For most of the season, the NFC East and AFC South battled for the dubious distinction of being labeled the worst division in the NFL. Washington came away with the NFC East title after beating the Philadelphia Eagles in the second-to-last game of the regular season. The Houston Texans, despite sporting a losing record as late as Week 14, put together a three-game winning streak to emerge as champions of the AFC South.
2 sneaky picks to win on Wild Card Weekend
The Texans and Washington are the two surprising playoff teams. Which one of them is more dangerous?
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Washington and Houston finished with 9-7 records, though for most of the season, it seemed likely that the winner of either division would end up at or under .500. And it wouldn’t have been the first time.
The Carolina Panthers finished with the best record in the NFL this season. At 15-1, their only blemish was a 20-13 road loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16. But last season, the Panthers -- and the entire NFC South -- were a laughingstock. Carolina won the division with just a 7-8-1 record and was able to sneak into the playoffs, but it took a four-game winning streak to close out the regular season for the Panthers to get that far.
Once they got there, though, they didn’t look overmatched. The Panthers rode the strength of their defense and quarterback Cam Newton to take down the Arizona Cardinals at home. Although they fell the next week -- to a Seattle Seahawks team that came up a yard short of winning a second straight Super Bowl -- the Panthers put up a fight.
Nearly every year, teams that had to push hard to even make the playoffs can go on a run in January. Even when they don’t make it all the way to the Super Bowl, teams can still carry that momentum into the next season, like the Panthers did.
For Washington and the Texans, the question becomes: have they reached their peak, or are they just getting started?
Washington
Washington's surprising competence this season, especially in the second half, is one of the bigger storylines of the year. Jay Gruden's club was one of the worst teams for much of last season, and with upheaval around the quarterback situation and the preseason decision to bench Robert Griffin III, a couple of wins were the most anybody expected.
Washington didn't wildly exceed expectations, but they did take advantage of a poor NFC East and took the crown that nobody else seemed to want. They finished atop the division at 9-7, making it through the regular season with four consecutive wins to pass the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins has been eye-opener for Washington. He is ranked 10th in the league in yardage for quarterbacks and tied for 12th in the league with 29 touchdowns. Fourteen other quarterbacks have thrown more interceptions than him this season, and his 101.6 rating puts him in fifth place, above guys like Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and MVP frontrunner Cam Newton.
Washington still finished 17th in the league in total offense and 28th in the league in total defense. But Cousins has thrown three or more touchdowns on five occasions this season, and he's a wild card in the playoffs. The biggest argument against Washington, of course, is the fact that they were soundly beaten by the two playoff teams they played this year in the New England Patriots and Panthers.
They are set to host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, a slight favorite. Our panel is split on whether or not Washington can pull off the upset.
The Texans are possibly the strangest team to make the playoffs. Head coach Bill O'Brien was likely only saved from the hot seat earlier in the season due to how much bad press was directed toward Joe Philbin of the Miami Dolphins and Ken Whisenhunt of the Tennessee Titans. If there's such a thing as going down quietly, that's what the Texans did at the start of the season.
But after losing four of their first five games, the Texans started to put together a decent win streak. They won four consecutive games before dropping a pair against the Buffalo Bills and Patriots, and then finished the season with three consecutive wins, all over AFC South opponents. They dominated the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Titans in those games.
This is all despite massive issues at the quarterback position. Brian Hoyer started the first game of the season, was benched for Ryan Mallett, and then eventually replaced Mallett after a couple games. Mallett was released and Hoyer led the Texans to some good wins before he sustained an injury and had to be replaced by T.J. Yates. Then he got hurt too, and Brandon Weeden had to be signed.
Fortunately, Hoyer, the player who has looked the best at the position for Houston this season, is healthy again heading into the playoffs. Hoyer ranks 18th in the league in quarterback rating with 91.4 for the season. He and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins combine for a deadly combination. Hopkins has caught 111 passes for 1,521 yards and 11 touchdowns this year.
One big issue, though, is that the Texans lost left tackle Duane Brown to injury in Week 17. Houston had average pass protection this year, ranking 17th-worst in the league with 36.0 sacks allowed.
Houston has two things that Washington lacks, above all else: defensive end J.J. Watt, and wins over good teams in the regular season. Watt is unreal, a game-changing player who can do everything asked of a defensive end and so much more on top of that. Watt finished the regular season wth 17.5 sacks, 2.5 more than the next player, Khalil Mack. He joined Reggie White as the only two players to have 15 sacks in three of their first five NFL seasons.
The Texans have played close against the Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs, but they had great wins over the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets when Watt was on his game after the bye week. They have shown more than Washington and should be able to do more than Washington in the postseason.
The Texans will host the Chiefs in a Wild Card game on Saturday.
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