Photo via Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The Houston Texans’ 2016 season may have felt like a disappointment for most of the season, but they will view it as a success.
For the first eight games of the season, the Texans were consistently average. They won their first two games, including a home win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Then the pattern was win a game and lose a game. They went 5-3 heading into their bye week in week nine, exactly half way through the season. When they lost, it was ugly; their three losses to the New England Patriots, the Minnesota Vikings and the Denver Broncos were by a combined score of 85-22. When they won, they were solid; with wins over the Tennessee Titans, the Indianapolis Colts and the Detroit Lions.
After Week 10, the Texans were in good shape at 6-3, but they reached their critical point in the season.
They lost three consecutive games by one score to the Oakland Raiders, the San Diego Chargers and the Green Bay Packers. When the Texans were 6-6, the only spot in the AFC playoffs left for them would come via winning the AFC South. The Texans proceeded to win three straight games, with two of those key wins coming against the Indianapolis Colts on the road and the Cincinnati Bengals at home. They finished with their second straight 9-7 and their second straight AFC South title.
Unlike the debacle against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2015, this time they took care of business at home, beating a depleted Oakland Raiders team before being eliminated by the Patriots in the divisional round.
The Texans have to feel like they are few changes a way from being Super Bowl contenders. How can they get there?
Here are some questions to be answered in the offseason for the Texans to reach that level.
Decide on a Quarterback
The Texans won’t give up on Brock Osweiler after committing $72 million on him. He played his best football in the postseason after he finished the regular season with 15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. At that price, that’s enough to keep going with him. That doesn’t mean the Texans will stop exploring alternatives especially with some viable options in free agency and the NFL Draft.
Smooth Things Over With Bill O’Brien
The first three seasons of O’Brien’s tenure with the Texans haven’t been spectacular. The main criticisms of O’Brien has been the Texans’ inability to beat the elite teams in the NFL and his handling of the quarterbacks. But O’Brien is the only coach in Texans’ history to have a winning record in his first three seasons and he’s gotten the Texans to the playoffs two straight seasons. Even though he is in a five-year contract with the Texans, there are some indicators that show he isn’t the happiest guy in Houston.
Extend The Contract of DeAndre Hopkins
It shouldn’t be difficult since both sides want to get a deal done, but after a brief holdout in the preseason, you want to be sure you get this right for one of the youngest and brightest wide receivers in the NFL. It will also be interesting to see how they view Hopkins’ performance this year, which saw him drop below 1,000 receiving yards after two straight 1,000 yard seasons.
Is J.J. Watt Fully Healthy?
The Texans’ defensive line was firing on all cylinders at the end of the season and had their best game against the Patriots. Jadeveon Clowney, Whitney Mercilus and Benardrick McKinney all peaked at the same time. It’s possible the Texans could have upset the Patriots if they had Watt. But Watt played just three games because he came back too soon from back surgery and was forced to have another one. Watt could turn the defense into what the Denver Broncos were two years ago.
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