83-109.
That is the combined record of the teams that the Houston
Texas beat this year. Of those teams, the only four winning teams they beat
were the Denver Broncos, the Baltimore Ravens, the Chicago Bears, and the
Indianapolis Colts. I'm not even quite sure how much you can count the Colts
game, since the Texans lost to them just a few games later.
The teams they lost to had a combined record of 44-20, and
included the Greenbay Packers, the New England Patriots, the Minnesota Vikings,
and the Indianapolis Colts. The Packers
clinched their division, the Patriots clinched their division, the Vikings
clinched their Wild Card spot, and the Colts clinched a Wild Card spot.
Now here's why the Texans are going to get destroyed on
Sunday.
Of all their wins, from a pure standings perspective, their
greatest victory was against the 13-3 Denver Broncos. However, that was early in
the season. I'm actually not too impressed with Denver overall, either, but if
you contrast them against the Texans, at least Denver hit its stride late in
the season, where Houston faltered. All of Denver's losses were early, and it
went on to win all its games from mid-October on. It's also manned by one of
the greatest quarterbacks of our generation, something the Texans can't claim.
The Texans stumbled late. It was destroyed by New England
42-14 and finished the season with only wins in five games during December.
Where you can trust a Manning or a Brady to create offense, the Texans have
struggled, barely finding the end zone through the end of the season and into
its Wild Card game. After seeming dominant for such a long stretch it sputtered
out and didn't even seem capable of handling the Bengals.
Sometimes, in sports, momentum means something. Houston has
had none since December, and even its wildcard win can't save its dying
offense. The Patriots started the year 3-3, looked comparatively weak when
compared against a team like the Texans, yet still clinched their division.
That's a mental toughness the Texans just don't have, at least not yet. And
when Sunday finally gets here? The Pats are going to be coming off of a week of
rest and time to heal up, and will be playing at home. They have the experience
to win in the playoffs that the Texans don't.
Matt Schaub has only had one touchdown pass in the past 23
quarters, going back to their win against the Titans, and he's going to
continue cracking as the pressure intensifies in the playoffs. The Texans' best
chance of winning will be by dominating the time of possession, but they have
no way to keep Brady off the field considering how bad their offense has
looked. If Schaub had given the Texans any hope against the Bengals this might
be a different story, but look for the Pats to stay on the field and Brady to
dominate once again. You can't beat the Pats on field goals.
Houston, I love you,
but the Pats are about to eat your lunch. So leave the letter jackets at home.
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