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Before last season, the Houston Texans had been nothing more than an easy win for their opponents as they were a team still trying to find their stride. Not only were their problems on the defensive side of the football the Texans, but the offense also struggled in all areas and seemingly had no hope for the future with only wide receiver Andre Johnson being a threat to opposing defenses.

Fortunately, things started to turn around last year as the Texans offense became amongst the best in the league led by quarterback Matt Schaub who consistently connected with perennial Pro Bowler Andre Johnson. The running game still has some work to do as the Texans can’t seem to find a running back that plays with any kind of consistency out of the backfield, but Steve Slaton could potentially have a breakout season if opposing defenses concentrate on stopping the potent air attack.

Last season the Houston Texans finally experienced some success as Matt Schaub became the league’s leader passer in terms of passing yards with 4,770. One of the main reasons for Schuab’s breakout year was Andre Johnson leading the league in receiving yards for the second straight season with 1,569 and the emergence of one of the best tight ends in the NFL in Owen Daniels.

Even though Daniels went down with a season ending injury (torn ACL) against the Buffalo Bills in week 8, the up and coming tight end’s contribution to the team was huge to say the least as he became Schaub’s favorite target behind Andre Johnson and finished the season with 519 yards and five touchdowns.

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Despite missing half the season, Daniels made a big impression on the Texans offense and could be the missing piece to the puzzle in Houston turning the corner this season and making it into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

With four straight wins to finish last season, the Houston Texans finally seem to come into their own as they were making a late push for the AFC Wildcard.

Unfortunately, it was too little too late as the Houston Texans just missed the playoffs and the New York Jets and the Baltimore Ravens advanced to the postseason instead.

Even though Matt Schaub and company missed out on the playoffs, they have seemed to build a nice foundation over the past couple of seasons and have gotten closer and closer to the ultimate goal of becoming a playoff team in the always competitive AFC Conference.

They might still be a season or two away from making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, but they definitely seem to have the right pieces of the puzzle in place to compete for in the conference from here on out, but it doesn’t help that they play in the AFC South division with the up and coming Tennessee Titans and arguably the best team in the league in Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts.

So even though the Houston Texans could be playoff bound in the next couple of years, I not sure they have what it takes to get to the postseason, but they could end up surprising people if their offense continues to light up the scoreboard.