Key Additions: QB Brock Osweiler, RB Lamar Miller, G Jeff Allen
Key Subtractions: RB Arian Foster, QB Brian Hoyer, WR Nate Washington
Strengths
Basically, the Houston Texans won the AFC South last year because of two reasons: Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts had a horrible, injury-riddled campaign, and the Texans defense was simply outstanding.
Led by three-time Defensive Player of the Year, J.J. Watt, Houston had a top-10 defensive unit that sent many opposing quarterbacks face-down on the turf. The team had the fifth-most sacks in the NFL last season (45), with Watt accounting for 17.5 of them and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus – a solid re-signing by the team last year – adding another 12 sacks of his own. Former first-overall pick and Mercilus’ fellow edge-rusher, Jadaveon Clowney, also looks to have overcome his early injuries and struggles with a strong showing to close out the previous season, making the Texans’ front seven an even more frightening bunch this year.
Weaknesses
Remember when the Texans were blanked 30-0 in last year’s Wild Card playoff game? Yup, that was the game where then-quarterback Brian Hoyer was picked-off four times by the Kansas City Chiefs and fumbled away another possession for a total of five turnovers in a crucial postseason match.
Much like a lot of teams in the NFL, the Texans appear to always be in constant search for their next franchise QB. They may have gotten it this year by signing Denver’s Brock Osweiler, who filled in relatively well for Peyton Manning last year despite some less-than attractive numbers (1,967 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions in seven starts).
Osweiler will be put in a similar position as he was in with the Broncos, having a reliable downfield threat in DeAndre Hopkins (1,521 receiving yards and 11 TDs; one of only four wide receivers in the league last season that breached the 1,500-yard mark) at his disposal and a lock-down D to back him up on the opposite side of the field. Perhaps the Arizona State product makes the big leap into superstardom this year indeed after emerging from Manning’s huge shadow in Mile High.
Key Player – Lamar Miller
Even though the Texans had a significant hole at QB last year, and even with their backfield situation having become a mess after yet another Arian Foster injury (good, riddance to him, right?), they still had a middle-of-the-pack offense, all things considered.
Getting running back Lamar Miller in free agency is a huge acquisition for Houston, maybe even more so than the signing of Osweiler. With the 25-year-old Miller, the Texans finally have a ball carrier with little to no wear-and-tear on his body, and with a sound skill set to boot.
Miller only has 638 rushing attempts for his career, yet has a solid 4.6 yards-per-carry average and a total of 19 rushing touchdowns in four seasons with the Dolphins. He could very well be the x-factor in Houston’s offense (much like Foster was back in the day), and is very much a key component for the development of Osweiler by relieving a ton of pressure off the Texans’ signal-caller of the future via the running game.
Key Game – vs. Indianapolis (October 16)
The AFC South will once again be decided between the Texans and the Indianapolis Colts (sorry, Jags and Titans fans… Not this season just yet!), and the two teams will square off in Week 6 of the upcoming regular season for what should be an intense mid-season divisional clash.
At this point, both H-Town and Indy should have gotten a great look at their generals Osweiler and Luck, respectively. The former must have taken huge strides by then, and Houston needs him to be at his best when the Colts roll into town. Prior to last December’s rare win in Indianapolis, the Texans have lost six-straight contests to the Colts. That can’t be the case for the Texans any more, especially given all the seemingly wise moves they’ve made this offseason.
2015 Team Stats:
Category
Stat (Rank)
Points per game
21.2 (#21)
Passing yards per game
239.6 (#18)
Rushing Yards per game
108.2 (#15)
Scoring Defense
19.6 (#7)
Writer’s Prediction
The Texans, who are currently priced at +190 to win the AFC South and +3,500 to win Super Bowl LI, clinch their fourth division title in six years. They do, however, fail to escape the Wild Card round of the playoffs for the second-straight season.
