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The Dominant Texans Chase Statistical History
Either Tom Brady's Patriots or Peyton Manning's Broncos will be 3-2 by early Sunday evening. But neither team appears equipped to stop the mighty Houston Texans, who are on an early pace to be one of the most dominant teams in modern NFL history.
Houston was the Cold, Hard Football Facts preseason pick to win the Super Bowl. And so far the 4-0 Texans have exceeded our wildest expectations.
They dominate the NFL in two key indicators of success.
The first is the Relativity Index, which we discussed above. Denver and New England are No. 1 in offensive relativity. But if we look at both sides of the ball, Houston is the most dominant team in football, even when we take into account the quality of the opposition.
Here is the Top 10 on the Relativity Index entering Week 5:
1. Houston -- +16.8 points (+6.9 on offense; +9.9 on defense)
2. Denver -- +15.5 (+10.3; +5.2)
3. Atlanta -- +14.6 (+8.1; +6.5)
4. Arizona -- +12.7 (+3.4; +9.3)
5. Baltimore -- +12.7 (+8.3; +4.4)
6. New England -- +12.5 (+9.2; +3.3)
7. San Francisco -- +11.3 (+3.3; +8.0)
8. Chicago -- +8.9 (+7.4; +1.5)
9. Green Bay -- +7.3 (+1.6; +5.7)
10. Seattle -- +3.9 (-3.4; +7.3)
Houston is also dominant in our Quality Stats Power Rankings. This is our measure of the average performance across the board in all of our Quality Stats, each of which has a direct correlation to winning football games. Teams that top the Quality Stats Power Rankings have a habit of reaching Super Bowls at worst.
The Texans rank No. 2.8 on average in each of our indicators. That number represents incredible top to bottom strength in all phases of the game. They rank no worse than No. 6 in any individual indicator, Real Passing Yards Per Attempt (7.36 YPA).
We've rarely seen a team so good in so many indicators. For a little perspective, the 16-0 2007 Patriots were the most dominant NFL team since World War II, and the only club in NFL history to score 300 more points than it surrendered (589-274).
Those Patriots ranked, on average, 3.4 across the board in our 2007 Quality Stats Power Rankings.
Houston (through four games) is slightly stronger than the wire-to-wire 2007 Patriots. But as we saw, those Patriots started red hot and couldn't keep the momentum going, ultimately faltering in the Super Bowl.
The Texans right now are on pace to score 504 points and surrender 224. That 280-point differential would be third in the Super Bowl Era, behind the 2007 Patriots (+315) and 1999 Rams (+284).
@SInow The @HoustonTexans are on an early pace to be one of the most dominant teams in modern #NFL history. http://on.si.com/U7V5Nt
Either Tom Brady's Patriots or Peyton Manning's Broncos will be 3-2 by early Sunday evening. But neither team appears equipped to stop the mighty Houston Texans, who are on an early pace to be one of the most dominant teams in modern NFL history.
Houston was the Cold, Hard Football Facts preseason pick to win the Super Bowl. And so far the 4-0 Texans have exceeded our wildest expectations.
They dominate the NFL in two key indicators of success.
The first is the Relativity Index, which we discussed above. Denver and New England are No. 1 in offensive relativity. But if we look at both sides of the ball, Houston is the most dominant team in football, even when we take into account the quality of the opposition.
Here is the Top 10 on the Relativity Index entering Week 5:
1. Houston -- +16.8 points (+6.9 on offense; +9.9 on defense)
2. Denver -- +15.5 (+10.3; +5.2)
3. Atlanta -- +14.6 (+8.1; +6.5)
4. Arizona -- +12.7 (+3.4; +9.3)
5. Baltimore -- +12.7 (+8.3; +4.4)
6. New England -- +12.5 (+9.2; +3.3)
7. San Francisco -- +11.3 (+3.3; +8.0)
8. Chicago -- +8.9 (+7.4; +1.5)
9. Green Bay -- +7.3 (+1.6; +5.7)
10. Seattle -- +3.9 (-3.4; +7.3)
Houston is also dominant in our Quality Stats Power Rankings. This is our measure of the average performance across the board in all of our Quality Stats, each of which has a direct correlation to winning football games. Teams that top the Quality Stats Power Rankings have a habit of reaching Super Bowls at worst.
The Texans rank No. 2.8 on average in each of our indicators. That number represents incredible top to bottom strength in all phases of the game. They rank no worse than No. 6 in any individual indicator, Real Passing Yards Per Attempt (7.36 YPA).
We've rarely seen a team so good in so many indicators. For a little perspective, the 16-0 2007 Patriots were the most dominant NFL team since World War II, and the only club in NFL history to score 300 more points than it surrendered (589-274).
Those Patriots ranked, on average, 3.4 across the board in our 2007 Quality Stats Power Rankings.
Houston (through four games) is slightly stronger than the wire-to-wire 2007 Patriots. But as we saw, those Patriots started red hot and couldn't keep the momentum going, ultimately faltering in the Super Bowl.
The Texans right now are on pace to score 504 points and surrender 224. That 280-point differential would be third in the Super Bowl Era, behind the 2007 Patriots (+315) and 1999 Rams (+284).
@SInow The @HoustonTexans are on an early pace to be one of the most dominant teams in modern #NFL history. http://on.si.com/U7V5Nt