HOUSTON -- Thoughts on the Houston Texans' 23-17 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars:
What it means: Though the rest of the games didn't fall their way, the Texans finished the season with nine wins -- a seven-game improvement on last season. They were more adept at handling adversity than last year's team and became a stronger, tougher defense in December. Houston's new coaching staff, led by Bill O'Brien, set a foundation for the tenure. That the Texans were even in a position to possibly make the playoffs in Week 17, given their quarterback situation, was remarkable.
Stock watch: Andre Johnson notched his first 100-yard receiving game of the season. Interestingly, the past five times Johnson has accomplished the feat, the starting quarterback in the game was Case Keenum. Through his illustrious career, Johnson hasn't been one to score too many touchdowns, but he caught one today. In the past two seasons, six of Johnson's eight touchdown catches have been thrown by Keenum. He has caught passes from five quarterbacks in that time.
Turnovers haunt QB: Keenum committed two costly turnovers. One was an interception returned for a touchdown. A fumble gave the Jaguars the ball deep in Texans' territory, and Jacksonville scored a touchdown one play later.
Game ball: The Texans' season MVP had a game typical of his record-setting year. J.J. Watt sacked Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles twice on the same drive in the first quarter. He has had six games this season with at least two sacks -- all of them against AFC South opponents. Watt finishes the season as the franchise leader in sacks with 57 and is the only player in NFL history to have a pick-six, fumble return for a touchdown and three touchdown catches. With three sacks (one of which was a safety) against the Jaguars today, Watt is the first player in NFL history to have two seasons with at least 20 sacks.
What's next: Despite Houston's victory, the Cleveland Browns could not beat the Baltimore Ravens, so the Texans' season is over. They will now turn to an offseason in which five defensive starters' contracts expire and will need to answer a pressing question at quarterback.
