Texans receive no love from Bleacher Report in 2020 season projection
Bleacher Report’s latest win/loss projections for all 32 NFL teams has the Houston Texans finishing at just 8-8 for third-place in their division.
If the most recent forecasts for all 32 NFL teams from Bleacher Report are to be believed, the Houston Texans could be in for a very, very long season in 2020.
BR’s Kristopher Knox shared win/loss record predictions for each club, and he had the Texans pegged at 8-8 — the very epitome of mediocrity. Worse still, he gave the edge to both the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans, putting both clubs at 9-7 on the season.
Should his predictions come to fruition, the Texans would most likely miss out on the postseason entirely this year, and the division would go to either the Colts or the Titans, with the runner-up likely still making the playoffs as a wild card.
Of course, the Texans went 10-6 last season and cracked the Divisional Round.
Moreover, Houston has finished below 9-7 just once in six seasons under Bill O’Brien — back in 2017, they finished 4-12 after Deshaun Watson tore his ACL midway through his rookie season.
The odds are stacked against this pessimistic prediction coming true
With all due respect to Knox and to Bleacher Report, it’s difficult to believe the Texans really will go just 8-8 this upcoming season.
Yes, DeAndre Hopkins is gone now … but the bones of the same team that went 10-6 and had a 24-0 early road lead over the Chiefs in the Divisional Round are still intact. J.J. Watt is back and healthier than ever, and Watson should be even better himself in his fourth year as a pro.
Statistically-speaking, Knox brings up some good points about Houston’s struggles on both sides of the ball in 2019, however:
"This is a team that ranked 14th in scoring offense, 29th in pass defense and 25th in run defense. While the Texans were above-average offensively, they were atrocious at times on the other side of the ball—and Hopkins is no longer around to help Watson in clutch situations."
Next. Texans using playoff loss to Chiefs as fuel in 2020. dark
Only time will tell how the Texans fare in 2020.
One thing’s for sure though: Houston isn’t getting much in the way of a vote of support from BR or from Knox … at least not yet.