Houston Texans are entering the playoffs with a new identity
By Jair Lopez
The Houston Texans are entering the NFL playoffs with a different swagger than previous seasons.
The Houston Texans have gone to the playoffs five times since being founded in 2002 and they have played a total of seven playoff games. They are 3-1 in the Wild Card Round and 0-3 into the Divisional Round. The Texans have boasted impressive defenses in the past but they have been missing a competent player at one of the most important positions in the game, quarterback. The Texans have rolled out T.J. Yates, Matt Schaub, Brian Hoyer, and Brock Osweiler in the playoffs.
Yates is currently out of the league, Schaub is the backup with the Atlanta Falcons, Hoyer is the backup behind Tom Brady for the New England Patriots, and Osweiler is currently the backup for Ryan Tannehill with the Miami Dolphins. All the quarterbacks that have started in the playoffs for the Texans were short-term solutions at the position with the exception of Schaub and Osweiler.
Schaub was never able to return to form after his foot injury and Osweiler was unable to live up to his contract but he was brought with the intention of being the answer at the quarterback position. The truth of the matter is that the Texans haven’t had a quarterback start in multiple seasons in the playoffs, but that might change with Deshaun Watson.
Watson has been everything the other quarterbacks haven’t been outside of Schaub in his prime, out of the 15 quarterbacks that have started for the Texans, Watson joins Schaub as the second quarterback to have thrown for at least 4,000 yards in a season in the franchise history. He’s barely entering his second season in the NFL and he has led the Texans to their fifth playoff appearance.
At 23 years of age, Watson helped the Texans have their second-best season in franchise history at 11-5. The season Watson had is even more impressive when he spent the majority of last season and the offseason rehabbing his knee after tearing his ACL. His playoff adventure will start this Saturday as the Texans host the Indianapolis in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.