Houston Texans Will Win AFC South In 2015 NFL Season

Houston Texans Will Win AFC South In 2015 NFL Season
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Texans are fresh off of a surprising 9-7 season, in which the team lost a tiebreaker for the last wild card spot in the AFC. Nine wins with Ryan Fitzpatrick as the starting quarterback for the majority of the season is mighty impressive, but the Texans knew heading into the offseason that there were changes that needed to be made if the team was going to challenge the Indianapolis Colts for the AFC South Division title in 2015-16. Not only did the changes make the Texans a threat to the Colts, I believe the Texans will win the AFC South in 2015.

The lone question mark on the entire roster is who will start at quarterback. Frankly, I don’t think it really matters. Both Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer have experience in head coach Bill O’Brien‘s system, and he had tremendous success running the same system with the New England Patriots. The fact O’Brien was able to come within a tiebreaker of a playoff spot with Fitzpatrick should be a sign of his ability to get the most out of his quarterback.

The running game is elite when Arian Foster stays healthy, and the Texans added former Philadelphia Eagles running back Chris Polk to team with backup Alfred Blue, to form a solid three-headed monster in the run game. As long as the Texans can run the ball effectively, the offense will be successful.

In the passing game, Mallett or Hoyer will have a plethora of weapons to target. DeAndre Hopkins had a monster 2014 season, and looks to be developing into one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. Andre Johnson is gone, but the Texans replace him with the much-faster Cecil Shorts. Add in former Arizona State star Jaelen Strong and tight end Garrett Graham, and the passing game should be more effective in 2015.

Defensively, the Texans have the potential to be the top defense in the NFL. Last season, J.J. Watt was a one-man wrecking crew, without much help around him, which put more responsibility on his shoulders. Texans general manager Rick Smith saw that, and he made some tremendous additions this offseason.

Vince Wilfork will help the Texans shut down opponents’ running games. Brian Cushing being 100 percent healthy will give the defense another leader, and playmaker in the linebacker corps. First-round pick Kevin Johnson will help as a slot corner right away, but could turn into a shutdown corner down the road. And second-round pick Benardrick McKinney gives the Texans another great tackler to go along with Cushing. Oh yeah, some guy named Jadeveon Clowney is also returning from injury, and I hear he’s supposed to be pretty good.

As long as Mallett or Hoyer protect the football, the Texans should very easily win 10 or 11 games in 2015. While the Colts have tremendous talent offensively, the defense is still only mediocre, and will likely cost them some games along the way. I might be in the minority, but the Texans will be the 2015 AFC South Champions.

Jason Fletcher is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher25, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google+.

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