When you take a look at the Houston Texans’ 2026 schedule, one thing is quite evident — they are going to need to get off to a MUCH better start this seaosn than they did last season. In other words, they have no shot at winning anything substantial in 2026, if they get off to another 3-5 start, like they did in 2025. The back end of the schedule, with a slew of cold weather away games against playoff caliber teams, is unforgiving.
The bye week for the Texans is in a nice spot, in Week 8, virtually the midway point of the season. In my opinion, the Texans have to go 5-2, at a minimum, in the pre-bye week portion of the schedule to have a shot at the postseason, and the Super Bowl run we’ve all been waiting for.
To that end, earlier this week, we took a look at the biggest questions that the Texans opponents for Weeks 1 through 5 are facing, heading into next season. Now, let’s look at the portion of the schedule we were just referencing — the final two opponents before the bye week, and then the first three coming out of the bye:
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (Week 6, Week 15) — Does James Gladstone’s galaxy brain sink the Jags?
Jacksonville was one of the biggest surprises in the NFL last season. After two seasons among the dregs of the league, the Jags went out and won 13 games last season, winning the AFC South, and relegating the 12-win Texans to a wild card spot. It was a great look for new head coach Liam Coen and GM James Gladstone, both in their first seasons ever with those job titles. This offseason, though, has been a confusing one for Jags fans, as Gladstone let arguably the best 2025 Jaguar from each side of the football leave in free agency, running back Travis Etienne and linebacker Devin Lloyd. On top of that, seemingly every single one of Gladstone’s 11 draft selections was drafted about 20 or 30 spots higher than the consensus had them. Not that the consensus is always right, but when you do it on EVERY pick? This could explode spectacularly.
NEW YORK GIANTS (Week 7) — Is Jaxson Dart alive in Week 7?
Jaxson Dart, of course, is the second year quarterback, who is coming off (a) a promising rookie season and (b) an offseason where he seemed to piss off a lot of teammates by introducing President Trump at some political affair this offseason. At the very least, we know his draft classmate and current teammate Abdul Carter was none too happy about that, as he tweeted as much after the event. To be clear, my Giants question about Dart being “alive” for the game versus the Texans is not about his anti-Trump teammates killing him or something, but instead it’s about Dart’s style of play, which can be politely described as reckless (and impolitely described as stupid). Dart likes to scramble a lot, which is fine. He also likes to lead with his head a lot, which is stupid. We’ll see if John Harbaugh can dial him back a bit.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (Week 9) — How much do the players returning from injury impact things?
It’s kind of amazing what Jim Harbaugh was able to accomplish last season, when you consider the injuries along the Chargers’ offensive line. By October, they’d lost both of their starting tackles, Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, both of whom are Pro Bowl caliber players. By the end of the season, it felt like they were using Charger fans who won a contest to play tackle for them. Still, they sneaked into the playoffs with an 11-6 record. Now, they will have Slater and Alt back for the season, in an AFC West where the Chiefs are teetering and the Broncos have a starting quarterback coming off serious injuries. The Chargers’ floor is that of a very competitive football team. Their ceiling is “dark horse Super Bowl contender,” if their offensive line stays healthy.
CLEVELAND BROWNS (Week 10) — Do we see Deshaun Watson in this game?
It’s hard to believe that, since signing his fully guaranteed contract of five years and $230 million, Watson has played in just 19 games as a Cleveland Brown. To contextualize for Texans fans, since Watson led the NFL in passing yards in 2020 for the Texans, he’s played in 19 games. He’s played in 19 games since the damn pandemic! And he’s been paid a fortune. So, with one year left on his deal, it’s no surprise that the Browns are giving him every chance to win the starting job versus Shedeur Sanders. With the Texans facing the Browns in Week 10, I think it’s this simple — if Watson is starting in this game against the Texans, it means he’s having a pretty good season, because if he is playing poorly, why even bother playing him in mid-November. See what you have in Sanders. Personally, I hope he plays this game and feels what it’s like to go against Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter.
BALTIMORE RAVENS (Week 12) — Do we see vintage Lamar Jackson?
Since Lamar Jackson arrived in the NFL in 2018, the Ravens have had the Texans’ number, whether it’s been in the regular season or the postseason. It changed last season, with the Texans destroying the Ravens in Baltimore in Week 5. There’s only one glitch with that result — Lamar Jackson was out with an injury. The Texans still have yet to figure out how to slow down Jackson. The big change this season for the Ravens is that John Harbaugh has been replaced by Jesse Minter, who has hired Declan Doyle to run the offense. If Jackson is healthy, this should be one of the more important and exciting games of the second half of the season. It’s been nearly a year since we’ve seen the best version of Jackson, so we’ll see what Week 12 brings.
