Who are the 2019 Houston Texans?
The Houston Texans, entered Thursday nights matchup against the Colts four days after coming off of their bye, and suffering an embarrassing loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Top MVP candidate Lamar Jackson could not be stopped en route to a 41-7 thrashing that left the Texans looking in the mirror questioning where they stand among the leagues elite. Thursday night the Texans returned home to face an Indianapolis team torn apart by injuries with Marlon Mack out, Jacoby Brissett nursing a sprained MCL, Ty Hilton playing although recovering from a calf injury, and tight end Eric Ebron fighting through a high ankle sprain. In a less than convincing 20-17 win, Deshaun Watson threw for 298 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Wide receivers Deandre Hopkins and Will Fuller lead the team with stat lines of 94 yards and 2 touchdowns and 140 yards respectively. Though the Texans were able to escape with a win, this team has yet to put on a performance that convinces us that they will be a serious threat come January. At 7-4 they sit atop the AFC South having played both games against the rival Colts. They will face another big test next Sunday night, when they welcome Tom Brady the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots for a prime time matchup. This game will serve as a good measuring stick to see where they really stand against the AFC's elite organizations. Though a win against New England may still not be enough to make believers out of most fans around the league. For the Texans to justify their offseason moves in which they went "all in" mortgaging future first and third round draft picks in each of the next two drafts to acquire left tackle Laremy Tunsil, Wide receiver Kenny Stills, and Corner back Gareon Conley, they will need to find a way to be more than a division winner with a home game on wild card weekend. Though the Texans have won the AFC south three of the past four years, they have yet to accomplish anything more than advanced to the divisional round where they are reminded of the insufficiencies they have an as organization. Bill O'Brien entered this season acting as full time coach and GM and though all of the risky moves he made seem to be paying off, his future with the team and this teams success will only be judged by what they can accomplish going toe to toe with the leagues elite coaches and teams come playoff time.
