They are still looking uphill at the undefeated Colts in their division. But with a trip to lowly Buffalo this week, the chance of winning three straight for just the second time in franchise history seems possible.
The Texans beat Cincinnati last week before jumping out to an early lead and holding on for a 24-21 win over the 49ers on Sunday.
The biggest reason for Houston's recent success has been the stunning turnaround of the run defense. The Texans are allowing 48.5 yards rushing a game in the last four after averaging an NFL-worst 205 yards in the first three.
The rushing totals of Houston's last four opponets each rank among the 10 lowest in franchise history.
"It's been very good for the past month," coach Gary Kubiak said. "I think that's going with the success of our team here in the past few weeks because our defense has stepped it up and played so well. We had a lot of ground to make up and hopefully we can keep going."
Houston's defense played its most dominant half on Sunday against the 49ers, allowing 1 yard in the first quarter and a first-half, franchise-low 50 yards by halftime.
Despite that start, the Texans were disappointed they gave up three touchdowns after Shaun Hill was benched for Alex Smith at halftime.
