Best moments in Houston Texans history

Jay Busbee
· Senior writer
Bob McNair, owner of the NFL Houston Texans, by the construction site of the team’s stadium new stadium in 2000. The 69,500-seat retractable roof stadium was built next to the Astrodome. (AP)
Bob McNair, owner of the NFL Houston Texans, by the construction site of the team’s stadium new stadium in 2000. The 69,500-seat retractable roof stadium was built next to the Astrodome. (AP)

What are the best moments for each NFL franchise? Yahoo Sports provides our opinion, which you are free to disagree with (and we’re sure you will).

Texans Worst Moments | All 32 Teams Best Moments | All 32 Teams Worst Moments

5. J.J. Watt’s heart

One of the Texans’ finest moments came off the field in 2017. After Hurricane Harvey decimated the city of Houston, with floodwaters reaching nearly every corner of the city, Watt decided to leverage his celebrity to help recovery efforts. He donated $100,000, with the goal of raising a total of $200,000. Two weeks later, charitable donations to the fund Watt established totaled $37 million. More than 200,000 people donated to the fund, most giving less than $100. It was an astonishing display of generosity in a fractured time, and it took Watt to bring it about. “Please keep this spirit of helping one another alive,” Watt wrote on the charity’s fundraising page. “The world is a better place when we all take care of each other.”

4. The Texans become the Texans

The NFL granted Houston the league’s 32nd franchise on Oct. 6, 1999. The team then began a naming contest, with the final five entries being the Apollos, Bobcats, Stallions, Texans and Wildcatters. The team unveiled the name, logo and colors on Sept. 6, 2000, with a downtown festival. (Spoiler: they chose the Texans.) It’s a fitting team name, sure, but we would’ve been just fine with the Wildcatters.

3. 57 points

The Texans don’t have a remarkable record at quarterback; their first franchise pick, David Carr, played 76 largely undistinguished games for Houston. But Deshaun Watson might just change that. Early in the 2017 season, Watson, a rookie from Clemson coming off a dismantling of Alabama for the national championship, threw a record five touchdowns, as the Texans scored a franchise-record 57 points over division rival Tennessee on Oct. 1, 2017. The jury is certainly still out on Watson, but the early returns are giving the Texans the first true hope they’ve had under center in a long time.

2. Debut victory

The Texans kicked off on Sept. 8, 2002, against the Dallas Cowboys, and – against all expectations – managed a 19-10 victory. Sure, that Cowboys team was terrible, with Quincy Carter at quarterback, but still – the Texans were only the second expansion team to win their first game (Minnesota in 1961 being the other). The team started more rookies on opening day than any team since 1970, and still managed to notch one of the greatest wins in Houston sports history. Jerry Jones later said it was one of only three times he’s cried as a Cowboys owner, which is reason enough to celebrate.

1. First playoff win

Look, there aren’t a whole lot of positives when you’re talking about a team that’s never advanced past the divisional round, and has only three postseason wins all-time. But the Texans notched their first playoff victory in their first postseason appearance, on Jan. 7, 2012, against the Bengals. A year later almost to the day, they beat the Bengals again. Granted, as long as the Patriots, Steelers, Broncos and Chiefs patrol the AFC, the Texans’ ceiling is limited, but hey, you’ve gotta start somewhere.