Houston Texans have been successful in the Wild Card Round

History has been on the Houston Texans side in the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs.

The Houston Texans are going to the playoffs for the fourth time in franchise history and for the third time in five seasons under head coach Bill O’Brien. With the Texans defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17, they won the AFC South and clinched home-field advantage. The Texans went to the playoffs in the 2011 and 2012 seasons defeating the Cincinnati Bengals in consecutive playoff trips. In their first ever playoff game in franchise history, they won 31-10 and the next season they won 19-13.

The Texans missed the playoffs the next couple of seasons as they went through coaching and personnel changes. However, the franchise returned to the playoffs in the 2015 season but was bounced out of the playoffs in a humiliating fashion as they lost 30-0 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The offense went stagnant in the postseason with Brian Hoyer at quarterback.

In the offseason, the front office and coaching staff decided to pursue a quarterback in free agency and signed Brock Osweiler to take the team over the hump in the 2016 season. The move did little for the offense and the quarterback woes continued throughout the season, but the Texans were still able to qualify for the playoffs and defeated the Oakland Raiders 27-14 in the Wild Card Round. The Texans have hosted all their Wild Card Round games, and have a record of 3-1 in the first round of the playoffs.

The odds are in the Texans favor with their favorable record at home during the playoffs, but they will need to continue the positive momentum against a respectable Indianapolis Colts team that has proven to be a contender with the return of quarterback Andrew Luck from his shoulder injury.