The Houston Texans are coming off of a 4-12 season, and 2021 figures to be continuation of that frustration.
The lack of salary cap space, loss of J.J. Watt, a 65-year-old rookie coach taking over in David Culley, no first pick in the draft until Round 3, and the drama with quarterback Deshaun Watson make for a stew of discontent and heartache.
According to Jim Trotter of NFL.com, the Texans’ biggest storyline for 2021 will be whether they can even win a game.
Will they win a single game? When your best player is nowhere to be found, when your head coach is a first-timer entering an incomprehensibly challenging situation, when you lack young talent and proven veterans at key positions, it is a question that begs asking, as disrespectful as it might seem.
The last team to go winless was the Cleveland Browns in 2017. The Detroit Lions also had a winless year in 2008, the first of its kind in a 16-game season.
With the NFL expanding to 17 games, the odds increase that the Texans can win a game. Even BetMGM has the Texans at -115 to win fewer than four games this season.
In the 16-game era (1978-2020), it wasn’t the rookie coaches who failed to win a game; it was coaches in their second or third years with the organization, as was the case with Hue Jackson in Cleveland and Rod Marinelli in Detroit. There was an initial buy-in to what the coaches were selling before the team absolutely gave out. Culley will at least have the benefit of the doubt his first season, especially given his constantly positive demeanor.
The Texans also have competent coordinators on the staff in defensive coordinator Lovie Smith and offensive coordinator Tim Kelly. The defense’s regression to the mean with takeaways and stopping the run should be sufficient enough to guarantee at least one win.