5 Reasons the Texans Are Showing Last Season Wasn't Just Luck

Last season, the Houston Texans surprised a lot of people by winning their division after everybody and their mama picked the Indianapolis Colts to win the AFC South. Of course, that may have been aided by Andrew Luck's season being cut short after two games and the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans winning a combined eight games.

So was it just a lucky season, or were the Texans just getting started? After a 2-0 start this year, Houston is making a very good case as to why last year was no fluke. Here are five reasons that back that up.

Newcomers Are Making a Difference

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The Texans have revamped their offense with two key offseason acquisitions. Brock Osweiler came over from the Denver Broncos and replaced the two-headed mediocre monster of Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallet at quarterback. And Lamar Miller has taken on the role of running back workhorse that Arian Foster used to occupy.

Not only that, but Houston has gotten great production from first-round draft pick Will Fuller at the wideout position. With DeAndre Hopkins drawing most of the attention in the passing game, Fuller has actually led the team in receiving yards after the first two weeks.

Osweiler hasn't been lights out by any means, but his 60.3 completion percentage dwarfs the 50.5 percent that Hoyer and Mallet combined for in the first two weeks of last season. And while Miller hasn't found the end zone yet, his 189 rushing yards are fifth in the NFL.

Watt and Clowney Are Finally Starting to Click

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It's early in the season, but we're starting to see glimpses of what the Texans envisioned when they drafted Jadeveon Clowney in 2014 first overall. Clowney was supposed to team up with J.J. Watt to terrorize quarterbacks around the league. Though a rookie season cut short by injury and a somewhat disappointing sophomore season hasn't born that out yet, 2016 is looking like the year the plan finally comes together.

Not only have Clowney and Watt combined for 2.5 sacks, but their disruption has been a huge factor in Houston leading the league with nine sacks in two games. With Watt getting closer and closer to 100 percent, who knows how good this tandem can be this year?

Fast Start

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This may seem like a simple statement, but a 2-0 start is a hell of a lot better than the 0-2 hole the Texans found themselves in last season. And of course, it's better than the 2-5 record they had through seven games before they started to turn things around.

Houston is going up against a tough New England Patriots team in Week 3, even without Tom Brady, and then has tough matchups against the Minnesota Vikings, Colts and Broncos in Weeks 5-7. It's good that the Texans have momentum on their side heading into those games. 

Bottom line, the Texans didn't dig themselves a hole that they needed to climb out of, and that in and of itself is promising for this season.

Defense Coming Up Big

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In Alex Smith's first game of the season, he threw for 363 yards, two touchdowns and even ran for a touchdown. Houston held him to 186 yards and no touchdowns in his second.

In a game where the Texans offense wasn't quite at its best, the defense did what it had to in order to win the game. When your team only scores 19 points, it certainly helps when the defense limits the opponent to only four field goals.

I already mentioned the disruption Watt, Clowney and Co. have caused up front, but the team defense as a whole has been incredibly solid and has held opponents to just 26 points over two games, good for third in the league. 

Coaching

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Bill O'Brien has been terrific so far this season. He has his team playing hard and is putting together a game plan that is winning football games. And you can't make a big enough deal about O'Brien finally beating Andy Reid after losing to twice last season, including the 30-0 drubbing in the playoffs.

It's the third season with O'Brien at the helm, and while it's clear that two straight 9-7 seasons aren't a fluke, you can tell he won't be satisfied with that again.