It’s hard to argue with the fact that the Houston Texans’ performance in the 2020 regular season will be better than their performance in the offseason. The moves that Bill O’Brien made in the offseason still sound ridiculous. In fact, Bleacher Report picked two of the Houston moves as part of their list of the five worst moves made by teams since the end of the 2019 campaign. One of those was trading DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona. You trade an All-Pro wide receiver in the prime of his career for a retread running back (David Johnson), a second-round pick and a fourth-round pick. Yes, the Texans also went out and got Brandin Cooks from the Rams — another player who was great a couple seasons ago. The other move was dumping a $27 million, three-year contract on Randall Cobb, a slot receiver who has missed games in four consecutive seasons and has just one 1,000-yard season in nine NFL campaigns. Deshaun Watson, the Houston quarterback, has indicated on social media that he is not pleased, although he has been diplomatic about it. Thinking about including the Texans in your fall NFL betting? We take a look at each game on their schedule.
Houston Texans 2020 Schedule Analysis
Week 1: at Kansas City
Houston should have some motivation after building a double-digit lead in Kansas City during the divisional playoff last year before losing by 20 points, an historic playoff collapse. But will they have the personnel or the hunger to do anything about it? Prediction: Loss
Week 2: vs Baltimore
The Ravens routed Houston a year ago, and the Texans have regressed in personnel on both sides of the ball since then. Prediction: Loss
Week 3: at Pittsburgh
I think the Texans can get to Big Ben enough times to frustrate the Steelers’ offense. This should turn out to be one of those wacky road games that Houston ends up winning. Prediction: Win
Week 4: vs Minnesota
The Vikings played well down the stretch last year. Stefon Diggs is gone, but Adam Thielen is healthy. I like the Vikings to roll here offensively and play just enough defense to win. Prediction: Loss
Week 5: vs Jacksonville
Gardner Minshew will have some randomly assorted moments of brilliance for the Jaguars this year, and the Texans will surrender enough of them this week to end up on the wrong end of this score. Prediction: Loss
Week 6: at Tennessee
Houston beat the Titans in Nashville last year. However, I see the Titans continuing 2020 on the roll that they finished 2019 with, which means bad news for the Texans. Prediction: Loss
Week 7: vs Green Bay
Deshaun Watson vs Aaron Rodgers. It’s an interesting matchup, but given that Rodgers didn’t get any receiving help in the draft — but the team did pick a quarterback in the first round — I see this Packers season turning into a mess by this point. Prediction: Win
Week 8: Bye
Week 9: at Jacksonville
The Texans get some revenge in Florida after somehow dropping that game to the Jags at home. They sack Minshew at least eight times. Prediction: Win
Week 10: at Cleveland
Now that the Browns have an offensive line, some talent in their front seven, and a bevy of passing targets for Baker Mayfield, they should be cooking with gas by this point. Prediction: Loss
Week 11: vs New England
Can Bill Belichick outcoach Bill O’Brien? Yes. Can Bill Belichick draw up a defense that will frustrate Deshaun Watson? Yes. Prediction: Loss
Week 12: at Detroit
You have two coaches who may have lost their locker rooms by this point in the season, taking part in a game that could already be mostly meaningless. Detroit has even more roster issues than Houston does, so I’m taking the Texans. Prediction: Win
Week 13: vs Indianapolis
The Colts have a lot of talent, particularly on defense. Can Philip Rivers outduel Deshaun Watson? I see the Colts winning a dogfight here. Prediction: Loss
Week 14: at Chicago
I see Nick Foles doing well at the helm of the Chicago offense, and that Bear defense should be able to manage the Houston attack. Prediction: Loss
Week 15: at Indianapolis
Can Philip Rivers win two big AFC South games against a solid Houston defense in three weeks? No, no he can’t. Prediction: WinWeek 16: vs Cincinnati
If the Texans have lost as many games as I think they will have by this point, will they be ready to take Joe Burrow to the woodshed? Or will they have lost focus? I think Burrow finishes this season strong. Prediction: Loss
Week 17: vs Tennessee
The Titans should have clinched the AFC South by this point, which could mean lots of starters watching from the sidelines. In that scenario, Houston should prevail. Prediction: Win
Season Record Prediction: 6-10
