Houston Texans Gear Up For Playoff Run. No, Really.

Are you a Texans fan?

Have you mentioned the word playoffs? 

Try it.  It feels dirty. 

But with just over half the season gone, the Texans are actually in position to possibly make a playoff run.

We’re sitting here at the much deserved bye week at 5-4—a record from which we could just as easily springboard toward the playoffs or crash back to the depths of mediocrity.

Looking forward at the remaining schedule, there are two games which we should absolutely win (vs Seattle and @ St. Louis), three games which are winnable, but may be tight (vs Tenn, @ Jacksonville, and @ Miami), and two games which may be really tough (vs. Indi and vs NE).

Working backwards, I think it’s not unreasonable to think we may go 1-1 against Indy and NE. We clearly could have won at Indianapolis and were it not for the crashing and burning of one Rosencopter last season, we would have beaten Indy pretty convincingly at home last season.

The Patriots, on the other hand at worst will be 11-4 at that juncture (if we give them losses @ Indy and @ New Orleans) and could be better. With any luck, they’ll be resting their starters in anticipation of the playoffs and we can pull that one out. We also benefit from the fact that both of these games are at home.

The three games in the middle category are really going to be the crucial ones on the schedule.

The Tennessee game is very winnable because a) we have two weeks to game plan, b) we have played very well in prime time games recently, c) our defense has improved drastically since we last played them, d) Dominique Barber won’t be playing.

Jacksonville is another game we should have a good chance of winning considering we historically have played well there and again, our run defense has improved drastically since we last played them.

Lastly, we should have a good chance in Miami considering we’ve never lost against them and again our aforementioned improved run defense should be able to force first year starter Chad Henne to win the game.

Considering all this, we should be able to pull off a 2-1 record in these games. Pair that with a 2-0 record against Seattle and St. Louis, and suddenly we’re looking at a 10-6 season and a shot at the wild-card.

But a 10-6 season without the wild-card would be like when you order a Negra Modelo at a Mexican restaurant and they put a lime in it. Yeah, your happy you have a beer, but there’s still going to be that sour taste in your mouth.

So let’s dive even deeper and see what else has to happen for us to get that nice crisp uncontaminated beer.

The reality of the situation is that there’s virtually no way the Texans are going to catch the Colts barring Peyton Manning suddenly transforming into Ryan Leaf, so that leaves us fighting for one of two spots. 

For the sake of discussion, I'm eliminating all teams currently under .500 from playoff contention.  The Dolphins are probably the only team with a shot, but that would require them to go 7-1 the rest of the way just to get to 10-6 which is the mark I think is going to be necessary for a wild-card.

Note:  I actually heard someone on the radio suggest that they weren't writing off Tennessee for the playoffs yet.  If they lose even one game against Houston, Indianapolis, Arizona, Miami, or San Diego, they're out.  No chance.

That leaves the Jets as the only team in the AFC with a shot. 

They've been struggling lately, losing four of their last five, and would have to win six of their remaining eight to get to that 10 win mark.  With games against New England, Indianapolis, Carolina, Atlanta, and Cincinnati, and lead by a rookie quarterback, that's just not going to happen. 

Skipping to the AFC West, either Denver or San Diego is going to get in as division champ, and the other will be fighting for the wild-card.  If Denver can go .500 against San Diego, NY Giants, Indianapolis and Philadelphia, they'll go 12-4 and win the division. 

San Diego has a tougher remaining schedule.  They've got three bunnies left on the schedule, but that only gets them to eight wins.  If they can go 2-3 in those remaining games, though, they'll hit the 10 win mark.  Those games are against Philly, Indy, Dallas, Cincy, and Tennessee.  They could definitely do better than 2-3 in those games though, so they're a serious threat.

That leaves us with the AFC North.  Starting at the bottom, the Ravens are at 4-4, having lost four of their last five, and have some tough remaining games with Indy, Pittsburgh twice, Chicago and @ Green Bay.  That would be tough for a team that's playing well, but with their recent struggles, they're going to have a hard time making the push.

The Bengals have an easier schedule with games against Oakland, Cleveland, Detroit, KC, and the Jets.  Even if they lose the rest of their games, winning those puts them at 11-5.  There other games are at Pittsburgh, at Minnesota, and at San Diego.  Winning just one of those pretty much seals the deal. 

The Steelers also sit at 6-2 right now, and are probably playing some of the best football in the league right now.  They have a slightly tougher schedule than the Bengals, but I think they'll finish stronger.  Rashard Mendenhall seems to be their solution at running back and that's helping to hide their biggest weakness—their offensive line. 

If we sum this all up, I would bet that one of the wildcard spots is going to come from the AFC North and the other is pretty much going to be a battle between us and the Chargers. 

That's right.  The Texans are in position to possibly make the playoffs.

It still feels weird to say that, but it's true.  They just have to keep playing good football. 

Cutting down on turnovers and penalties would help too. 

And a running game.  That would be nice.

Ok, so it's not going to be easy.  But, there is in fact a chance.  And a not-totally-terrible one at that.

So let's band together and root against the Chargers.  Uh... I mean, for the Texans.