5 MVPs from the Houston Texans 2011 Regular Season

The 2011 regular season is in the record books, and the Texans have their best regular season record in franchise history at 10-6.

The AFC South Champions will walk onto the field at Reliant Stadium Saturday and play their first ever playoff game in front of the loud, proud, Houston Texans crowd.

In a year where the Texans standouts were expected to be guys like Matt Schaub, all-pro wide receiver Andre Johnson and defensive end-turned-linebacker Mario Williams, the injury bug bit hard.

Things don’t always go as expected, and instead, the Texans were faced with a season full of injuries to key players. They adopted the motto of “next man up” and fought on, and have now found themselves in the promise land of January football.

In this slideshow, I break down the five most valuable players on the Texans roster this year. Without the men who are about to be listed, this year in Houston Texans football would have not been possible.

If you feel I left off someone deserving, please let your voice be heard in the comments below.

With that being said, let's begin.

5. J.J. Watt: Defensive End

The 11th overall selection in the NFL Draft did a lot of things for the Texans this season, and none of them were a disappointment.

Watt disrupted quarterbacks the entire year, and played well enough to possibly steal away Rookie of the Year Honors from Broncos' Von Miller.

If 2011 was any sign of things to come for the defensive end out of Wisconsin, the Texans have found a franchise player in the future NFL star.

Season Stats: 56 Tackles, 5.5 Sacks

Game of the Year: Week 12 20-13 Win over Jacksonville Jaguars. Seven Tackles, Two Sacks and One Pass DEF

4. Johnathan Joseph: Cornerback

After signing a five-year deal worth almost $50 million, Johnathan Joseph immediately went to work in the Texans' secondary.

Joseph brought to Houston what they had been looking for the past few years, a consistent cornerback.

He played so well that he earned the first Pro Bowl invite of his career, and was always a threat to pick off a pass from opposing quarterbacks.

Season Stats: 44 Tackles, One Forced Fumble, 15 Passes DEF and Four Interceptions

Game of the Year: Week 12 20-13 Win over Jacksonville Jaguars. Two Tackles, One Pass DEF and One Interception

3: Connor Barwin: Linebacker

Connor Barwin is pictured in this slide recording a sack, and he did a lot of that this year.

Barwin’s season ended during the first game of 2010 due to injury. In 2011, he emerged as a star thanks to yet another injury.

When Mario Williams season ended against the Raiders due to a torn pec, the defense was expected to step up as a unit. The OLB did just that, and helped the loss of Williams become substantially more manageable.

In 2009, Barwin had just 18 tackles and 3.5 sacks. In his season stats listed below for 2011, you can see the vast improvement this athlete has made.

As a side note, he also gets my vote for funniest Twitter Tweets by a Texan this year. 

Season Stats:  47 tackles, 11.5 sacks, One Forced fumble, Seven Pass DEF

Game of the Year: Week 14 20-19 Win against the Cincinnati Bengals. Five Tackles and One Forced Fumble

2: Arian Foster: Running Back

If you haven’t caught on by now, the most valuable players to the Texans this year were without a doubt on the defensive side of the ball.

Points have to be scored somehow, and Arian was the biggest threat on offense.

Houston has never really had a dominant ball carrier—at best, they have been nothing above average.

When the undrafted practice squad player made it up to the show, he immediately began to instill fear in the hearts of defensive coordinators.

An obvious first-round choice in any fantasy league, Foster consistently found a way to produce for most of 2011 on his way to yet another 1,000-yard year.

Had Schaub been active for the entire year, his numbers would have been even better than they were.

Season Stats:  278 Carries, 1224 Yards, 10 TD

Game of the Year: Week  4 17-10 Win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 30 Carries, 155 Yards, one TD

1: Brian Cushing: Linebacker

Brian Cushing is a team captain for the Texans, and he does an amazing job in leading by example.

If I were an NFL owner, I would want a roster full of guys with the talent and the desire to succeed that Cushing has.

If he wasn’t making the tackle on defense this year, I guarantee you he was close by on every single play. He was an absolute monster on the field this year—the kind of guy that offensive players were scared as hell to be hit by.

If anyone were snubbed in the Pro Bowl this year, you are looking at him. Cushing said that he viewed being left off the team as motivation to become even better.

If he plays any better than he is now, forget MVP of just the team, we are talking about the kind of talent that could be better than anyone in the entire league.

Season Stats:  114 Tackles, Four Sacks, Two Forced Fumbles, Two Interceptions and Five Pass DEF

Game of the Year: Week 10 37-9 Win against Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Eight Tackles, One Pass DEF and One Interception