Houston Texans Built for Championship, But Need a Quarterback
By Luke Sims
The Houston Texans have a defense that can win championships but continue to whiff on the most important position in the game: quarterback.
Teams can’t win in the modern NFL without a competent quarterback. No team has proved that as well as the Houston Texans in 2016 and 2015 when Brock Osweiler and Brian Hoyer collapsed in the postseason, letting down a championship-level defense.
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If there was a team to bet on repeating the 2015 Denver Broncos’ run through the playoffs without a quarterback, the logical choice was the Texans. The defense was stifling (No. 1 in yards allowed, 11th in points allowed) and the running game behind Lamar Miller was working well. Yet, even a tired and broken Peyton Manning is better than Osweiler, and the Texans couldn’t do enough to balance their defense with an offense capable of doing much.
Only two teams in the NFL threw fewer touchdown passes than the Texans (15 total touchdown passes) in 2016. That isn’t enough to beat the kind of defenses that make it to the playoffs. Even against the dismal Oakland Raiders defense (26th in the NFL), the Texans managed to put up only 27 points (tied for the season high). Predictably, the Patriots took advantage and ran up 34 points, a total that the Texans couldn’t hope to match.
These issues on offense are part of a much bigger concern for the Texans. That concern is that the defense is much too good to be let down by this offense. The Texans have a championship-level defense that can win now but that window can only stay open for so long.
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With Whitney Mercilus playing savage football, Jadeveon Clowney finally finding himself, J.J. Watt‘s utter dominance when he returns from injury, and the expected rise of D.J. Reader, the Texans have a defensive front that is arguably the best in the league. Even while getting stomped by the Pats, Mercilus and Clowney were putting on a show.
Behind this front the Texans also feature impressive players like A.J. Bouye, Andre Hal, Kareem Jackson, and Quintin Demps (six interceptions in 2016). Demps and Bouye are set to be unrestricted free agents, but it could be possible to bring back one or both for the Texans.
That, of course, brings up the championship window. With the way this defense is playing and the amount of budding stars on the roster ready to shine independently, there are only so many seasons left before this is forced to collapse. Any one of the players mentioned previously could be starters for any team in the NFL. Fortunately, the Texans have many of them locked up for three years or more.
Can the Texans get back to the playoffs but be competent enough on offense to actually make a run in those three years? That’s the real question. With so much money currently wasted on Osweiler at quarterback and the need to beef up the rest of the offense, the Texans are in a bit of a bind. Gamble on Osweiler doing just enough to scrape by on the strength of the defense? Take a chance on a rookie quarterback? Abandon Osweiler in favor of a better free agent?
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No matter how good a defense is, the quarterback matters most. The offense needs to be led by someone who can at least do enough to win games. Right now, the Texans don’t have that. The championship window is open based on the strength of the defense, but it can only remain open for so long. If the Texans make the right changes, they could be looking at a Lombardi Trophy in the next three years.