Washington Redskins vs. Houston Texans: Live Score and Analysis for Houston

Rejoice, for the regular season has finally arrived for the Houston Texans!

Expectations and predictions on what the Texans' season will look like seem to be wide-ranging. Most believe they'll finish with a better record than last season, but how much better? Will they take a modest step forward to six or seven wins, or could they challenge the Indianapolis Colts for the division crown?

The latter is very unlikely until the Texans get consistently solid play out of their quarterback, but they will be an improved team.

Fans will get a good look at what their ceiling will be this season in a great Week 1 test against the Washington Redskins, who pose several matchup issues.

The main issue will be the Redskins' speed on offense with who will be assigned to cover DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon and Jordan Reed—assuming that Reed, who is questionable, plays. None of the Texans' corners have the long speed to stay with Jackson, and Reed on a linebacker is a scary thought.

Then, of course, there is the Texans offense, led by Ryan Fitzpatrick. We didn't see the Texans push the ball downfield much at all during the preseason, which wasn't a huge surprise considering the strength of Fitzpatrick's arm.

However, they will need to take a couple of shots deep to at least get the defense's attention and back it off. With how reliant the Texans will likely be on the short to medium throws, they can't afford to have aggressive secondaries cheating up and jumping routes; they'll have to mix in a few throws deep to keep them honest.

It will be a tough test for the Texans, but it's a winnable game. If they're going to surprise the pessimistic portion of their fanbase, it has to start Sunday with an impressive win over a Redskins team with talent, but one that is not close to the toughest team on their schedule.