Texans Week 10 Consensus Power Rankings: Optimism Starting to Build

The Houston Texans sit at 3-5 with nine games to go on their 2026 regular season schedule. And while they might still be sitting under a .500 record, it seems that the stock for this Texans team is on its way up after their latest win over the LA Chargers.

Now of course, a win over the 0-8 Chargers shouldn't completely change the narrative about Houston. But there's reason to believe that another second-half season run could be in store for the Texans moving forward.

The offense has been playing well as a unit. C.J. Stroud could find his way into some MVP discussions soon (if he hasn't already), and if the defense can just find some type of consistency down the stretch, this Texans roster will be a hard group for any team to stop throughout the second half of the season.

With that in mind, let's sort through a new batch of consensus power rankings to see just where the Texans stack up around the league as they head into their Week 10 game against the Cleveland Browns:

Sports Illustrated: 16th

Last Week's Ranking: 25th

Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr does highlight that the Texans' latest loss is against the 0-8 LA Chargers. However, he doesn't fail to note that C.J. Stroud has been playing lights out throughout this season.

"Yes, it’s the Chargers. But L.A.’s defense isn’t the problem (and is actually pretty good). So you can take that C.J. Stroud top 10 talk very seriously. Five touchdowns. Three hundred eighty-four yards. Mercy."

NFL.com: 16th

Last Week's Ranking: 19th

NFL.com's Nick Shook allows the Texans to climb up a few spots in his rankings thanks to a 44-point performance against the Chargers, which also came with Tank Dell's first touchdown score in a game dating back to 2024.

"A 44-point outburst and dominant win over the lowly Chargers had to be as cathartic as it was enjoyable for these Texans -- especially for Tank Dell, who scored his first touchdown since returning from a lengthy injury absence. It should also remind us that, while 3-5, Houston's not out of the running for the playoffs yet and might only be just getting started."

ESPN: 17th

Last Week's Ranking: 22nd

ESPN's writers were polled on their power rankings this week, where the Texans climbed an impressive five spots. D.J. Bien-Aime was asked about Houston's most important game left on the schedule, which actually happens to be right around the corner: Week 10 against the Browns.

"The Texans are trying to finish the 2026 season like how they ended 2025, when they started slow and still got into the playoffs. A loss to the Browns could mean their season is unofficially done, as they're currently 3-4 against AFC opponents. Making the postseason would become difficult due to tiebreakers, and losing head-to-head to a team in the wild-card hunt also wouldn't be ideal. With the Jaguars at 6-2, there's almost no way for the Texans to reach the playoffs by winning the AFC South."

The Athletic: 22nd

Last Week's Ranking: 24th

The Athletic's Josh Kendall and Chad Graff have the Texans at the lowest point in our consensus rankings at 22nd––which comes largely because of the type of competition Houston just faced. However, they still gave credit where it's due for the offense.

"Even after an easy win against the Chargers, it’s hard to give the Texans too many flowers because of their 0-4 start. Since then, however, the Texans have the second-best offense in the league based on EPA per play, behind only the Bengals. C.J. Stroud lit up the Chargers for 384 yards and five touchdowns on Sunday."

CBS Sports: 19th

Last Week's Ranking: 23rd

CBS Sports' Pete Prisco doesn't think the Texans are out of the hunt just yet, especially when C.J. Stroud is playing at the level he has been over the coming weeks.

"With a soft schedule the next few weeks, they can get back into playoff contention. They aren't dead yet. C.J. Stroud is playing great football."

FOX Sports: 16th

Last Week's Ranking: 19th

FOX Sports' Ralph Vacchiano ties for the highest ranking for the Texans on this list. And if their defense ends up turning around in the next few weeks, they could quickly find their way into some Super Bowl conversations.

"If the Texans hadn’t stumbled in overtime against the Giants before their bye, they’d be riding a four-game winning streak, sitting at .500, and the entire NFL would be talking about how dangerous they are. Truthfully, though, even at 3-5, they’re dangerous and a playoff berth isn’t far out of reach. What makes this run weird, though, is that they’re doing it with their revived offense and on the shoulders of QB C.J. Stroud, who is making a hell of a contract push. If their defense was even close to what it was the last few seasons, we might be talking about the Texans as a Super Bowl-bound team."

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