Houston Texans Daily Roundup: Alex Smith, Washington Redskins are next

The bye week is over and it is now time for the Houston Texans to focus on the Washington Redskins, with the Texans putting their six-game winning streak on the line this upcoming Sunday.

Following a bye week where the Houston Texans saw the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts gain wins to improve in the AFC South standings, the Texans are now rested and ready, but what awaits them in Week 11 is a game with another division leader.

The Texans — who are 6-3 overall with a six-game winning streak — will travel to take on the NFC East leader, the Washington Redskins. Washington is also 6-3 on the season as they most recently defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 16-3 in Week 10, even after allowing over 500 yards of offense to the Buccaneers.

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Both the Texans and Redskins are unique teams with the Texans going from not being able to win game to being a division leader. The Redskins are in the same boat as they are winning with a veteran running back in Adrian Peterson and even more so gaining with with their new veteran quarterback Alex Smith, as the Redskins didn’t re-sign Kirk Cousins this past offseason.

The Football DataBase has the Texans and Redskins at 2-2 in their four meetings, with the Texans winning their past two games. Houston won the 2010 game by a 30-27 score in overtime and then again in 2014 by a 17-6 score.

There is a lot ahead for this game, but it will be another good matchup for the Texans in facing the Redskins. Right now, the Redskins are the one of just two teams left on the schedule who have a record of above .500

Here is more on both teams at the start of the week.

• The Houston Texans have had some big kicks from Ka’imi Fairbairn this season, and according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle the kicker is improving this season. Wilson quoted Texans special teams coordinator Brad Seely about the kicker:

"“I really like his demeanor. He never gets too up, he never gets too down.”"

Having a kicker who seems not to be rattled or too hyped is a great weapon for the Texans to have in tough situations. Fairbairn has made some big-time clutch kicks this season and most likely he’ll have to later on again this season.

• Jerry Brewer of the Washington Post wrote about how the Washington Redskins have a winning strategy and that is to “keep it simple.” Brewer wrote this in a recent article:

"“There is no flash to them, just grit, and they have their best chance in years — in decades — to produce sustainable success.”"

Teams who keep things simple are possibly the most dangerous. In facing the Redskins this upcoming Sunday it will be very interesting to see how the Texans defense can force the Washington offense to make mistakes. If the defense of J.J. Watt and company can do that to Washington it will make for an extremely competitive game between the two first place teams.

• Mark Lane of TexansWire of the USA Today wrote about the upcoming Monday Night Football game two weeks from today when the Texans face the Titans for the second time of the season. That game will be huge in the AFC South standings no matter the outcomes in Week 11. Lane wrote:

"“Right now, at 5-4, the Titans would have to beat the Indianapolis Colts in Week 11 to record six wins on the season. A win over the Colts sets them up in prime position to steal the AFC South at that point.”"

There is a lot that can happen from now to the end of the regular season and for both the Texans and the Titans the Week 12 game will be huge for varying reasons that Lane brings up in his article. It will be exciting to see how the Texans play with the pressure of teams chasing them for a first place spot in the division for the rest of the season.

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