We are currently in the annual lull of the NFL offseason, the semi-dead spot in between the frenzy of free agency in mid-March and the NFL Draft in late April. Some free agents are still signing with teams, but we are at the bargain bin stage, at this point. That said, regardless of where we are on the NFL calendar, betting outlets will happily take your money on season win total bets.

Courtesy of Bet Online, we have our latest set of available NFL season win total bets, and if you're looking for yet another measurement of the progress made by the Texans, look no further than their 9.5 season win total in Vegas. While some of you may say "9.5 wins? They won ten games last year! What gives!", just know that (a) anything over 8.5 wins means you're expected to be formidable, at least in betting parlance, and (b) the Texans schedule IS going to be far more difficult in 2024.

The great news here is that the Texans are among the teams who've made the biggest jump in expectations, year over year. Here are the biggest leaps upward in season win total from exactly a year ago:

Houston: +4
Atlanta: +3
Baltimore: +3
Green Bay: +3

So you have three playoff teams (Texans, Ravens, Packers), and a 7-win team from a year ago who signed the best quarterback available in free agency. This all makes sense, and it's a testament to how much progress DeMeco Ryans has overseen in one season that the Texans are viewed so highly.

For some degree of perspective, here are the biggest backsliding teams, in terms of season win totals:

Carolina: -3
Denver: -3
New England: -3

I'm not gonna lie — it's fun seeing a Sean Payton coached Broncos team and a who-cares-who-the-coach-is Patriots team among the big regressors.

These season win totals are also a good way to gauge divisional strength. In other words, the divisions forecasted for the most wins would logically be the best divisions. Here is where the Texans' division, the AFC South, stacks up:

AFC North — 38½ wins
AFC East, NFC East — 34½ wins
NFC West — 34 wins
NFC North — 33½ wins
AFC West — 33 wins
AFC SOUTH — 32 wins
NFC South — 31 wins

So the AFC South struggle for respect is still very real. It probably has been one of the lesser respected divisions since Peyton Manning left for Denver after the 2011 season. The division needs a Peyton-type quarterback to put its permutation on his back. That Peyton character might be named C.J. Stroud.

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