Last NFL bettors got a look at the Houston Texans, they went on to blow a 24-0 second-quarter lead and fell to the Kansas City Chiefs by a 51-31 final score; they couldn’t even cover the closing 10-point spread! That comeback win against the Buffalo Bills in overtime the previous week no doubt played a role; that and Patrick Mahomes going HAM. Regardless, it was another successful campaign for the franchise. Though it amounted to another early exit in the second season, the Texans still went on to win the AFC South for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Upper management decided to give all the keys to Bill O’Brien who is now the head coach and GM of the franchise regardless of the fact that he hasn’t led the team passed the Division Round throughout his time in Houston. With a major head-scratching move made this past offseason, linemakers at online sportsbooks expect the Texans to take a step back in 2020-21 with their season win total checking in at 7.5 after closing 8 just a short season ago. Both the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans also sport shorter returns on the odds to win the division.
Houston Texans Season Win Total: 7.5
Though Carlos Hyde ran for over 1,000 yards and scored 6 TD a season ago, his 4.4 yards per carry average wasn’t enough for the Texans to sign him back to the roster; Hyde is now a member of the Seattle Seahawks. With that, O’Brien made what could end up being a solid move should former Arizona Cardinal David Johnson revert to his pre-injury form of the 2016 season. But what O’Brien gave up to land his services still has fans of the team mind boggled over what the head coach was smoking. DeAndre Hopkins is no longer a member of the wide receiving corps. Arguably one of the top-3 pass catchers in the league will no longer be there for Deshaun Watson to make sweet music with, and that’s something that could go on to haunt this team for many a season. The move might also prove to be the straw that broke O’Brien’s back should the Texans offense regress terribly this season.
Even so, you can’t help but like some of the moves, Houston made to replace the services of “Nuk” and improve the offense as a whole. Speedster Brandin Cooks will now man one of the wide receiver positions after the Texans traded for him with the Los Angeles Rams. Veteran WR Randall Cobb was also signed to round out an impressive corps that also includes Kenny Stills, Will Fuller, and Keke Coutee. The latter three have all proved to be injury prone, however, but the Texans will march out a formidable unit should each be able to escape the clutches of the injury bug. In the grand scheme of things, there won’t be any consistency unless the offensive line plays better. Big OT Charlie Heck was snagged in the NFL Draft, while Brent Qvale came over from the Jets to man the other tackle position. There are still major question marks at guard.
The defensive line suffered a major defection when D.J. Reader inked a 4-year $53 million dollar deal with the Cincinnati Bengals; he’s one of the best run-stuffing nose tackles in the business! In his stead, the Texans went out and selected a pair of defensive players with their first two picks in the draft. TCU’s Ross Blacklock was selected in the second round and will be expected to fill his void upfront to a degree against the run, while Jonathan Greenard’s selection at the end of the third round was made in hopes of finally finding the edge rusher the franchise lost when shipping Jadeveon Clowney to Seattle at the outset of last season. It remains to be seen if either of these guys can help a very bad defense improve after being the Achilles Heel of another division-winning team.
Houston Texans Football Schedule
Week 1: Texans at Chiefs, Thursday, September 10, 8:20 p.m. ET
Week 2: Ravens at Texans, Sunday, September 20, 4:25 p.m. ET
Week 3: Texans at Steelers, Sunday, September 27, 1 p.m. ET
Week 4: Vikings at Texans, Sunday, October 4, 1 p.m. ET
Week 5: Jaguars at Texans, Sunday, October 11, 1 p.m. ET
Week 6: Texans at Titans, Sunday, October 18, 1 p.m. ET
Week 7: Packers at Texans, Sunday, October 25, 1 p.m. ET
Week 8: Bye Week
Week 9: Texans at Jaguars, Sunday, November 8, 1 p.m. ET
Week 10: Texans at Browns, Sunday, November 15, 1 p.m. ET
Week 11: Patriots at Texans, Sunday, November 22, 1 p.m. ET
Week 12: Texans at Lions, Thursday, November 26, 12:30 p.m. ET
Week 13: Colts at Texans, Sunday, December 6, 1 p.m. ET
Week 14: Texans at Bears, Sunday, December 13, 1 p.m. ET
Week 15: Texans at Colts, Sunday, December 20, 1 p.m. ET
Week 16: Bengals vs. Texans, Sunday, December 27, 1 p.m. ET
Week 17: Titans at Texans, Sunday, January 3, 1 p.m. ET
Houston Texans Schedule Analysis
With Watson under center, the Texans are still going to be fun to watch on the offensive side of the ball; so long as the O-Line drastically limits the amount of times he has to run for his life. Texans QBs were sacked a whopping 49 times in the regular season and 12 times through two playoff games! Defensively, Houston looks improved but the ability of J.J. Watt to stay healthy will be a determining factor in the unit’s overall effectiveness. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been right for a number of season’s now, so it’s tough to bank on him seeing it through. On the flip side, the offense can be one of the best in the game regardless of Hopkins no longer on the roster. With him, this team only won 10 games last season and five of them came by three points or less. With the AFC and NFC North on the docket and the Titans and Colts looking much improved, I don’t foresee Houston competing for the division crown or managing a .500 record.
Houston Texans Season Win Total Prediction: Under 7.5 -102
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