In what can only be seen as a pivotal year for their franchise, the Houston Texans had about as good a preseason as you can expect.
Based on their success, they look poised to unseat the Indianapolis Colts at the top of the AFC South Division.
The biggest question coming into the season, the defense, was answered quickly. Even in a small sample size in their first preseason game, the first-team defense spent much of their time harassing young quarterback Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets.
The success didn't end there. In the second week, they held the powerful New Orleans Saints' offense to 14 points. In week three, the Texans held the 49ers to just seven points.
The individual efforts are worth noting. Xavier Adibi and Bryan Braman, two players sitting on the fringe of the roster, had two and 2.5 sacks in the preseason, respectively.
Rookies J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed didn't pile up huge stats, but they acclimated themselves well. Watt in particular had a great preseason and looks ready to have a huge rookie season.
The offense, which continues to give little reason for concern, was as good as advertised.
The only thing that came out of the Texans' preseason that can be taken as a negative is the hamstring injury suffered by star running back Arian Foster. By all accounts, the injury is minor, but those types of strains and pulls can tend to linger.
If he has to miss time, the Texans are in good shape at the position. Derrick Ward, Ben Tate, Steve Slaton and Chris Ogbonnaya have all given the team reasons to keep them around long-term.
It helps their case that the Colts are trending in the other direction. Peyton Manning's recovery from neck surgery is going slower than most would like and it looks like he is going to miss at least the season opener which, ironically, is against the Houston Texans.
This is still the Colts' division, but you can feel the momentum changing. Indianapolis isn't replacing talent like they used to and the Texans finally have the look of a team that can make a serious run at the postseason.
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