Cal McNair believes Houston Texans can be a potential playoff team

Yes, you read that correctly- Cal McNair is really high on the current outlook of the Houston Texans’ roster.

In an interview with Brooks Kubena last week, Cal McNair talked about how the timeline for his team’s success and if it exists. As Jake Asman points out in this video, McNair believed that the Texans could surprise some people and even be in the running for a playoff spot at the end of the season.

It’s excellent that Houston Texans owner Cal McNair has a highly positive outlook for his team, but is his statement and belief justified? While Asman in the video claims that playing in and losing one-score games isn’t anything to hang your hat on for the past two seasons, Asman gets it wrong.

With the state of the Houston Texans being what it currently is, that’s exactly what you want. You want your team to fight. So it’s better to know that you lost by seven points or less and know you pretty much have the right guys and scheme out there instead of the opposite.

So what does this mean for the Houston Texans and their schedule outlook?

Asman points out that the Texans will have to play a third-place schedule and also play the AFC West this season. Yes, the Texans did beat the Jaguars twice- but wins are wins in the NFL, pretty or ugly. Also, Asman may be forgetting that the Texans beat the L.A. Chargers last season (albeit with many injuries on the Chargers’ side, but they still shut down Justin Herbert when it mattered).

Houston also owns two top-15 draft picks in the first round, so there is a lot of room for improvement, and there could even be a trade for another impact player that brightens the outlook.

Here is the opponent’s list for Houston this season (please note this is not their exact schedule)

• Washington Commanders, at Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, at New York Giants
• at Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, at Las Vegas Raiders
• at Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, at Miami Dolphins

Add on the usual AFC South games, and that’s the slate the Texans will face this season. Houston can quickly go 3-1 against the NFC East, with their only loss being to Dallas. The AFC West would be flipped, but Houston has a shot at stealing a close game against the Raiders or Chargers.

The last three teams (CHI/CLE/MIA) should get a 2-1 record, with Miami the only loss. Add those all together, and that’s a 6-4 record for the Texans outside of their division. However, if they can take care of beating Jacksonville and stealing one from Tenessee (which they did) and Indianapolis, the Houston Texans can be a potential playoff team.

Will it happen? Odds are it won’t. But if Houston does get there, don’t be too surprised. Lovie Smith turned around the Bears, who had struggled for a long time. Let’s hope that he can repeat that feat in Houston.