Battle Red Blog
Houston is expected to be a championship contender. What could derail those ambitions?
With the coming of August, we are fast approaching the start of training camps, when 32 NFL teams get set for the coming of the new season. For the Houston Texans, winners of back-to-back AFC South titles, they are looking to go above and beyond, with aspirations of finally making a Conference Championship game, if not actually making and winning the Super Bowl. There is talent and opportunity. Yet, for all the optimism, the Texans aren’t assured of building on the success of the last two seasons. They aren’t even assured of repeating as divisional champions. So much can go right, but what could go wrong?
The Offensive Line, only excelling in “Look-Out” blocks: Let’s call out the obvious. If the offensive line does not improve its less-than-stellar performance from last season, the Texans will not move forward. The Texans front office undertook some massive overhauling of the line, cutting and trading many of the 2024 veterans and bringing in a mix of new veterans along with a rookie tackle prospect to try to improve. Maybe the new blood will be enough. Yet, most of the new vets brought in can hardly be considered individual upgrades. Synergy must carry the day under the new scheme and new leadership. The front office likely thought that it couldn’t get worse on the Oline. Yet, what if it does? Stroud somehow held up under a season of brutal beatings, but his regression from his rookie season is directly correlated to a near-league worst offensive line situation. Another year taking the beating he did, and Texans fan are going to have nightmares of Stroud becoming David Carr 2.0.
About that schedule...: The NFL is like a number of other organizations in that no good deed goes unpunished. By virtue of winning the AFC South, Houston gets a 1st place schedule, which means dates with fellow division winners Baltimore (on the road, where they’ve never won) and Buffalo (who made it to the AFC title game last season). Throw this on top of the NFL schedule rotation that gives Houston dates with the AFC West, which has 3 playoff teams (@ Chiefs, @ Chargers, Broncos) and a likely improving Raiders team, and the NFC West, which historically gives Houston all sorts of issues. The team has back-to-back 10-7 seasons, which has only been good enough for a 4-seed. To be a higher seed, Houston needs to improve on that record, but with this schedule, improvement is far from a given. The AFC South is seen as the Texans’ playground, but teams like Jacksonville and Indianapolis have seen some talent upgrades. Depending on other factors, Houston might consider going 10-7 a major achievement.
The “Sophomore Slump” strikes again: Given the rebuild of the Texans since 2020 and the upward trajectory following, it is not surprising that Houston had rookies who met or exceeded expectations. In theory, a great start augers a better future....
