HOUSTON -- If the Houston Texans are going to make good on all the promise hovering around them, it won't be just because of quarterback C.J. Stroud or the contributions of various big-name veteran acquisitions. It will come down to less noticeable moments, like the days and nights they recently spent in a suburban hotel during a lengthy road trip to Ohio. That getaway was about more than creatively filling time in between a couple of preseason games. It was about players getting to know each other, to bond and to hone the chemistry that is required to win games in January.
It might have been as simple as a group of guys playing cards in somebody's room one night. They could've been talking trash during spirited games of EA Sports' College Football 25 or merely comparing notes about life with their families. The key thing was that they were filling that time together.
"Having those days off, when we're all just breaking bread and chopping it up for hours with nothing else to do, we were just bonding," Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair said Tuesday. "It felt like college all over again."
Al-Shaair signed with the Texans this offseason because he believed this team was ready to vault into championship contention. Those nine days the team spent in Ohio -- after playing the Chicago Bears in the Pro Football Hall of Fame game in Canton, the Texans stayed in the state, practicing at University School, the alma mater of general manager Nick Caserio, near Cleveland ahead of their preseason matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers -- convinced him that his instincts weren't wrong. Al-Shaair spent the first four years of his career playing in San Francisco, reaching one Super Bowl and three NFC Championship Games with the Niners. Those experiences taught him exactly what a winning franchise needs to look like.
We all know training camp is a time when every team in the NFL is searching for the same type of chemistry the Texans covet. Some franchises spend their entire camps away from their facilities to attain it, while others -- like Houston -- opt to largely stay within the friendly confines of their facilities. What makes the Texans' trip to the Cleveland area so noteworthy is how much it comes up in conversation around this team. They clearly understand how much is riding on this coming season.
Nobody saw Houston turning into what it became last year. The Texans conquered the AFC South after winning all of 11 games in the three previous seasons, while Stroud blossomed into a star, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year. The good vibes continued into the offseason, as Houston added accomplished veterans like wide receiver Stefon Diggs, running back Joe Mixon and defensive end Danielle Hunter. The AFC is loaded with talented teams, but the Texans have quickly entered the conversation as a trendy threat to push the dynastic Kansas City Chiefs.
The challenge Houston now faces is handling all those weighty expectations. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who won the AFC South in 2022, were also a sexy team on the rise when last season began, and they wound up watching the playoffs from home. The Texans could easily suffer the same fate if some things don't go right this fall. It's the reality of operating without the last-place schedule the Texans might have been accustomed to recently -- now, everybody can see you coming.
This is why veterans like Al-Shaair, who spent last year in Tennessee, are so big on the intangibles. "You can see the brotherhood," he said. "You can feel it. You can feel it on the field and when you're watching the tape. That's the kind of bond we had in San Francisco, and they continue to have it there. That's why [the 49ers] are playing for championships year after year. You can see the talent around here and the individual guys coming together, because we just needed a couple more pieces. We have everything we need right now."
There's no doubt the talent is there. The trade that brought Diggs over from Buffalo gives the Texans one of the most exciting receiver rooms in the league. He'll join Nico Collins, Tank Dell and tight end Dalton Schultz as popular targets for Stroud. Mixon proved last season in Cincinnati that he's still a difference-maker as a runner and receiver, and he'll be a dangerous threat in this offense. The defense will be just as disruptive, as Hunter teams with edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., who won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
The most valuable component, obviously, is Stroud. He's done his own part to build camaraderie this offseason by organizing workouts for his receivers and establishing himself as even more of a leader than he was last year. As impressive as Stroud was in 2023, when he broke several records in rookie passing categories, he's embraced the fact that defenses now have more tape on him, and that he needs to be ready for tougher challenges. Stroud also is realizing that, as quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson said, ''it's not about just doing his job but understanding what he can do to make everyone around him better."
"One thing I love about C.J. is he's authentic," Johnson said Tuesday. "He leads with his authenticity. He puts in the work so he can talk the talk. He's the hardest working guy here with the playbook. He knows the scheme and what we want to get done, and when he's upset, he's upset. That authenticity is what guys respond to. He knows who he is."
The bigger question will be how well the Texans know themselves as a team by the end of this season. Head coach DeMeco Ryans has continually told his team that it's about the work they put into this year that matters, not the outside noise that will swell with every win they enjoy. The presence of veterans like Al-Shaair (who played under Ryans when the latter was the Niners' defensive coordinator), Mixon (who helped the Bengals capture the AFC in 2021) and Diggs (who was a foundational piece of Buffalo's four straight AFC East championships) will make a difference, as well. All these players know that winning in the AFC is easily the toughest task in this league.
This is why they're encouraged by what's been happening in this year's camp. That time in Ohio told them plenty about what they're becoming and, just as importantly, what they'll need in the coming months. After all, the Texans won't be defined as much by what happens when things are easy. The true confirmation of whether they can live up to expectations comes down to how they operate when times get hard.
