Houston Texans: Mea Culpa

I freely admit that I pegged this Texans team wrong. After a 0-2 start I DID write that they shouldn't panic, but I also stated that Bill O'Brien was probably not the coach to be leading the turn-around.

Eight wins in a row later and it appears that he WAS the guy to lead the team.

Not that his coaching has been brilliant, it just hasn't been BAD, and while I still think there are holes in the roster he's making good enough use of his talent to beat the teams he should which, coincidentally, are most of the teams on the schedule.  As amazing as this might sound, the two toughest games remaining on the schedule might be the Browns and the Colts over the next two weeks.

But 8-3 is 8-3 and if you are what your record says you are then the Texans have turned into a much-better-than-average NFL team and the clear front-runner in the much depleted AFC South.  They now hold what is basically a 3-game lead over the Colts (Since the Texans beat Indy in their first match-up earlier in the year) with 5 games remaining.  They're not a lock to win the division, they still have to play them after all, but a Texans fans has to be feeling pretty good right about now.

This still doesn't cover up the issues on the offensive line (which, to be fair, has gotten a little better, especially in the run game) or the problems in the defensive backfield (which has also gotten better due to the re-emergence of the pass rush). But it does mean that the good players on this team are finally stepping up and making plays that cover up the deficiencies in other areas.

They are also getting a ridiculous amount of good luck in the form of other coaches making head-scratching calls.  An example of this is the Titans handing the ball off to a TE (getting his first carry of his career) on 4th and inches instead of bruising tailback Henry.  As I said, odd.

DeShaun Watson is playing much, much better, although still holding onto the ball too long, and DeAndre Hopkins is a joy to watch.  Even Miller is running the ball with authority, and surprising speed last night in his franchise-record setting 97 yard TD jaunt.

I'm still not convinced this team has the make-up to get beyond the 2nd round of the playoffs, but they are looking more like a playoff team over the last 4 games of the winning streak than they did during the first 4.

So, mea culpa then, I was wrong.  This year's Texans team IS a pretty good team that has the ability to win the division. While I'm still not entirely sold on their long-term potential, they're at least winning the games they should win now, which is something they've not always done in the past.