Since losing the first two games of the season by double digits and starting out 0-2, a start which prompted me to exclaim on the Houston Texans’ postgame show that the “honeymoon is over” for DeMeco Ryans, the Houston Texans have gone 7-3 and shown some particularly serious guts over the last eight games, all of which came down to the final 30 seconds.
Most of the computers out there say that the Houston Texans enter the weekend with roughly a 70 percent chance of making the postseason. It’s impossible to overstate just how remarkable the turnaround of this franchise has been. Seemingly every important button they’ve pushed since the day they hired DeMeco Ryans as head coach has worked.
Now, the Texans head to New York, after three straight home games, to take on a New York Jets team that has been reeling since a 4-3 start, having lost five straight. Of course, the Jets had planned on Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback this season, but he tore his Achilles on the fourth play from scrimmage in Week 1, and that was that.
Instead, it’s Zach Wilson time (again), as the third year quarterback and 2021 second overall pick in the draft returns from being benched three weeks ago. This is the second straight season Wilson has been benched. The Texans are nearly a touchdown favorite on the road, which hasn’t happened since 2020. Let’s take a look at a few things to watch for in this matchup.
4. Saleh vs DeMeco
This is a battle between the last two defensive coordinators for the San Francisco 49ers. Saleh was instrumental in getting Ryans’ coaching career off the ground, when he brought him in as a quality control coach for the Niners back in 2017. Eventually, Ryans took over for Saleh as the DC in San Francisco, and both were excellent coordinators. As for their head coaching careers, Ryans is in a much more enviable spot in Houston, with C.J. Stroud under center. Who knows, maybe Rodgers returns in 2024, and Saleh is leading a Super Bowl contender, but for now, when to comes to coaching the Jets, Saleh looks miserable when the broadcast pans to him on the sidelines.
3. Stingley vs Sauce
The two lead cornerbacks for these teams were taken in the 2022 NFL Draft one pick apart. The Texans selected Stingley with the third overall pick, and with the very next selection, the Jets took Gardner. For a season and nine weeks, it was a landslide as to which team made out better on those picks. Gardner was a first team All Pro as a rookie in 2022, while Stingley spent more time on injured reserve with hamstring injuries than actually playing. However, Stingley returned in Week 10, and he’s been on a tear the last three weeks, with four interceptions and an AFC Defensive Player of the Week award to his credit. Gardner has certainly had the more productive career so far, but Stingley has hit a gear the last three weeks that Sauce has never hit. It should be fun seeing Stingley match up with Garrett Wilson, and Gardner with (presumably) Nico Collins.
2. Life after Tank
The mention of Nico Collins is actually a good jumping off point to discuss the loss of Tank Dell for the season. Against Denver last week, Dell had his left leg broken in a pile of players down near the goal line on a Dameon Pierce touchdown run. While Collins has piled up some ungodly numbers this season, Dell’s ability to get open and attack all parts of the field was a unique cheat code for this offense. This will be our first real look at what the Tank-less plan will be moving forward. My hope is that second year wideout (and cancer survivor) John Metchie III will step into that breach and play like the 44th overall pick in the draft that he was in 2022.
1. New favored Texans territory
Before the season starts, you can bet on any game in any week of the upcoming NFL campaign, and if you’d bet on the Texans in the preseason in this matchup with the Jets, you’ve be getting 10 points on Sunday. Yes, the Texans were a major underdog in this game back in August understandably so, with Rodgers healthy and not knowing C.J. Stroud was actually Batman. Now, the script has flipped, and the Jets might not even SCORE ten points in this game, let alone win by ten. It’s always interesting watching the hunter become the hunted, and the Texans are no longer the team playing spoiler. Instead, the Jets are trying to spoil a magical Texans run. I don’t see it happening, though.
SPREAD: Texans -6.5
PREDICTION: Texans 17, Jets 9
SEASON RECORD: SU 5-7, ATS 6-6
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
