Houston Texans Daily Report: Will team gain first win of season?

Will this be the week the Houston Texans earn their first victory when they face the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday?

Looking ahead to Sunday, the question for the Houston Texans is can they finally gain their first win of the 2018 NFL season? This week they hit the road for the third time in four games to next face the one-win Indianapolis Colts.

Saying yes they can gain that win isn’t a guarantee, and saying a game is winnable for the Texans is nothing but a fun idea from here on out. Think about it, in two of the first three games thus far for the Texans, the experts in Las Vegas thought well enough to make them favorites against the Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants. Both of these games ended in losses, and now the Texans are underdogs for Week 4 as they prepare to face Andrew Luck and the Colts.

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The Texans have a lot of work ahead of them from here on out, especially with the offensive line. Also the defense has yet to really take over a game too, though they have players like J.J. Watt who are starting to heat up with quarterback pressures the past couple weeks, and he is coming off a game where he totaled three sacks against the Giants.

There is a lot of football ahead for the Texans and Week 4 is a chance to get back on track and see where the season takes them. It is up to the franchise to get things rolling against the Colts and start winning. Here is what media outlets are saying about the both the Texans and Colts for Wednesday.

• Jake Arthur of Colts.com gave an early scouting report on the Texans, including this important bit of information from Pro Football Focus. Arthur wrote in the article:

"“Pro Football Focus rates the Texans as the No. 29 offense in pass protection. The Colts, meanwhile, have the third-most sacks in the NFL with 10.”"

This stat doesn’t go in favor of the Texans for Week 4, in fact it is hopefully something the Texans are really focusing on. If Deshaun Watson is on the ground more than standing upright, well it it will be another tough week for the team. In those 10 sacks from the Colts, they had two vs. the Cincinnati Bengals, three vs. the Washington Redskins and five this past Sunday vs. the Philadelphia Eagles.

Here is to Watson’s pass protection in front of him plays better than they have thus far in 2018.

• Matt Lane of TexansWire.com wrote an article on how the Texans are 1-15 when they trail entering the fourth quarter since 2017, leading the league. Lane wrote:

"“The true cause for concern is the frequency of such games. The league average for games when trailing after three quarters is 8.8. Houston has nearly doubled up that mark, which underscores their inability to start fast in ballgames.”"

That is true and just look at how the Texans have started games this season. Houston has trailed after the first quarter in all three games in 2018. As for halftime deficits, the Texans trailed the New England Patriots, 21-6 in Week 1, to the Tennessee Titans 14-7 in Week 2 and 20-6 to the Giants in Week 3.

That has to change this week, because if it doesn’t there is more doom-and-gloom for Houston in Week 4.

• Michael Marot of the Associated Press (via FoxSports.com) wrote about how the Colts have switched from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense and how “smooth” the transition has been. The article stated:

"“Three weeks into the season, the Indy defense is ranked No. 16 overall and No. 15 against both the run and the pass. Only 12 teams have allowed fewer points than Indy’s 63.”"

This is big for the Colts as they usually aren’t known much for their defense as they are for their offense. Now if their offense gets up to where their defense seems to be heading the Colts could become a tough team.

The Colts played the Eagles competitive this past Sunday, so most likely they will make things tough for the Texans offense as well. It will be up to Houston to overcome the momentum the Colts have gained thus far and start playing up to expectations.

• Tweet of the Day

This isn’t something to celebrate, but it is becoming inexcusable for the offense with that above stat. This needs fixed and it has to happen with the Texans getting off to a fast start. If that can happen then maybe the Texans will have a chance to earn their first win of 2018. If not, well it will be yet another disappointing week of football for all involved.