John McClain, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, is in his 48th year of covering the NFL in Houston, including 45 seasons at the Houston Chronicle.
The Texans' victory over Miami on Sunday, coupled with the Colts' loss at Denver, secured their second consecutive AFC South title under Head Coach DeMeco Ryans.
Thanks to the most impressive defensive performance of the season, the Texans defeated the Dolphins 20-12 and elevated their record to 9-5 with games remaining at Kansas City on Saturday, at home against Baltimore on Christmas Day and at Tennessee on the last weekend of regular season.
The Texans are AFC South champions for the eighth time. Going back to the 2011 season when they accomplished that goal for the first time, they have more AFC South championships than the Colts (two), Titans (two) and Jaguars (two) combined.
"Clinching the AFC South is huge for us," Ryans said Monday. "It's a great accomplishment by all our guys. That's always our goal.
"If you want to make it to the postseason, it starts with trying to win your division. We're thankful for everyone who played a part in us reaching the first step of our goal. I'm very proud of our guys."
Clinching the division means the Texans are guaranteed of hosting at least one playoff game at NRG Stadium in the wild-card round.
The Texans have won three of their last four games, including two in a row, and if they continue to play defense the way they did against the Dolphins, they'll be capable of beating anybody.
Ignited by cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., the Texans harassed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa into four turnovers – interceptions by Stingley and safety Calen Bullock and defensive end Will Anderson Jr.'s strip sack that led to one of two C.J. Stroud touchdown passes to receiver Nico Collins.
Stingley had two fourth-quarter interceptions while covering wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Stingley became the first cornerback in NFL history to have two interceptions and two tackles for loss in the same game. His six interceptions in the last two Decembers are more than any player in the league.
Stingley saved his best for last in Sunday's victory.
With the Dolphins down by eight points and trying to mount a desperation touchdown drive, Tagovailoa threw deep down the right sideline on first down.
Stingley was all over Hill when both players went up for the ball. Hill got both hands on the ball for what appeared to be a catch at the Texans' 49, but Stingley took it away to secure the victory with 1:37 left. Stroud took a knee to run out the clock.
"I haven't seen a better play," Ryans said after the game. "That's a big-time play. Not a lot of players can do that. He's done an outstanding job when teams try to challenge him. (I) can't be more proud of Sting. No matter what we ask him to do, he steps up, makes the plays we need to make and continues to grow as a player."
When receiver Jaylen Waddle, Tagovailoa's second-favorite target, left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury, Stingley was assigned to cover Hill all over the field.
According to Next Gen Stats, Tagovailoa threw 10 times to receivers Stingley was close to, and he allowed six catches for 30 yards. While he was blanketing Hill, Stingley was targeted four times, surrendering one reception for 15 yards. Besides the interceptions, Stingley knocked down two passes intended for Hill.
"We made some adjustments when Waddle went out knowing that Tyreek was their most explosive guy," Ryans said. "It would be in our best interest to make sure our best cover guy was on their best receiver. Stingley's playing unbelievable football right now. (Getting) two picks versus a really good offense was huge for us."
The defense helped the Texans overcome an offense that produced only 181 yards – fewest in a victory since 2006.
Stroud threw for only 131 yards, but because he had two touchdown passes and no interceptions, his rating was 106.4.
The running game produced only 77 yards. The leading rusher was Dare Ogunbowale with 35 yards on a fake punt. Joe Mixon was limited to 23 yards, including 1.9 a carry.
But the defense was outstanding.
If Stingley's second interception was the biggest play of the game, a fake punt that caught the Dolphins napping was the second-biggest play.
Special teams coordinator Frank Ross made what turned out to be a magnificent call. In the third quarter, the Texans led 13-7 and faced fourth-and-7 at the Miami 44. Jon Weeks snapped the ball to safety M.J. Stewart, an upback who took off to his left and handed to Ogunbowale going to his right.
Ogunbowale got blocks from linebacker Jake Hansen and defensive end Dylan Horton and ran for 35 yards. The Texans also benefitted from an unnecessary roughness call on Miami safety Elijan Campbell at the end of the play, giving the Texans a first down at the 4.
Stroud's 6-yard touchdown pass to Collins gave the Texans a 20-6 advantage.
"Frank did a great job having those guys ready to go in that moment, and they made a huge play," Ryans said. "It was a well-executed play. When you have plays like that, it's about how trustworthy are the guys you're asking to execute those plays. Dare is one of our most trustworthy players, and putting ball in his hands came through big.
"And the blocking, I don't want to lose sight of that. The way the guys blocked to create such a huge lane for him, it's just excellent execution. The entire punt unit did a nice job executing the right way. We got the look we wanted, and guys were on it."
Ross' special teams played a vital role in the victory. Ka'imi Fairbairn kicked field goals of 44 and 23 yards. Punter Tommy Townsend had a 50-yard gross average and a 45.2 net. Tank Dell averaged 15 yards on three punt returns.
What kept the special teams from an unblemished performance was a blunder by Stewart on a 30-yard field goal by Jason Sanders that would have made it 20-9. Stewart lined up in the neutral zone, giving Miami a first down.
Head Coach Mike McDaniel took points off the board, and Tagovailoa threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jonnu Smith on the next play to pull the Dolphins within 20-12 after Sanders missed the extra point.
But the defense came up big the rest of the game to make sure the Texans won.
To understand how impressive the Texans' defense played, check out what Tagovailoa had done coming into the game. He'd thrown 184 consecutive passes without an interception.
In his nine starts – Tagovailoa missed four games because of a concussion – he had 2,456 yards, a 73.8 completion percentage, 17 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 107.4 rating.
In Miami's previous game, a victory over the Jets, Tagovailoa connected on 33-of-47 (70.2 percent) for 331 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime. He had no interceptions or sacks, and his rating was 104.1.
Then Tagovailoa came to Houston, and the Dolphins' offense was obliterated.
Miami had 254 yards, including 52 rushing (2.7 average per carry). Tagovailoa completed 29-of-40 (72.5 percent) for 196 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked three times -- 1.5 by Danielle Hunter, one by Anderson and one-half by linebacker Henry To'oTo'o.
With linebacker Christian Harris returning to the lineup for the first time since the playoffs, To'oTo'o replaced the suspended Azeez Al-Shaair as the communicator who received the calls from Ryans and then relayed to his defensive teammates.
"Henry did a great job stepping in for Azeez communicating and running the show," Ryans said. "(I'm also) really proud of Christian for stepping up. Long battle back from injury, but he stepped up and was able to play quality football."
The Texans have 45 sacks, one shy of the team record they set last season. Hunter (12) and Anderson (10.5) have combined for 22.5 sacks. Ryans praised his defensive line for how well it pressured Tagovailoa and stopped the run.
"Will and Danielle continue to wreak havoc on the opposing offenses, playing on (Miami's) side of the line of scrimmage," he said.
Because the down-field coverage was so tight, Tagovailoa was forced to dump off the ball more than he wanted to and was limited to an average of 4.9 yards per attempt compared to his season average of 7.6.
After Anderson's strip sack that tackle Tim Settle recovered, the Texans got the ball at the Dolphins' 28 and cashed in with Stroud's 6-yard touchdown pass to Collins.
After the Texans' only turnover when center Jarrett Patterson snapped the ball before Stroud was ready, bouncing it off his chest for a fumble, Miami took over at the Texans' 38 with 42 seconds left in the first half.
On second down at the 39 with 25 seconds left, Tagovailoa threw down the middle.
Bullock made a falling interception but got up and ran 68 yards before Achane pulled him down at the Miami 5.
With 13 seconds left, Stroud ran out of bounds for a sack and threw an incompletion short of the end zone. Fairbairn kicked a 23-yard field goal as time right out in the first half.
"Getting points off turnovers was huge for us," Ryans said. "I thought the guys did a great job in coverage versus an explosive offense with everybody swarming and playing together."
Bullock, who leads the team with five interceptions – more than any rookie in the league – was involved in a scary play. Wide receiver Grant DuBose was going down the middle and trying to catch a low pass when Bullock went down to make the tackle and hit him in the head, drawing a personal foul penalty.
DuBose, whose helmet bounced off the turf, stayed down on the field for 12 minutes before being taken off the field on a stretcher. He spent the night in a Houston hospital for observation.
"Prayers go out to Grant DuBose," Ryans said. "Seeing a guy down on the field like that is very hard to see, and we're just praying that all is well with him and that he recovers as quickly as possible."
The Dolphins said DuBose suffered a head coach and provided an update that said,
"He has movement in all extremities and initial tests have revealed positive results."
After DuBose left the field, the energy level was down on both sidelines. Eventually, though, it picked back up, and the Texans were able to play well enough to win.
"Finishing games has been a big emphasis for us," Ryans said. "(I'm) proud they finished the right way."
