Houston Texans NFL Betting Odds
It was a dismal year for the Houston Texans. After winning the AFC South in four of the last five years, the Texans finished 4-12 in 2020. That led to Houston being third in the 2021 NFL Draft order, but the Texans don’t own either of their first two picks as a result of the Laremy Tunsil trade. Although this team has Deshaun Watson and no longer has Bill O’Brien actively sabotaging its efforts, it might be some time before Houston is competitive again.
Houston Texans Season Recap
Watson was one of a handful of bright spots for the Texans in 2020. He ended up leading the NFL in passing yards despite being sacked 49 times behind a shaky offensive line. Watson completed 70.2 percent of his passes for 4,823 yards (8.9 YPA) with 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions. It was his best season since entering the NFL four years ago, and Watson ended the year with a 112.4 rating.
His performance silenced armchair analysts that were debating whether clearly inferior quarterbacks were better than Watson. Some “experts” even placed him outside their top ten after Houston’s slow start, but he had the last laugh at the end of the year.
There wasn’t much else to laugh about for the Texans. Two of their four wins came against 1-15 Jacksonville, and they failed to beat a team with a winning record as their other two victories came against New England and Detroit. Houston was pretty unlucky though with a 2-8 record in one score games.
Although David Johnson wasn’t worth what Houston gave up for him, everyone already knew that coming into the season. There weren’t high expectations for Johnson, but he was clearly the Texans’ best running back and posted respectable numbers although he missed four games due to injury. David Johnson ran for 691 yards (4.7 YPC) and six touchdowns, and he proved he was still a solid receiver out of the backfield too with 33 receptions for 314 yards and two touchdowns.
This receiver corps looked to be one of the best in the NFL entering the 2020 season. Houston had four potential playmakers in Brandin Cooks, Will Fuller V, Randall Cobb, and Kenny Stills, but only two of those players ended up panning out. Cooks stayed healthy and surpassed 1,000 yards with his fourth team after catching 81 passes for 1,150 yards and six touchdowns. Fuller was on pace to have a massive year with 53 receptions for 879 yards and eight touchdowns through 11 games, but he was suspended for the final five games (along with Bradley Roby).
Meanwhile, Cobb and Stills both ended up being busts. Cobb would have been an atrocious free agent signing on any other team, but it was merely a bad signing given the inexplicable moves O’Brien had made over the last couple years. As for Stills, he was released in the middle of the season just 15 months after being part of the Tunsil trade.
Houston’s defense was not good this year. The Texans ranked 27th in scoring defense (29.0 PPG) and 30th in total defense (416.8 YPG). They were particularly bad against the run as Derrick Henry ran all over them in two games, surpassing the 200-yard mark each time. This front seven allowed an NFL-worst 5.2 YPC and 160.2 YPG on the ground.
This secondary wasn’t that much better against the pass. Houston allowed 7.6 YPA and 256.5 YPG through the air, and the Texans had the lowest interception rate. They only picked off three passes all season, and one of those interceptions was made by J.J. Watt.
Speaking of Watt, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year is clearly no longer the playmaker he was five years ago. Watt has been hampered by injuries recently, missing half of Houston’s games between 2016 and 2019. He managed to stay healthy and missed just one game this season, but he could only record five sacks. His 16 tackles for loss put him among the best though, and he is still the heart and soul of this team.
Linebacker Zach Cunningham led the NFL with 164 tackles, as Benardrick McKinney missed 12 games due to injury.
Houston Texans Schedule & Results
Texans Past Seasons (2002)
| YEAR |
RECORD |
PLAYOFFS |
| 2020 |
4-12 |
None |
| 2019 |
10-6 |
Lost Divisional Round |
| 2018 |
11-5 |
Lost Wild Card |
| 2017 |
4-12 |
None |
| 2016 |
9-7 |
Lost Divisional Round |
| 2015 |
9-7 |
Lost Wild Card |
| 2014 |
9-7 |
None |
| 2013 |
2-14 |
None |
| 2012 |
12-4 |
Lost Divisional Round |
| 2011 |
10-6 |
Lost Divisional Round |
| 2010 |
6-10 |
None |
| 2009 |
9-7 |
None |
| 2008 |
8-8 |
None |
| 2007 |
8-8 |
None |
| 2006 |
6-10 |
None |
| 2005 |
2-14 |
None |
| 2004 |
7-9 |
None |
| 2003 |
5-11 |
None |
| 2002 |
4-12 |
None |
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