Even though the Houston Texans take on the Cleveland Browns two Sundays from now, some major news came down today that could flip the contest before it even happens. According to multiple reports, Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has now been placed in the NFL's concussion protocol after experiencing delayed concussion symptoms after their week eight contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
As a result, backup quarterback Shedeur Sanders is now slated to start their next game against quarterback Tyler Shough and the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon. Along with that, one can now start to wonder about whether or not that could also mean Watson could be in line to miss the following game against the Texans 11 days from now.
If so, that means could mean a modest—yet still considerable—positive bump up in Houston's chances to move up the AFC seeding chart within the next couple of weeks.
The Houston Texans could benefit from the absence of Deshaun Watson in their AFC playoff pursuit
For starters, let me begin by expressing with sincerity how much more important the health of athletes are compared to the trivial value of the outcomes of football games. It's of vital significance that Watson gets the best help available to ensure that his quality of life doesn't suffer as a result of this newfound concussion.
Having said that, there are NFL implications to Watson potentially being unavailable for the next two Sundays if it comes to it. For example, the Browns enter week nine on the heels of a 27-6 beatdown at the hands of the Steelers that dropped them to 5-3. That currently gives them a 2-game lead on the Texans for the eighth seed in the AFC.
If the Browns aren't able to overcome the Saints, there's a more-than-decent chance that Houston cuts that deficit to only one game with a victory against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Then, the two will meet at Huntington Bank field the next week for a contest that will determine the tie-breaking advantage for the rest of the season. In the event of a Houston win, they'd leapfrog Cleveland in the standings and have an opportunity to vault all the way from 11th in the conference to eighth (assuming both the ninth-seeded Las Vegas Raiders and 10th-seeded Baltimore Ravens are also losing along the way).
As far as the actual on-field advantage for Houston, Cleveland was already going to head into the game with an offense that could still be roughly the ninth-worst total unit (301.9 YPG) and fourth-worst scoring unit (17.4 PPG) by that point. Without their starting quarterback, the Browns project to be even more abysmal come November 15th. In that case, the Texans' defense will be licking their chops for a chance to redeem their season after being arguably the most disappointing defense the being the campaign.
This will be something to monitor moving forward.
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