The Houston Texans actually played solid defense in Week 7 against the Arizona Cardinals. That point will be overshadowed, however, when a team scores just five points and gets blown out anyway.

There is plenty to process for the Texans, who are certainly a bottom-rung NFL team but aren't completely bereft of solutions or hope the way the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets are. That might be a small and insufficient point of consolation right now, but with a Deshaun Watson trade being discussed, reinforcements could soon arrive in Houston. This is not the desperate, rock-bottom situation being faced by the Jets or Eagles, also the New York Giants and a few other teams.

Yet, let's be honest: “We're No. 27!” is not, and never will be, an exciting or especially hopeful mantra or chant. The Texans are still really bad and have to be honest with themselves about their flaws.

Here are a some Texans Week 7 takeaways to consider after the 31-5 loss to the Cardinals:

Texans Week 7 takeaways

3. Tyrod Taylor is returning to practice not a moment too soon

The Houston Chronicle has reported that Tyrod Taylor will return to practice this week for the Texans. This does not mean, however, that he is guaranteed to start in Week 8 against the Los Angeles Rams. Nevertheless, this development gives Houston some hope that it can field a decent team with a half-decent offense.

No offense to Davis Mills, but the top-75 draft pick just isn't ready for the NFL right now. That's no great indictment or criticism of the Stanford product. He simply doesn't have the ability to overcome his own limitations and the weaknesses of the Houston offense as presently constructed.

Taylor made the Texans a respectable team — not necessarily good, but certainly several notches better than awful.

The Texans, before Taylor's injury, played a highly competitive game in Cleveland against the Browns in September. Taylor has been injured so often in his career that it is hard to forget how competent he is. He isn't flashy or spectacular, and certainly not elite, but he fits in the same category as Ryan Fitzpatrick or Nick Foles. He can lead a team, make basic plays, bring stability to an offense, and win a lot more games than many other quarterbacks in the league, especially in fragile or complicated situations.

If Taylor comes back — maybe not against the Rams, but at some point in the near future — this team's outlook might not be as bleak as recent results have indicated. That has to be kept in mind.

2. Mistakes continue to crush this team

Whenever the Texans were trying to do something on offense against the Cardinals in Week 7, they committed a penalty. Holding. Illegal formation. Illegal chop block. Once per drive, Houston shot itself in the foot.

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Texans owner Cal McNair

Benjamin Adducchio ·

The broken record kept playing. Occasional penalties happen to every team. The Texans are chronic penalty-takers, and that marks an especially bad team. David Culley has to find a way to nip this in the bud.

1. In an ocean of misery, the defensive line is a bright spot

The Texans' offensive line is a disaster, but the defensive line is a very different story. It's true that the Texans need Tyrod Taylor and need a massive offseason upgrade on their O-line, but their defensive front is the real deal. Their pass rush legitimately bothered Kyler Murray and the Cardinals in this game. Allowing 31 points but scoring two (on a safety) means Houston held Arizona under 30 net points. Most NFL teams will fail to do that in 2021. That's a respectable defensive performance with a bad secondary.

Most of the position groups on this roster are in bad shape, but this defensive line gives the Texans an anchor for their defense. If they can improve the other surrounding pieces, they don't have as far to travel to get to a nine- or 10-win standard.

“We're No. 27!” doesn't sound great, but it does mean the Texans aren't in an especially deep ditch (just a medium-sized one).