The Houston Texans have just one losing season (2010) over the past five, but just one playoff berth (2011).

Rick Smith and Gary Kubiak have done well to build a consistent contender and have suffered from instances of untimely injuries to key contributors.

RealGM has been using a statistic called the Trench Counter to rank NFL teams since the 2007 season.

The Trench Counter accounts for average yards per pass, yards per carry, penalty yards, first downs and turnovers to determine how well teams control the game in the most meaningful ways.

The Texans rank 14th in Trench Counter from the 2007 season through 2011.

Below are Houston’s season-by-season rankings, Trench Counter totals and actual record in parentheses.

2007: 24th, -3.7 (8-8)
2008: 20th, +0.0 (8-8)
2009: 12th, +2.3 (9-7)
2010: 11th, +1.7 (6-10)
2011: 2nd, +6.8 (10-6)