MONDAY HUDDLE: Are Texans in driver’s seat for AFC South title?

Texans put themselves in position with enormous win over Colts

Here are five takeaways from this weekend’s football action around the state.

Texans win battle for first place

It can’t be understated how critical it was for the Houston Texans to beat the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday.

Essentially, it was a rare game that represented a four-game swing in the standings with the teams tied for first at 6-4 entering the game.

If the Colts would’ve won, it would have essentially been a two-game lead for them over the Texans because they would have owned the tiebreaker based on beating Houston twice during the season.

But Houston rose up for a 20-17 win, and now the tiebreaker edge rests with the Texans because Houston at the moment has a better conference record (each team is 3-1 in divisional play).

In essence, the Texans have a two-game lead with five left over Indianapolis instead of being two games down.

Baylor, Oklahoma rematch official

Get ready for Baylor-Oklahoma, part two.

A week after playing a thrilling game in Waco, won 34-31 by Oklahoma, the Sooners and Bears each clinched their spots in the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 7 with victories on Saturday.

Baylor beat Texas 24-10 while Oklahoma outlasted TCU 28-24 to set up the rematch in Arlington.

If Baylor can beat Kansas and Oklahoma can win at rival Oklahoma State, the Bears and Sooners might be playing for a spot in the College Football Playoff as well, since both would have one loss going into the game.

Close not good enough for Cowboys against Patriots

It was a valiant effort for the Cowboys, but settling for field goals instead of finishing drives with touchdowns against the vaunted Patriots defense turned out to be their demise in a 13-9 loss.

The good news for Dallas is that Philadelphia lost at home to the Seahawks, keeping Dallas a game ahead of the Eagles for first in the NFC East.

The schedule lightens up from here also for the Cowboys, with home games against the Bills, Rams and Redskins and road games at the Bears and Eagles left.

Aggies get one more chance to produce playoff chaos

Fans of playoff contenders around the country were rooting for Texas A&M against Georgia on Saturday, and the Aggies nearly made them all ecstatic by pulling out a win in Athens.

But the Aggies ended up falling short, losing to No. 4 Georgia, 19-13.

This week will represent another chance for Texas A&M to cause some chaos to the playoff race.

The Aggies will play at No. 1 LSU on Saturday.

Reagan upends O’Connor in OT thriller

The first round of the Region-IV 6A state playoffs produced a terrific overtime game at Farris Stadium in San Antonio, with underdog Reagan scoring a 23-20 upset of O’Connor on a 25-yard touchdown pass that ended the game.

The score came on Reagan’s first play in the overtime after O’Connor kicked a field goal to take a 20-17 lead.

Reagan entered the game 5-5, but still has O’Connor’s number in the playoffs. Reagan beat O’Connor (8-3) for a second straight season in the first round and is now 5-1 against O’Connor all time in the postseason.


About the Author:

Keith is a member of Graham Media Group's Digital Content Team, which produces content for all the company's news websites.