All fans care about in training camp is whether or not their team has the ingredients to make the playoffs, and USA TODAY’s SportsPulse took a look at the Houston Texans’ chances.
The first part of the analysis claims that the Texans will qualify for the postseason if Deshaun Watson plays like Superman in all 16 games and “squeezes enough out of his slightly above average weapons” and Bill O’Brien is prevented from “making any big decisions.”
Watson playing a full slate is a prerequisite to a successful season. It is no coincidence that Houston has qualified for the playoffs the last two years when Watson has been healthy for all 16 of them. However, his playing like Superman is not required. Since 2018, the Texans are 5-4 in games where Watson has a sub-80 passer rating, and one of them was the 31-24 win at the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6 of last year.
As far as O’Brien’s ability to make big decisions, Jacob Martin, one of the players the Texans received in their trading of Jadeveon Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks, had more sacks than the former 2014 No. 1 overall pick last year: 3.5 to 3.0. O’Brien also acquired left tackle Laremy Tunsil in a big trade with the Miami Dolphins, and the former 2016 first-round pick made his first career Pro Bowl.
Are O’Brien’s decisions costly in terms of long-term team building? That remains to be seen, and the lack of top-100 draft picks from 2020-21 suggests it could be. But O’Brien’s decisions after the firing of general manager Brian Gaine last year were not detrimental to the team.
The Texans will fail to make the playoffs, according to the video, if Watson misses any time, the offensive line doesn’t protect him, and Houston loses any close games.
“Seriously, every Texans game comes down to the wire with Deshaun having to play Houdini,” the narrator states.
Last year, the Texans played 11 games, including the wild-card playoff game, that were decided by one score. Technically, the Week 13 bout with the New England Patriots falls into that category, even though the Texans were ahead 28-9 with four minutes left to play.
It’s okay if Russell Wilson has five game-winning drives (tied with Watson and Josh Allen for most in the NFL last year). It’s okay if Wilson and Jimmy Garoppolo are tied with Allen for the most fourth quarter comebacks last season with four. It’s problematic and speaks to Watson’s inequitable burden of covering for O’Brien’s poor coaching if the Texans lead in any of these categories.
As far as the offensive line, 2020 marks the first season since 2011 that all five starters from the year before return. The soft rebuild of the Texans’ offensive line has been completed. Just ask Carlos Hyde.
What is interesting about the video analysis is it doesn’t shine any light on the defense, which is counting on a combination of J.J. Watt recovering from injury and a cavalcade of youngsters to generate a pass rush. Throw in the ambiguity as to who starts opposite of safety Justin Reid in the secondary, and one could find more palatable reasons for what keeps Houston out of the playoffs.
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