AFC South Champion Houston Texans Still Have Plenty to Prove in Playoffs

The Houston Texans took the critical next step in their playoff preparations by securing their spot and winning the AFC South title Sunday with a 30-6 win over Jacksonville. But their up-against-the-world mentality likely doesn't change despite guaranteeing themselves a home playoff game.

They still enter the second week of January as arguably the team least expected to make it to Santa Clara, California, as Super Bowl finalists among the 12 playoff teams. But nothing the Texans could have done throughout their home win over the Jaguars in Week 17 really could have changed that.

Simply needing a win Sunday at home to clinch the division, Houston looked intent on securing the title early. The Texans rattled off 17 second-quarter points to take a commanding lead into halftime and didn't look back with 10 more points in the fourth quarter.

En route to the franchise's first division championship in three seasons, it wasn't surprising who stepped up to deliver for the Texans.

J.J. Watt got back to his usual dominance with the cast off his broken hand, as the video below shows:

Watt sacked Blake Bortles three times and forced a fumble.

The Texans scored 23 points off the Jaguars turnovers. The Texans defense, meanwhile, allowed just six points from a Jacksonville offense that's been potent in 2015. It's a trend of defensive dominance that has followed Houston throughout most of its wins this season as John McClain of the Houston Chronicle noted:

After giving up 48 to Atlanta and 44 to Miami in the early goings of the season, the Texans defense has stiffened up considerably. But this run to the postseason wouldn't have happened without four quarterbacks filling in at key moments.

It was Brian Hoyer on Sunday, and he looks to lead them into the playoffs. But it's been a revolving door under center this season to take the Texans into the postseason as Darren Rovell of ESPN observed:

The Texans have overcome constant attrition at quarterback, the loss of Arian Foster and the growing fact that DeAndre Hopkins is the lone go-to guy offensively to still emerge as playoff contenders. But can they emerge from that to still be dangerous in the playoffs?

Another win over an opponent in the NFL's worst division won't change common perception for the Texans. At 9-7, they'll enter the postseason with the lowest record of any AFC squad.

Even worse, Houston has shown an ability to win in the treacherous AFC South—5-1 in the division—but only has one victory over a playoff team. That came in an impressive 10-6 road win over Cincinnati—the type of performance they'll need to replicate to have a shot in the Wild Card Round.

Despite their shortcomings, it's pretty simple how the Texans can win, and head coach Bill O'Brien uncovered that, as the team's Twitter account noted:

The Texans did little early in the season to prove their postseason mettle, and that understandably had both the front office and coaching staff under fire. The team took care of business in the division and in a few key late-season games to change that perception, though.

But when it comes to competing in the next round, the Texans will be stepping onto their home turf against the Kansas City Chiefs—a team they lost to 27-20 in Week 1. Both teams have made considerable strides since then, but more so the Chiefs, who finished the year on a 10-game winning streak, beating the Oakland Raiders 23-17 on Sunday to cap it off.

The Texans can rest on their laurels of having a defense capable of being dominant, but that's a common trend in the AFC playoffs, where the Chiefs are just one of a handful of similarly skilled defenses.

No AFC South division championship is going to convince the NFL that the Texans are real players in the postseason, but they have an opportunity at home in the Wild Card Round to change that perception in a big way and prove themselves as AFC contenders.