HOUSTON TEXANS (13-6)
The Texans enter their 25th season as favorites to reclaim the AFC South title under coach DeMeco Ryans after finishing second last season and making the playoffs as a wild-card team. As they prepare to celebrate this milestone season, they hope this is the one during which they finally get over the hump and reach their first AFC championship game and possibly the Super Bowl after losing in the divisional round in each of the past three years. Pressure is on quarterback C.J. Stroud after he threw a career-high four interceptions in a divisional loss to New England. The Texans exercised the fifth-year option on Stroud’s rookie contract in April that locked him in through the 2027 season, but have yet to sign the 24-year-old to an extension — raising questions about his long-term future in Houston. The offense got a boost this offseason with a trade with Detroit for running back David Montgomery and general manager Nick Caserio made several moves to upgrade the offensive line. While the offense should be improved, expect this team to rely heavily on its elite defense that is looking to build on its dominant performance from last season.
Montgomery, WR Kayshon Boutte, DE Jadeveon Clowney, S Reed Blankenship, OG Wyatt Teller, OT Braden Smith, C Keylan Rutledge, DT Kayden McDonald, TE Marlin Klein.
OT Tytus Howard, RB Joe Mixon, RB Nick Chubb, WR Christian Kirk, C Juice Scruggs, S Jaylen Reed.
Houston’s defense should again be the strength of the team after leading the NFL in yards allowed (277.2) and ranking second in points (17.4) last season. The group is led by star defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who signed a three-year, $150 million contract extension this offseason that made him the highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Also returning is veteran defensive end Danielle Hunter after he and Anderson combined for 27 sacks last year. The already fearsome pass rush got a boost with the return of Jadeveon Clowney, who spent his first five seasons in Houston after being selected first overall in 2014. Though Houston’s pass rush leads the defense, the rest of the unit is also strong and features depth at linebacker and an elite secondary led by two-time All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley.
As has been the case for most of the team’s history, the offensive line continues to be a weakness of the team. The unit struggled in both run and pass blocking last season, causing Caserio to prioritize upgrading the group in the offseason. The Texans added Teller and Smith in free agency and selected Rutledge in the first round to play with left tackle Aireontae Ersery, who should be improved in Year 2. They have looked good in limited preseason work, but their ability to gel quickly will be key to Houston’s success this season.
The offense was dealt a major blow before the second preseason game when No. 2 receiver Jayden Higgins tore an ACL in a joint practice with the Raiders. Higgins, who was expected to start alongside star Nico Collins, had 41 receptions for 525 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie last year. The injury left Houston scrambling to fill the spot before acquiring Kayshon Boutte from New England in exchange for safety Jaylen Reed on Aug. 24. Boutte, a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, had 33 receptions for 551 yards and six touchdowns last season. The Patriots had a logjam at the position after trading for receiver A.J. Brown in June and signing Romeo Doubs to a four-year, $68 million contract in March. The Texans also hope that receiver Tank Dell can contribute at some point this season after he missed all last season recovering from a gruesome knee injury he suffered in Dec. 2024. But his return will have to wait a bit longer after he was placed on injured reserve to start the season, keeping him out at least the first four games.
Collins is always a good bet for any fantasy team, but his value could be even higher in the wake of the injury to Higgins. The two-time Pro Bowl pick has three straight 1,000-yard seasons, capped by 1,117 yards and six touchdowns last year in 15 games. The 27-year-old receiver has averaged 15 yards a catch in his five-year career.
Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins (12) takes selfies with fans following an NFL preseason football game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans watches during the second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Carolina Panthers, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Scott Kinser)
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) throws before an NFL preseason football game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
CEUTA, Spain (AP) — The city of Ceuta, a tiny speck of Spanish territory perched on the northern African coast, normally celebrates its Sept. 2 annual official holiday largely ignored by the mainland.
But not this year, after Ceuta became the epicenter of Spain's worst border crisis in living memory.
In lieu of festivities, thousands took to the streets Wednesday across Spain to protest the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ceuta, demanding solutions and blaming Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for his government's handling of it.
Waving Spanish flags, they shouted “A united Ceuta will never be defeated," and “Invaders — go home!” referring to the thousands of migrants still in the city.
Last month, about 72,000 people poured into the small Spanish territory neighboring Morocco, with at least 90 dying in the effort to reach Europe.
Most of the migrants quickly returned or were ushered back over the border, but around 5,000, including 1,200 minors, remain in Ceuta weeks later, according to the national government. Difficult questions likewise linger over what caused the mass crossing that the government says was fueled by an online campaign on social media.
The sudden influx of tens of thousands of migrants into Ceuta, which has a population of about 84,000, put a huge strain on resources and angered many residents. Local authorities said that Spain's central government ignored warning signs before the border was breached.
“What happened to us was not a migratory crisis,” Ceuta's regional leader, Juan Jesús Vivas, said during an institutional act on Wednesday to mark the holiday. “What happened was the violation of Spain's territorial integrity.”
Vivas is a member of Spain's leading conservative Popular Party which, with Spain's far-right Vox party, has latched onto the Ceuta crisis and made it the focus of a political fight to oust the left-wing government in Madrid.
The organizer of Wednesday's protests in Madrid and more than 200 other towns is the officially nonpartisan Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces. But the protests are being promoted by PP and Vox, which is strongly against irregular migration.
Spain’s minister of territorial policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, told Spanish National Radio that the protests were politically motivated.
“This is not to show support for the city of Ceuta or its residents; it is to attack the government of Spain,” Torres said.
The government has denied claims it has left Ceuta behind. This week, it earmarked 309 million euros ($357 million) to aid the city's social services, with special attention to housing migrants, its economy and security.
Many in Spain have asked if Morocco's government could have done more to prevent the frontier breakthrough.
Sánchez, however, has repeatedly defended the Moroccan authorities, saying they were swift to help in the return of most of the migrants. On Monday, the Spanish leader alleged — without presenting any evidence — that other countries had amplified disinformation related to the crisis.
“There is no information from any of our intelligence services that points to the participation of Moroccan authorities,” Sánchez told Cadena Ser radio on Monday.
Sánchez, who faces an election next year, said that a misinterpretation of a Supreme Court ruling and disinformation spread on social media encouraged people to rush the border.
The prime minister has also accused social media accounts linked to Russia and Israel and right-wing groups of exploiting and amplifying the Ceuta crisis after it happened on July 30 and 31. Israel and Russia have refuted that claim.
“Without facts, without materials backed up by numbers, dates, names, there is simply nothing to talk about,” Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters.
Sánchez’s government didn't provide examples of Russian or Israeli disinformation campaigns, instead citing internal reports from its Foreign Affairs Ministry and the European Commission's diplomatic service.
Many migrants, including unaccompanied minors, remain sleeping in the streets and camped on a beach despite authorities’ efforts to shelter, register and deport those who are eligible back to Morocco.
“We’re suffering and we want to get to Europe or find a solution right now. Here, we’re all sleeping on the beach and having a really hard time,” Moroccan Nebil Tazi told The Associated Press. “We’ve been waiting for a month, waiting for a solution here, but there isn’t one.”
Vivas, Ceuta's leading official, said that the focus should be on getting the autonomous city back to “normality,” as he vowed to continue to pursue the “truth” behind the crisis.
He urged Spain's central government to reinforce and strengthen the border with Morocco instead of depending on cooperation with its neighbor.
“If we don't do this, there will always be someone tempted to use migration as a tool for political ends,” Vivas said.
In a recorded video message published Wednesday, Sánchez said his government was putting all resources so Ceuta's residents could return to tranquility.
The Ceuta holiday commemorates Sept. 2, 1415, when the first Portuguese governor disembarked a few weeks after Portuguese soldiers claimed the terrain. It then passed into Spanish hands in 1580.
The city normally celebrates the day with an official ceremony, musical performances and cultural programs.
Suman Naishadham contributed from Madrid. Joseph Wilson reported and Renata Brito contributed to this report from Barcelona.
This version has been corrected to clarify that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez alleged that other countries amplified disinformation related to the crisis, not that they spread disinformation that caused the crisis.
Migrants stand at El Trampolín beach in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Francis González)
Migrants take a shower near their tents at El Trampolín beach in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Francis González)
Migrants stand near their tents at El Trampolín beach in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Francis González)
A migrant sits on a rock at El Trampolín beach in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Francis González)
A migrant sits next to his tent at El Trampolín beach in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Francis González)
