Week 9 marks the midway point of the NFL season and also the Houston Texans’ bye week. After going 9-7 last season, there were huge expectations placed on the team for this year which were not met. Driven by issues at the quarterback position, the Texans delved deeper into sub-par abyss week after week into a 3-5 record. Somehow it all resulted in the team tying for first place with the Indianapolis Colts.
The Texans have done pretty good for themselves considering all the obstacles they have went through. Running back Arian Foster only played a handful of games before being lost for the season. Who can forget about the ill-fated comedy that is our quarterback position? The back and forth between Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett drove the fan base crazy. But thanks to Mallett and his alarm clock (or lack of), Hoyer took back the starting job for the rest of the season. Our defense has not been the ball hawk defense that it was last season. Defensive tackle Vince Wilfork has not been the presence on the d-line many thought he would be. Even fellow d-lineman J.J. Watt has not been the MVP-type that he was a year ago, but of course teams are double teaming him more often these days. With Foster out, the running backs have not proven to be anything worth depending on.
However, in all storms there is some sort of sunshine. DeAndre Hopkins has stepped into the role of being the number one receiver with plenty of ease as he is 3rd in the league in receiving yards. Watt is hovering around the top spot for the lead in sacks, while, when healthy, Jadeveon Clowney is making As mentioned earlier, we are still in the middle of the playoff race as the Colts are slumping but leading the division. It may very well
The future of the season is something that has me at the crossroads to say the least. While the breakdown of the team shows that we could benefit from losing and landing a top 10 draft pick, winning could actually put us in the playoffs. The latter is actually a long shot and only dependent on the fact that the Colts will have to bomb out the rest of their season. Not to mention, the Texans have a pretty tough schedule ahead starting with the Bengals on Monday Night Football, then matchups against the Patriots, Jets and traveling to Indianapolis to play the Colts; a place they have never won in franchise history. The season started off very rough but this second half may very well be equally as crazy down the stretch.