With the ruins of Jacksonville now in the rearview mirror, Houston has, by account of a few miracles, risen to 3-1 and comfortably on top of the AFC South. This division, once seen as the prized jewel of the AFC, now lies in rubble after just one month into the regular season. As of October 2, the AFC South has a combined record of 6-10, good for the worst division in the entire NFL. It may have been hyped as one of the most intriguing divisions during the summer, but it’s still the same old sloppy group of teams that we’ve all come to know and love. Thank goodness Houston won that football game.

It’s been a successful, if interesting, first quarter of the 2024 NFL season. I think the Houston Texans have learned a lot about themselves and the work they have left to do, but, ultimately, they’ve shown they can make winning a habit. Although, there’s plenty of 3-1 or 4-0 teams to pick from, so where does Houston lie among them? Let’s find out! Here’s where everyone is ranking the Houston Texans entering Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season:

NFL.COM:

5. Houston Texans (3-1) (Last Week: 6)

Following up a blowout road loss with a last-minute home comeback is often a reason to celebrate, but the Texans are making things far more difficult than they need to be, which remains a troubling element of this team. C.J. Stroud can play the role of hero, and Houston needed him to do just that on Sunday. He and Nico Collins are in a rare groove right now, and Stefon Diggs has settled into his role nicely. But the Texans had costly penalties in all three phases, including some especially damaging offensive flags. This team can’t get out of its own way at times, but there’s enough talent and fight to still be encouraged, especially given the blight that has been the AFC South so far this season.

– Eric Edholm

ESPN:

8. Houston Texans (3-1)

Week 4 ranking: 8

Biggest issue on defense: Safeties in coverage

Houston’s safeties are getting picked on by opposing offenses. The Texans run Cover 4 on 34% of first and second downs. So teams run play-action to make the safeties cover vertical routes, which is part of why the Texans have allowed the second-most yards off play-action on early downs (337). Also, foes are putting their better wide receivers in the slot to match them up against those safeties. That group has given up four touchdowns in coverage, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

– DJ Bien-Aime

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED:

10. Houston Texans (3–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 8

Last week’s result: beat Jaguars, 24–20

This week: vs. Buffalo

The most encouraging part of this Texans win may have been the nature of the slog. At almost no point did this game look beautiful—Stefon Diggs had to take a very cool throw back that we actually saw Jared Goff score on Monday…by himself. Even on the final touchdown play, what won the game for the Texans was an all-out commitment from everyone on that offense to sell the Jaguars on a run play to the opposite side.

– Conor Orr

THE ATHLETIC:

7. Houston Texans (3-1)

Last week: 5

Sunday: Beat Jacksonville Jaguars 24-20

The Texans did OK in the 2024 draft considering they didn’t have a first-round pick. Their top four picks are pitching in, starting with second-round cornerback Kamari Lassiter, who is starting and tied for the team lead in tackles Sunday with six. The real story against the Jaguars, though, was Nico Collins, the 2021 third-round pick who had 151 receiving yards Sunday and leads the NFL with 489 this season.

Up next: vs. Buffalo Bills, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

– Josh Kendall

BLEACHER REPORT:

5. Houston Texans (3-1)

Last Week: 8

Week 4 Result: Won vs. Jacksonville 24-20

The Houston Texans were waxed by the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3. But despite that shellacking, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud told reporters he was confident the team’s offense would get back on track against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“A lot of things didn’t go our way in that past game and a lot of people on our side were like what is going on, it is all crazy, but I think internally we know who we are and we know what work we have put in and what foundation we set,” Stroud said. “We just have to get back rolling on what we know Texan football to be. I think once we start honing into all the little details, be more intentional, we will start rolling again.”

It wasn’t an especially clean effort Sunday against the Jaguars—for the third game in a row, the Texans committed at least 11 penalties. But thanks to some late-game heroics at the tail end of a 345-yard effort from Stroud, the Texans got back in the win column and remain atop the AFC South.

The absence of lead running back Joe Mixon has been noticeable these past few games—Houston ran for just 101 yards and averaged less than four yards per carry. The penalties could also become a major issue against higher-quality opponents, like the upcoming Week 5 home date with the Buffalo Bills.

That game could go a long way toward telling us if the Texans are just the best team in a bad division or a legitimate contender in the AFC.

– Gary Davenport, Maurice Moton, Kristopher Knox, Brent Sobleski

CBS SPORTS:

3. Houston Texans (3-1) (Last Week: 6)

They didn’t play great against the Jaguars, but they found a way. They have to start scoring touchdowns. The offensive line is a problem.

– Pete Prisco

YAHOO! SPORTS:

7. Houston Texans (3-1) (Last Week: 9)

C.J. Stroud was 27 of 40 for 345 yards and two touchdowns, including a game-winner with less than 30 seconds left. He did that without Tank Dell and his top two running backs. Just in case you had forgotten briefly how special the Texans’ quarterback is.

– Frank Schwab

USA TODAY:

13. Houston Texans (11): They’ve been outscored on the season and have struggled to beat three average-at-best opponents to date. Fresh off scoring his first career rushing TD, perennial Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs and his new mates are now going to run into a smarting Buffalo team – and that may be an awkward reunion for the wideout six months after his surprising trade.

– Nate Davis

PRO FOOTBALL TALK:

6. Texans (No. 9; 3-1): How differently would we feel about Houston if they hadn’t pulled off a win over the Jaguars?

– Mike Florio

AVERAGE RANKING: 7.11 (Last Week: 6.88)

Not as steep of a drop as last week, but there’s clearly some controversy of opinion on the Texans after the Jaguars game. We got Pete Prisco of CBS Sports fully embracing the Texans by placing them third for the highest spot this week, and then, at the lowest, Houston has fallen the whole way down to 13th on Nate Davis’s rankings at USA Today. This is the most variety of opinion I’ve seen on the Texans thus far this season, some writers taking their close win as a harbinger of dysfunction, while others interpreting it in a much more positive fashion, chalking up the close score as a sign of Houston’s “grit and tenacity.”

Personally, I can understand both sides of the spectrum here, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk sums it up best with his one-sentence blurb of the team: “How differently would we feel about Houston if they hadn’t pulled off a win over the Jaguars?” There really is a very fine line that separates the good teams from the great teams, and Houston has been balancing on that line like a tightrope walker since the season started. If Houston had a few more penalties in that game, or if C.J. Stroud had made a crucial mistake during that last drive, we would be bedlam on Battle Red Blog as we would try to understand how this Super Bowl team just lost to one of the worst teams in the league right now. What could have happened if they had lost? Well, I guess it’s fortunate they won so we don’t have to entertain these hypotheticals. Something the Houston Texans have taught me early on this season: Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good. Oh, another thing they’ve taught me: C.J. Stroud can fix everything.

Although, they’re gonna be plenty more than just luck to beat their upcoming opponent. On Sunday, October 6, the Houston Texans will welcome the Buffalo Bills to NRG Stadium for one of the most hyped AFC battles in recent Texans history. Josh Allen is playing like 2024’s MVP, but I’m sure C.J. Stroud will have something to say about that. What do you think though? Will the Texans continue to play these close games and cling on to victory, or will the inevitable penalties and mistakes tear them apart? Where would you rank the Texans this week? Let us know down in the comments below! GO TEXANS!!!