Over the next three weeks, we'll learn a whole lot about the Houston Texans, and all of those lessons will be learned inside the friendly confines of NRG Stadium. Actually, scratch that. Depending on how these next three weeks play out, the vibes inside of NRG Stadium may not be so friendly.
Presently, the Texans are 2-4 and on the outside of the AFC Playoff picture looking in. But even though historically, 2-4 teams have just a 12 percent chance of making the Playoffs, it's something that has happened in each of the last four seasons. That means Houston, despite the early season offensive struggles, is still very much alive.
But the Texans' hopes of staying alive will be tested over the course of a difficult three-game home stretch that begins on Sunday afternoon with the 5-2 San Francisco 49ers coming to town, continues with a visit from the Denver Broncos (5-2) next Sunday, and concludes on November 9th when the Texans face the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-3) for the second time this season.
Assuming the Texans can sweep these three games -- a big ask considering the quality of opponent and the struggles that Houston's offense has had for all but five quarters this season -- they'd enter the back half of the season with a 5-4 record and what we could assume would be a reasonable chance to make the Playoffs for a third straight year.
But nobody in Houston is thinking about these next three games or what awaits them deep into the months of November and December. Right now, the Texans remain focused on getting by a solid San Francisco 49ers squad that will be trying to keep pace with the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West.
DeMeco Ryans shuts down talk about three game home stand
Even though it would be easy to do so, knowing you won't have to leave home for nearly a month, the Texans aren't thinking about three straight home games. They've got their eyes locked on the one game they'll be playing on October 26th.
"I really don't care about the three games," DeMeco Ryans said this week, per DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN.com. "It's all about the Niners. It's not about getting on track, it's about the Niners and playing how we need to play. ... I really don't care about the home stretch at all."
It's understandable that Ryans wouldn't want his team looking past the 49ers this weekend, but at the same time, maybe he should care just a little bit about the upcoming home stretch. Including a pair of postseason games, the Texans are 14-7 at home under DeMeco Ryans. If that mark improves to 17-7 over the course of the next 15 days, Houston will suddenly be in pretty decent shape.
But if it's anything worse, an already frustrated Texans fan base will be even more discouraged than they already are.