5 Bold Predictions for the Houston Texans’ 2025 Season

The Houston Texans' 2025 season is all about reaching and setting a new standard.

Jan 11, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) is introduced before playing against the Los Angeles Chargers in an AFC wild card game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Houston Texans head into a promising season with a young, talented roster that’s largely favored to run the AFC South division. The past two seasons have seen head coach DeMeco Ryans lead the franchise to the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs with a 10-7 record and a narrow Wild Card victory. Now is the time for the team to take the next step and begin to challenge the elite contenders in the AFC.

While there are plenty of doubters concerning the team, particularly with the offense thanks to a shaky 2024 campaign, there are heightened expectations for Houston. After all, the team’s ceiling certainly isn’t getting handled in the Divisional Round every season. The young talents have steadily progressed in recent seasons and are poised to make their mark on the NFL.

With the 2025 season just around the corner, let’s take on the tradition of throwing out some bold predictions for the Texans this year. I’ve ordered these takes based on just how bold I believe them to be, though all five are certainly attainable.

5. CJ Stroud Throws 30+ touchdowns, Takes Fewer Than 40 Sacks

The struggles of 2024 are somewhat overblown. Yes, Stroud was sacked too often and, by proxy, turned the ball over too much. But a new offensive coordinator, a revamped offensive line, and more control at the line of scrimmage should give Stroud everything he needs to rebound.

In his two seasons, Stroud threw 23 and 20 touchdowns and was sacked 38 and 52 times, respectively. Getting back below 40 sacks is a reasonable goal. That would put Houston somewhere in the top half of the league; the Jets and Buccaneers were in the middle of the league rankings with 40 sacks allowed last year. 

A revamped offensive line could be problematic early on, but as the unit has time to come together and Stroud gets more comfortable with his protections in a new-look offense that will likely get the ball out of his hands quicker, the sack totals should come down.

As for the touchdowns, well, it’s just about time Stroud reaches the next milestone. He has the talent himself and is more than well-surrounded by his receiving group.

4. Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter Combine for 30 sacks

Last season, Anderson and Hunter combined for 23 sacks. Both have spoken openly this offseason, saying it’s not good enough and that they left too much meat on the bone. 

Still, even with the production last year not living up to their standard, the pass-rushing duo is widely believed to be one of the best tandems in the NFL. With a monster season getting after the quarterback, that position would be solidified.

30 sacks is not an easy feat, especially with too few rushing threats beyond Anderson and Hunter. No other Texan recorded more than five sacks a season ago, and the personnel wasn’t changed much this offseason to change that.

Hunter has eclipsed 15 sacks just once in his NFL career; he had 16.5 in 2023, though he also had 14.5 in 2018 and 2019. Anderson, on the other hand, set an NFL career high with 11 sacks last year, but his high at Alabama was a whopping 17.5 in his sophomore season. 

So while the goal isn’t easy, it’s certainly attainable. The duo needs to average 1.7 sacks per game to accomplish it. Last season, they averaged 1.3. 

3. Jayden Higgins Leads Rookies in Receiving Yards

Jun 10, 2025; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins (81) participates in a drill during an NFL football minicamp at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

This one might be the most out there, but there’s no denying there’s some serious buzz from the practice fields in Houston around the second-round pick from Iowa State. Higgins seems like a great complement to Nico Collins on the other side, and with Collins drawing more and more attention as he ascends, there could be extra openings for the rookie in Houston’s passing attack.

Last year, Brian Thomas led NFL rookies with 1,282 yards, which also ranked third in the league. While it will take a 1,000-yard season in Year 1 for Higgins to accomplish this, I don’t think he needs to rank third in the NFL like Thomas did. 

Looking around at the other highly drafted receivers, Travis Hunter will play both sides of the ball and will also share targets with Thomas, Carolina’s offense isn’t quite ready for Tetairoa McMillan to dominate statistically, Emeka Egbuka and Matthew Golden are in crowded receiving rooms on offenses that won’t be heavily reliant on their production, and Luther Burden faces the same issues as McMillan with the Bears.

Nonetheless, this prediction for Higgins is largely reliant on Stroud holding up his end of the bargain in the first prediction. If he’s upright and taking the next step in his third season, Higgins would be a significant benefactor in his rookie season.

2. Texans Defense Ranks Top 5 in Points Allowed

The Texans have arguably the best pass rushing tandem and the best cornerback duo in the NFL. This should almost be the expectation rather than a prediction. Still, there’s fierce competition from the league, and three of the four players who make up those tandems are still playing on rookie deals.

Nonetheless, Houston’s entire defense is rather young and still turned in the league’s 14th-best scoring defense. A nine-spot jump isn’t unrealistic. Last year they would have had to have given up just 40 fewer points to rank in the top five, which is less than a field goal per game difference.

Still, this one won’t be easy because of the opposition. Houston faces four top-10 scoring offenses from a season ago, and teams like the Rams, Chiefs, and 49ers are more dangerous than their rankings in 2024 would indicate.

1. Texans Reach AFC Championship

The 2025 season is all about taking that next step, right? The Texans have followed a proven formula across the league: they have their franchise quarterback on a rookie contract, they have proven weapons around him, and have drafted extremely well to fill out a dominant defense. 

The Texans don’t have the trench game of the Philadelphia Eagles, they don’t have the winning experience of Kansas City, and they don’t have the rushing attack of Baltimore. That’s why this prediction is just reaching the AFC Championship game with no guarantees of winning it.

Again, the Texans' ceiling in 2024 isn’t getting back to the Divisional Round to lose by multiple scores again. After two years of consistency, the roster is set to naturally take another step forward.

Houston is well-positioned to win the AFC South for the third-straight season, so all this bold prediction is saying is that Houston can win just one more game in January. Anything can happen in January.