The Houston Texans have posted a 2-2 record through the first quarter of the 2019 season, and the manner they have collected wins and losses has been puzzling.
In Week 1, they lose to a good team on the road in the New Orleans Saints by less than a field goal. However, they end up beating a good team on the road in Week 3 at the Los Angeles Chargers, and they did so by a touchdown.
In Week 2, it took a stop on a two-point conversion to give the Texans a one-point win over a Jacksonville Jaguars squad starting a rookie quarterback. In Week 4, they lose by a touchdown to the Carolina Panthers, a team starting a backup making his third ever career start.
Barry Werner from the Touchdown Wire, in his latest grades through the first four weeks, knows exactly how to sum all of that up.
Perplexing is what the 2-2 Texans are. They have played a quartet of games and each one has been decided by seven points or less. The offense has been sporadic despite having Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins. Much more was expected. Grade: C
What arguably was the deciding point was the game with the Panthers. At home, the Texans should have put away a team searching for answers. Instead, Houston went 1-of-3 in the red zone, including producing a turnover in the red zone, and harvested seven points off of three Carolina giveaways. It was a recipe for losing, and the Texans had to eat it with a 16-10 loss.
The positive is there’s still three quarters of the season remaining. Playoff positioning has not been decided, and the Texans’ losses were to NFC squads, not conference opponents that could determine tiebreakers. Still, the Texans have to get in gear and start stacking wins or their early September head-to-head wins will be inconsequential.
