DeMeco Ryans was asked about the Texans six game winning streak. He wasn't aware of how many in a row it's been.
The coach is a one-game-at-time leader. He knew that the outing against Arizona presented a dangerous threat, as a 'wounded animal' was coming into NRG Stadium hungry for an upset.
The Texans turned back the Cardinals 40-20, running their record to 9-5 and keeping pace with some hot AFC teams coming down the stretch.
He won't be the main headline but the first name I brought up on the postgame show was C.J. Stroud. Yes, you had a lot of milestones hit in this one, but your quarterback threw three TD passes and is ready to play his best ball at a critical time of year.
There were several 'longest plays' in different categories, like longest return (Jaylin Noel – 69 yards), longest pass play (Stroud to Nico Collins – 57 yards) and longest run (Jawhar Jordan – 50 yards).
Coming off the bench, Jordan became the first Texans back to hit the century mark in 2025. And Collins eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards to join Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins as the only Texans receivers to accomplish the feat in three seasons.
Also, joining the party was Dalton Schultz, who became the all-time franchise single season leader in receptions for a tight end.
View the best photos from the Week 15 matchup between the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals.
But never mind the individual performances. This was a team effort.
Several key players were missing or playing banged up. And everyone needed to bow up with Jacoby Brissett threatening to spoil Sunday afternoon. Brissett threw three TD passes, including two to Trey McBride, their all-world tight end, to put some drama into the day.
But the Texans made sure this would not be one of those grab-the-defibrillator days. The defense stopped one Cardinals drive with a Kamari Lassiter pick and got the ball in scoring range with a forced fumble on a kickoff return the first time the Cards touched the ball.
Houston has two of the last three regular season games at home. Most of the playoff contenders in the AFC kept the pressure on, so it's crucial that business is taken care of again.
It'll be another week of Coach Ryans convincing his team that the Raiders, despite their record, are a sizable threat. One look at some of the plays made by the Cardinals will do plenty to get the team's attention this week.
