Houston Texans Daily Roundup: Business to take care of in Week 17
At least the Houston Texans know they are in the AFC Playoffs for this season, but for the upcoming Week 17 game there is still business that needs to be handled.
The Houston Texans are hurting with injures to the offense, and overall the team not playing as well as they were earlier in the season. As much as winning is important this time of the year, maybe the Texans are just getting their slump out of the way before the playoffs begin.
Even with two straight losses, and playing without some valuable players on offense and defense due to injuries, the Texans are still going to be in the playoffs. It is still in their hands if they host a game on Wild Card weekend by becoming AFC South champions, if not they will have to travel for the playoff opener.
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Houston lost to the Philadelphia Eagles by a 32-30 score in Week 16, and if you look back at the five losses for the season the largest deficit for a loss was seven points and that was way back in Week 1 against the New England Patriots.
For all the injuries to wide receivers, poor offensive line play and at times just plain inconsistency on the offensive side of the ball, the Texans are still in a good spot to be the AFC South champions.
That said, Houston does need to get back on the winning side of things and if they can defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17 they will have some momentum on their side as they begin their playoff journey as the division champion.
Here are some Texans headlines for Monday following the loss to the Eagles.
• Turron Davenport of ESPN.com wrote about the Week 16 loss to the Eagles, even mentioning how the Texans lost the No. 2 spot in the playoffs and will have to most likely play in the Wild Card round now.
"“The New England Patriots are back in the No. 2 spot and in line for a first-round bye. Houston squandered a chance to avoid having to play during wild-card week.”"
With the injuries the Texans have at wide receiver and running back, and the pace that quarterback Deshaun Watson has been hit and sacked this season, an extra week off would have been great. Now with the Patriots facing the New York Jets in Week 17, New England — barring an upset — should be able secure the No. 2 spot in the playoffs. Houston had their opportunity and let is slip out of their hands, and now they are battling to just win the division title.
• Dale Robertson of the Houston Chronicle recapped the Texans’ loss to the Eagles, writing about how they couldn’t mount a late comeback in Philadelphia.
"“Elliott’s 35-yard field goal as the clock expired would be the difference in what arguably became the most exciting and inspiring, if ultimately most heart-breaking loss they’ve ever suffered”"
The Texans can’t blame anyone but themselves for not already being the AFC South champion and that also has caused them to not be the current No. 2 seed in the AFC. This was a tough loss to take, but the Texans still have their destiny in their hands and can still host a playoff game.
• Zack Rosenblatt for NJ.com wrote about the final drive by the Eagles in the Texans’ two-point loss on Sunday:
"“A lot happened on that final drive, the most stressful one the Eagles have experienced since the Super Bowl. If they had failed, they would’ve been eliminated from postseason contention.”"
Everything went against the Texans in the final drive and with the Eagles fighting for their playoff lives they had everything on the line and played like it. The Eagles had Nick Foles lead them to victory over Houston and Philly stayed alive to have a chance at the playoffs.
• Tweet of the Day
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1076945990366593024
dark. Next. Houston Texans clinch an AFC Playoff berth
This play shows just how good of an athlete and good of a quarterback that Watson is for the Texans. If the Texans can just learn how to protect him better, Watson will be even more productive than he already is in the NFL. The above play is just super exciting to watch and shows the Texans are lucky to have him as their quarterback.