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It was a dizzying year for fans of the Houston Texans. Houston won the AFC South for the fourth time in five seasons, but the Texans couldn’t make it past the Divisional Round of the playoffs once again. The Texans have now been in existence for 18 seasons, and the franchise has yet to make it to the AFC Championship Game despite winning six division titles since 2011. That has some fans clamoring for changes to be made after another inglorious end to the season, but it appears that head coach Bill O’Brien and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel will return in 2020.

Season Recap

Deshaun Watson had his best season yet with the Texans in 2019. Watson was selected to the Pro Bowl, and he will be one of the top five vote getters for the NFL MVP award. Houston depended on Watson to make plays far too often as the pocket was constantly collapsing due to a shaky offensive line, but he constantly rose to the occasion to get the job done. Although Watson is one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the NFL, he was sacked 44 times during the regular season and 11 times in two playoff games.

Carlos Hyde did manage to run for over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career as the offensive line was much better at creating holes in the run game. Houston averaged 4.6 YPC as a team, and Hyde formed a solid one-two punch with Duke Johnson with the latter being used in the passing game often.

Deandre Hopkins is still one of the best receivers in the NFL, and he was selected to the Pro Bowl despite missing a game due to injury. Hopkins caught 104 passes for 1,165 yards and seven touchdowns, and Nuke was the most reliable receiver of the bunch. Deep threat Will Fuller couldn’t remain healthy, missing five games in the regular season and one in the postseason with various maladies, and Kenny Stills missed three games due to injury too.

There were no All-Pros or Pro Bowlers on defense, as Houston had trouble in all phases of the game on this side of the ball. Whitney Mercilus led the Texans with 7.5 sacks, but no other player registered more than four sacks as J.J. Watt missed half the season with a torn pectoral muscle. Houston was one of the worst teams against the run in the NFL, allowing 4.8 YPC, and the secondary needed constant retooling. The Texans signed Vernon Hargreaves III and traded for Gareon Conley to try to improve in the back, but they made only marginal improvements.

Houston suffered a heart-wrenching end to the season against Kansas City. The Texans jumped out to a 24-0 lead on the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium, stunning the partisan crowd. Special teams mistakes and sharp play from Watson gave Houston a comfortable cushion, but it wasn’t enough as the Texans couldn’t even take that lead into halftime.

Patrick Mahomes threw four touchdown passes in the last 10 minutes of the half to give Kansas City the lead going into halftime, and it was all said and done from there. The Chiefs outscored the Texans 51-7 in the last 40 minutes of the game, as Houston’s defense couldn’t get off the field. Mahomes was responsible for 374 yards and five touchdowns, leading the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game for the second straight season.

2020 Season Preview

It’s going to be a long offseason for the Texans. There will be plenty of speculation about what could have been if Houston didn’t blow that lead against Kansas City, and many pundits believe that this team’s ceiling has been reached as currently constructed.

Bill O’Brien mortgaged the team’s future by dealing two first-round picks and a second-round pick for Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills. Tunsil was supposed to shore up the blind side for Watson, but he largely underachieved and led the league in penalties for an offensive lineman, and Stills was little more than a decent third receiver.

This defense has serious concerns too. J.J. Watt has now missed 32 regular season games over the last four seasons with various injuries, and there is no other solid pass rusher on the roster after dealing Jadeveon Clowney to Seattle. Houston needs a lot of work to stay atop the AFC South, but the Texans might be set to slide.

2019 Houston Texans Betting Schedule

Past Houston Texans Seasons

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