Here they come to mix things up once again. Fans in Houston may know that thill be the wildest season the Texans have ever played. It's hard to tell if they'll rise or topple. As of now, the ship is still sinking. The Texans will look to put all hands on deck starting week 1.
Houston Texans schedule:
Vs Washington
@ Oakland
@ New York Giants
Vs Buffalo
@ Dallas
Vs Indianapolis
@ Pittsburgh
@ Tennessee
Vs Philadelphia
Bye
@ Cleveland
vs Cincinatti
Vs Tennessee
@ Jacksonville
@ Indianapolis
Vs Baltimore
Vs Jacksonville
On paper, the Texans have one of the easiest schedules in the NFL. Playing against teams that played poorly last year like Washington, Oakland, and Jacksonville twice. It opens the chance for Houston to bounce back into playoff form. They only play three teams that had a winning record from last year. Philadelphia, Cincinatti, and Indianapolis twice.
The Texans start off by playing Texas native Robert Griffen III and the Washington Redskins.Both teams looks awful last season and both fell from playoff positions to tail end of the NFL.
Week 2, the Texans go out west to face the always vulnerable Raiders. The Raiders will be starting rookie quarterback Derek Carr with former Texan interception thrower (quarterback) Matt Schaub. Anticipate Schaub to throw three interceptions with his clipboard whilst Derek Carr gets devoured.
The Texans then trek north to meet the Giants, who are led by interception thrower (aka quarterback) Eli Manning. Last season, Eli threw more interceptions than any other quarterback in the league. Assuming the Texans get a couple and take the game.
Week 4 will see the Texans go against a young Bills squad. Coming into week 4, the Texans should be undefeated. But Buffalo will pull an upset and knock the Texans from their throne.
The Texans will then go on to play the Super Bowl of Texas against the Dallas Cowboys. Dez Bryant and Tony Romo may be a hot combination, but Big D doesn't have a D as in defense.
Weeks 6 and 7 will have the Texans on national television. They'll come into these games 4-1 and will exit them 4-3.
Week 8 the Texans will hit the halfway mark at 5-3 after a tight matchup with the Titans. Assuming Jake Locker remains healthy, he will give the Texans a bit of a fight while the Texans offense faces what will be a stingy defense.
Week 9 will be the worst week of the entire season for Houston. They will not have any answer at all for the Eagles high octane offense and a nicely made up defense.
Off the bye week, the Texans come in 5-4 and will face the Cleveland Browns. Regardless if it's Hoyer or Manziel starting, the Texans will run right through the Browns.
Week 11 the Texans host the Cincinatti Bengals. The last two times the Bengals came to Houston, they were defated in the playoffs. Cincinatti won't leave withouyt a victory this time though.
Hosting Tennessee will be a cake walk this time around for the Texans. They can run all over the Titans in a game Houston fans crave to win every year in rememberance of the Houston Oilers.
The Texans head to Jacksonville for week 13. There's a little bit of hype for the Jaguars this season. But they will return to the bottom of the AFC South in 2014 and Houston will rock them like a hurricane.
Having won two games in a row, the Texans then face Indianapolis for the second time. Much like the first time, the Colts will get away with this one and likely clinch the AFC South division championship in the process.
Week 16 the Texans will host the Baltimore Ravens. The new offensive coordinator for Baltimore is former Texans head coach Gary Kubiak. The Ravens can win this one in quite the thriller.
For the last week of the regular season, Houston is going too pummel Jacksonville. No arguments at all.
The Texans finsh the first season of the O' Brien era with a 9-7 record which may be good enough to get back into the playoffs with a wildcard. Most likely taking the final seed in the AFC, the Texans will face the third seeded team, which will be the Colts. The game being in Indianapolis will be a very tight contest. Ultimately, the Colts will come out on top, giving the Texans a quick playoff exit. Nonethless, afetr going 2-14, recovering to make the playoffs will be an epic achievement.
By the end of the season, Ryan Mallet will be the starting quarterback, the Texans defense will lead the league in sacks, DeAndre Hopkins will become a star, Brian Cushing will be comeback player of the year, and all NFL commentators and analysts will know the Texans are hyped to make their mark in the NFL once again.