Houston Texans Daily Roundup: Preseason finale arrives

The Houston Texans have one last preseason game remaining, vs. the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night with players still battling for roster spots.

Finally, the preseason will be complete tonight when the Houston Texans face the Dallas Cowboys in a preseason finale. From there, the 53-man rosters will eventually get set by Saturday afternoon, and then next Sunday the regular season begins.

That said, there is still the matter of the preseason wrapping up, and for the Texans, the meeting with the Cowboys is always a fun matchup, even if the game doesn’t count in the overall standings.

Tyler Brooke of CowboysWire.USAToday.com spoke with TexansWire.com about the preseason finale game, as they spoke with their writer Cole Thompson about Deshaun Watson:

"“It’s mentally where I think he might struggle his first few games back. Take a look back at Robert Griffin III and remember the leg injury he suffered. He rushed back too quick, quickly reinjured himself and never was able to be the same player.”"

This is a good point made about Watson, but since Watson has been through this before while at Clemson and recovered well from it then, Watson knows the process and he should be OK mentally too with the start of the season only a few days away.

• Drew Dougherty of HoustonTexans.com took a “first glance” at the Thursday night preseason game between the Cowboys and the Texans before it all goes down, giving his thoughts on offensive lineman Martinas Rankin:

"“Against the Cowboys, he’ll most likely get some work at both tackle positions, and perhaps even a little at guard.”"

This would be good for the Texans to have as they need to make sure their offensive line is as strong as it can be in preparation for the regular season next Sunday. Having a potential star at quarterback with Watson, the Texans need to do whatever it takes to protect the quarterback, and getting Rankin ready at multiple positions on the offensive line is a very smart move by all involved.

• John McClain of the Houston Chronicle gave his opinions on the Texans’ opener for next Sunday, saying “maybe Patriots finally will be ripe for the picking.” McClain wrote:

"“Now, nobody in their right mind would pick the Texans to begin the season with their first victory in Foxborough, but if they’re ever going to win at Gillette Stadium, this might be the time to do it.”"

Even if this “is the right time,” defeating the defending AFC Champions on the road with possibly the best quarterback and head coach combo to ever be a part of the NFL is a tall task to ask right out of the gate. Can the Texans win the game if all cylinders are all on point, yes. But they have to prove they can do so, and if they ever want to be at the level of the Patriots and win and play in Super Bowls, Week 1 is the starting point to see where they stand.

• Tweet of the Day

What would your caption be for this photo? How about “We have a real game next week!” There is plenty of excitement shown in this photo, and most likely just like the rest of us, Watson, Jadeveon Clowney and DeAndre Hopkins are all excited for the start of the NFL season. What part of the season are you looking forward to the most?