Beyond the Boxscore

Houston and Super Bowl in the same sentence? The Texans prove to be elite

Ben Tate and the Texans have reason to celebrate.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
Colt McCoy found that life against the Texans' D is more than another gruelingday in the NFL. It's a nightmare.
Wade Phillips
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com

Maybe it happened when Ben Tate shrugged off the Cleveland Browns on a 27-yard touchdown run of pure power. Maybe it happened when Antonio Smith turned Cleveland's first offensive play into a turnover.

Maybe it happened when the pocket collapsed frighteningly quick around Colt McCoy (again) on a third-down play late in the third quarter—when Connor Barwin wrapped up McCoy and a Browns offense that must have felt like it was stuck in a straitjacket all day.

The exact moment isn't important. What matters is that it happened.

This is the day (Nov. 6. 2011) that the Houston Texans served noticed that they're not just going to make the playoffs this season. That franchise first—the ultimate road block for the first decade of the Texans' existence—is a mere speed bump now. No, these (6-3) Texans are not just playoff bound. They suddenly look like one of the very best teams in the entire NFL.

Forget fretting over the playoffs. It's time to start thinking of how high the Texans could be seeded in the NFL's postseason party, to chart up ways they could make a surprise run for Indianapolis, the site of Super Bowl XLVI.

Think that's crazy talk? You haven't watched this team.

Certainly not Sunday's 30-12 de-panting of the Cleveland Browns at Reliant Stadium. The Browns (3-5) aren't an NFL juggernaut by any means. Or even a very competent offensive team. But this is what a budding power does to an average NFL team. The elite teams stomp on inferior opponents who venture into their stadium, squeeze the hope out of those foes early.

This isn't a win as much as it's a statement. Listen up boys, girls and opposing quarterbacks: These Texans can make noise in the playoffs.

And that's exactly what the Texans did on Sunday.

"Going into the game, I thought this was a game we should dominate," says right tackle Eric Winston, one of the linchpins of one of the most underrated — and let's acknowledge it, one of the best — offensive lines in all of football. "And I felt we did that."

It all sounds so simple. And it is. In places like New England, Green Bay, Pittsburgh, New Orleans and New York. Towns where the NFL's taking-care-of-business elite reside.

But not in Houston. Never in Houston. Until now.

The Texans, off to the best start in franchise history at 6-3, suddenly find themselves right up there with the big boys. Only five NFL teams have a better record than the Texans. Five. It's time for everyone to pay attention to this franchise.

"At some point (the national media is) going to realize that we are a very good football team," Texans owner Bob McNair says afterwards. "We will let them take their time doing that. We know we have a fine club.

"We'll see how far (the players) take us, they are just playing great football right now."

A Determined Onslaught

The third-rated defense in the NFL (this Wade Phillips miracle unit) leaves McCoy's head spinning, wishing he was back in Austin, playing teams that don't hit quite so hard. They make Houston-native Chris Ogbonnaya look like every bit the practice squad scrub he is.

Arian Foster (19 carries for 124 yards) and Ben Tate (12 carries for 115 yards) both run for more than 100 yards with ridiculous yards per carry numbers. The Browns might not be able to handle this tandem if they are allowed 15 men on the field. Houston finishes with a franchise-record 261 rushing yards.

The Texans roll and rumble on a day when quarterback Matt Schaub doesn't even break 120 yards passing, an afternoon when the still-Andre-Johnson-less Texans wide receivers combine for a mere four catches. Heck, Texans coach Gary Kubiak even wins a coach's challenge for the first time this season.

"When you hold a team down like that, you're going to look good," Kubiak says. "What is that? Three weeks in a row holding an opponent under 200 (yards)?"

This isn't a win as much as it's a statement. Listen up boys, girls and opposing quarterbacks: These Texans can make noise in the playoffs. And they'll batter you when they get there.

McCoy is sacked four times, turned into a human pinata by all those young, swarming Texan defenders. Brooks Reed, Brian Cushing, J.J. Watt, Barwin . . . they just keep coming and coming.

"They're a really good football team," McCoy, the man who will be seeing Texans in his sleep, says.

Off to the best start in franchise history and more importantly, this team is still looking for more. Even dominance isn't enough. Not anymore. Not when everyone in Kubiak's locker room can see what's out there, waiting to be grabbed.

Forget fretting over the playoffs. It's time to start thinking of how high the Texans could be seeded in the NFL's postseason party, to chart up ways they could make a surprise run to Super Bowl XLVI.

"Six and three," Winston says. "That's what it's all about and we're not stopping now. We have one more week till the bye and we have to treat this like it's the biggest step of the season.

"There's a huge difference between 7-3 and 6-4."

An often-unsure fan base certainly believes. The second largest crowd in Texans history (71,511) showed up to see an game against the Cleveland Browns. The largest crowd? That happened earlier this season too.

Thanks For Coming

This game isn't over at the opening kickoff — but it's close.

Ex-President George H.W. Bush calls the coin toss. The Texans win it, elect to receive and then go about destroying the Browns. Without leaving a shadow of a doubt about their dominance.

Houston's first drive: 82 yards in nine plays. Schaub opens the game with three straight completions, with two of those going to emerging tight end weapon Joel Dreessen. Tate punctuates it all with that 27-yard powerful rip of a touchdown run down the right sideline—with receiver Jacoby Jones throwing a critical, textbook block on the play.

Cleveland's first drive: Ex-Texan Chris Ogbonnaya takes the handoff on the Browns first play and experiences the horror of Antonio Smith punching the football out of his too-loose grasp from behind, DeMeco Ryans adds another poke for good measure and Watt jumps on the football. Texans ball!

It's better to be an ex-President than an ex-Texan.

Houston's second drive: An easy short-field touchdown. Schaub finds Owen Daniels, the Clutch One, on third down. Then, the QB who hates to run takes a shotgun snap and runs in a touchdown on third-and-goal from the 2-yard line. It sure looks like a designed play. It's Schaub's second straight game with a touchdown run.

Soon, Foster's ripping off a 19-yard touchdown run and it's 21-3 on the way to 24-3 at halftime. Any questions?

There are fewer and fewer about these Texans. They're not just winning without Johnson (out for the fifth straight game) and Mario Williams. They're stomping the will out of teams. Like they expect to do it.

That's elite. By any definition.

"I thought (our defense) was going to be great," nose tackle Shaun Cody says, grinning. "I saw the talent. I thought we had a chance to be really special."

It's happened. The Texans are for real. They're playoff dangerous.

How about a first-round bye?

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High Score

Austin named the nation's pickleball capital in industry report

Photo by Henry Selis Photo

Other Racquet Social Club is back after city woes.

It's no secret that Austinites love pickleball. A new study proves just how much by ranking Austin the No. 1 city for pickleball in the whole country. Dallas and Houston also made the top 10 at Nos. 3 and 8, respectively.

The report was published by TeachMe.To, an online marketplace for learning sports (and sometimes music) from private instructors. It used data from its own platform, USA Pickleball, Places2Play, local pickleball associations, and more. It also referred to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), which named pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America, with a growth rate of 223.5 percent over three years.

Similarly, TeachMe.To ranked Austin as the fastest-growing city for pickleball, and citing this as the main reason for the overall title of "the nation's pickleball capital."

It name-checked the Austin Metro Pickleball Association (AMPA) — with approximately 3,000-3,500 members — and the Austin Pickleball League (APL), estimating that overall, "15,000-20,000 people play pickleball at least occasionally in the greater Austin area." About half of those players — about 8,000-10,000 people — play at least twice a month.

The report did not include gender data on Austin, specifically, but it did note that not only are two-thirds of pickleball players female; women's involvement in the sport is also growing 50 percent faster than men's.

New courts everywhere
This probably isn't a surprise to people who have noticed the number of courts opened around Austin in recent years. By 2024, TeachMe.To's data shows 32 dedicated courts in Austin, and thanks to with a utility rate of 92 percent it doesn't look like that'll be slowing down.

In the summer of 2023, the online booking platform Swimply noticed how many pickleball courts there were in Austin compared to such great demand, and added courts to its service. In fall 2023 and summer 2024, at least two important developments expanded that availability: Other Racquet Social Club opened as a friendly, country club-like neighborhood option, and national chain The Picklr announced it's bringing five locations to Austin and Round Rock.

Perhaps because Austin is such a food-obsessed city, there seems to be some growing opportunity for food and beverage hospitality around pickleball, too. Other Racquet recently started hosting the Bill's Dips food truck, a spinoff of the popular downtown restaurant Bill's Oyster; and a pair of bars with pickleball courts, Drifters Social Coffee & Cocktails and The Pickle Pub, also opened in South Austin this year, with strong online ratings already.

The trend has even reached into real estate (see this cute house with its own pickleball court) and inspired athletes to introduce similar sports to the local market, as in the case of the padel club Paddle39. TeachMe.To's report also mentioned tech companies adding pickleball to their campuses.

Aside from growth, the study also considered lesson activity (including information about teacher availability and diversity of clinic offerings), infrastructure, community vitality, the tournament scene.

Austin had the highest concentration of all the cities of players under 40 (65 percent), as well as the highest share of national lesson bookings. At 16.90 percent, that means about one in six of the pickleball lessons contracted through this platform were in Austin. Lesson demand, the report says, is growing 125 percent year-over-year.

Elsewhere in Texas
Dallas was No. 3 thanks in part to its "central location" according to the report.

"The city's 45 dedicated courts and 85 [percent] public accessibility rate have fostered one of the most active competitive scenes in the country, with 8,500 registered league players," it says. "The combination of strong tournament presence, extensive infrastructure, and a 112% growth in lesson bookings solidifies Dallas as a powerhouse in the national pickleball landscape."

Houston made No. 8 with an emphasis on integrating pickleball with other sports.

"The city's 22 dedicated courts have seen a 92% increase in lesson bookings, driven by innovative programming that includes the nation's first corporate league system," it says. "Houston's success in integrating pickleball into existing sports infrastructure while maintaining 72% year-round utilization demonstrates a sustainable model for rapid growth."

Overall predictions
After laying out data about the top cities in pickleball, the report made some predictions. As the Austin newcomer mentioned above believes, the report also thinks padel is the next big thing. It also guesses more cities will act like Houston by focusing on hybrid facilities.

It also expects to see an expanded professional circuit and mainstream coverage, more technology used on the court, a rise in the prevalence of young players, and more opportunities in corporate wellness and real estate. "Dedicated pickleball facilities will become as common as swimming pools in luxury developments," it says. Texans will be the judge of that one.

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