HOUSTON – Inside the Texans’ locker room, Joe Mixon was holding court while wearing a classic Tupac Shakur shirt, gold jewelry and a smile as he acknowledged the prime opportunity in front of a division leading football team.
With a victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday combined with an Indianapolis Colts loss to the Denver Broncos, the Texans would repeat as AFC South division champions for the second year in a row.
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“Hey man, let’s put the bow on it,” Mixon said.
Facing a Dolphins team fighting for its season after a rough start followed by a resurgent rally led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the Texans feel a sense of urgency, too.
They’re facing a span of three games in 11 days against the Dolphins, the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and a rematch against the Baltimore Ravens after losing to them in the playoffs and to open last season.
It’s a time for the Texans to focus and start creating some real momentum after a much-needed bye week.
“These games is critical, and it’s also crucial that we approach it one week at a time,” Mixon said. “You know obviously we got a desperate team in Miami where they’re trying to go to the playoffs and make that run, but s---, we’re desperate, too. Let’s not lose track of what’s really going on in terms of how we feel about the situation. I think we just got to go out there and execute. Obviously, that’s the game. That’s what we got to do.”
'Let's put a bow on it. S--, we're desperate, too' Joe Mixon on opportunity to clinch AFC South title with win over #Dolphins combined with #Colts loss to #Broncos @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/qvNzpN7iQ5
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) December 13, 2024
The 6-7 Dolphins have won four of their past five games after starting the season 2-6, led by Tagovailoa, who has completed an NFL-best 73.8 percent of his throws and three consecutive 300-yard passing games while throwing to standout wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
“Watching the Dolphins, the first thing that jumps out is just how efficient and accurate Tua is with the football,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “He gets the ball out very quickly, but it’s accurate and he’s getting it to the hands of some dynamic playmakers, and Tua’s done a great job since he’s been back just making really smart decisions with the football.”
The 8-5 Texans are coming off a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and hold a two-game edge in the AFC South division over the Colts, but have slowed down considerably since a 5-1 start.
The Texans’ season could be defined by how they perform in the next three weeks.
“I am actually excited about it,” quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “Anything worth it in life isn’t easy. It is not going to be easy, but I think that difficulty of it will help us in the long run.”
'I don't know the clinching scenarios' #Texans coach DeMeco Ryans on playoff outlook. A Texans win over #Dolphins and #Colts loss to #Broncos means Houston wins AFC South on Sunday second year in a row @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/nm3YcWGXGr
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) December 11, 2024
Should the Texans clinch early, they would be well-positioned for the postseason.
“You want to put yourself in the position to win the division as early as possible but ultimately, we have to go and focus on the Dolphins and Miami and take care of this really good football team coming in here and getting their groove back and rolling right now,” Stroud said. “We have our hands full them and we have to make sure we are on our A game when it comes to beating the Dolphins.”
With some assistance from the Broncos and, if they take care of business against the Dolphins, the Texans clinch an automatic berth into the playoffs for the second year in a row.
#Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud on playoff outlook @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/oF5IDdKqfq
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) December 11, 2024
“For me, honestly, I don’t even know the clinching scenario,” Ryans said. “My focus is, man, how can we play our best? How can we prepare the best so we can prepare this week and focus on the Dolphins and the clinching scenario, because, if you focus on that, that really doesn’t change anything.
“You can’t change anything. The only way we can change what’s happening with the playoff scenario is by us controlling what we can control and that’s us playing our best versus the Dolphins.”
The Texans have had issues this season in multiple areas, including the offensive line in pass protection, which has improved over the past two weeks, deep passes lately, and poor performances in the second half.
“The one thing that we have to do is finish,” Ryans said. “We have to finish games the right way. We’ve been close in a lot of games. Games have turned out good for us and not so good. Right now, down the stretch, the most important part, it’s all about how you finish. It doesn’t matter how it looks. It doesn’t matter what the score is, how much or how less the score – it’s all about how do you finish the game and finishing the right way with a win.
“That’s the only thing that matters now is getting to December, January, it’s meaningful, playoff, really, football and every game matters. The importance is heightened every single week. So, you have to be – of course be on the details but it’ll be about the team who finishes the right way, those will be the teams that win.”
And the Texans are recharged after the bye week. There’s a new energy in the building and on the practice fields.
“I thought I did wonders,” Mixon said. “I mean, everybody came out fresh, everybody locked in on what they had to do. The task at hand, no mental mistakes and just cleaning up the things that we’ve got to get better at and just keep building on top of the things that we do best. Everybody came out with the right mindset, same energy, nice juice. Just got to keep building on that.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
