All Roads Lead Though Houston, Texas

[King Colt]

The Texans defeated the Bears in their home, in their weather and defense vs. defense went to the Texans. This game defined how good the Texans are because off the nature of this game and how they won out against one fo the truely elite teams in the NFL. They beat them one on one and tat for tat.

On the same day the Falcon got stung by the hapless Saints and San Fran was very lucky to get even a tie with the hideious Rams. The Texans have a date with the Partriots soon and this should prove to ber very interesting. The Texans are now playing for sole possession of home field advantage on their route to the Super Bowl.

[Qwiz]

I agree whole-heartedly. Can't wait to play the Patriots and Lions, if there are no losses to either of them then the Texans could very well go 15-1 and get homefield all throughout the postseason.

[chad72]

The Bears, for being an outdoors team play terrible when the weather elements are not in their favor, for whatever reason.

I remember in 2005, the Steelers beating Chicago in bad weather with the Bus running it.

Then, in 2006, everyone said the Colts would be smoked in rain, the Colts played a smart game and the Bears, thanks to Rex, could not and were run on constantly.

In 2010, I think, it was snowing and Brady was coming in, the Pats crushed the Bears with Peppers etc.

And now, this...

The Bears are who we thought they are, an inconsistent offensive team that rely on mistakes from the opponent and if the opponent plays smart, their offense cannot apply pressure consistently on the elite teams.

[21isSuperman]

From the start of the year, I predicted a 49ers-Texans Super Bowl (with my darkhorse in each conference being the Broncos and Falcons). I personally like the Texans. Of course, I want to see us destroy them every game we have against each other, but I like the team. Andre is a beast, Foster is ridiculous, they are a group of classy players and coaches.....except Cushing, I can't stand Cushing.

I really like how they've built their team. They have built the team the "right" way. They have drafted well and found players to fit their systems as opposed to signing every free agent there is in the market and trying to rush the job. It took a bit longer than the fans would have liked, I'm sure. However, they have the foundation to be very good for a very long time. They have a very good, young defense and a strong offensive line. They have a nice mix of seasoned vets (like Schaub and Andre) and some really good young players (like Watt and Foster). They are a very complete and deep team from top to bottom. They've stuck with Kubiak for multiple years and he is rewarding them for being loyal to him. Overall, they've done a great job of building that team into what will be a contender for multiple years. Kudos to them for that.

[BOTT]

bears...good team, but far from elite. and "bears weather" is a total myth

[Synthetic]

Floodin' down in Texas, all of the telephone lines are down...

[BleedingBlue]

From the start of the year, I predicted a 49ers-Texans Super Bowl (with my darkhorse in each conference being the Broncos and Falcons). I personally like the Texans. Of course, I want to see us destroy them every game we have against each other, but I like the team. Andre is a beast, Foster is ridiculous, they are a group of classy players and coaches.....except Cushing, I can't stand Cushing.

I really like how they've built their team. They have built the team the "right" way. They have drafted well and found players to fit their systems as opposed to signing every free agent there is in the market and trying to rush the job. It took a bit longer than the fans would have liked, I'm sure. However, they have the foundation to be very good for a very long time. They have a very good, young defense and a strong offensive line. They have a nice mix of seasoned vets (like Schaub and Andre) and some really good young players (like Watt and Foster). They are a very complete and deep team from top to bottom. They've stuck with Kubiak for multiple years and he is rewarding them for being loyal to him. Overall, they've done a great job of building that team into what will be a contender for multiple years. Kudos to them for that.

The texans built their team to defeat Peyton Manning.

They are designed to keep him off the field and harrass him while he is on the field.

It just so happens that every team in the NFL is modeling themselves after the type of offense Manning has established with the Colts, so they will be set for future opponents as well (such as the Broncos).

AFC championship game is Texans vs. Broncos IMO.

[21isSuperman]

The texans built their team to defeat Peyton Manning.

They are designed to keep him off the field and harrass him while he is on the field.

It just so happens that every team in the NFL is modeling themselves after the type of offense Manning has established with the Colts, so they will be set for future opponents as well (such as the Broncos).

AFC championship game is Texans vs. Broncos IMO.

One could argue that it's not just to defeat Peyton, but to defeat any team with elite QBs. The way to defeat them is to keep them on the sidelines and the best way to do that is by having your defense get many three-and-outs and controlling the time of possession with your running game. Houston is able to do both effectively. While Houston might have been building to beat Peyton because they were in the same division, they have built themselves to be able to handle any team with an elite QB