Everyone facet has to perform. But if the question is how do they make the playoffs, the succint answer other than everybody perform should be an o-line that isn't inaugural season bad.
Right; teams Nook (and others) never would have labeled as "Super Bowl contenders." There are many more; and probably just as many "Super Bowl contenders" that ended up not being one. I'm obviously not dumb: I did not think last year's Texans were the best team in the AFC. But after they started 0-3, I wouldn't have labeled them "11-win contenders," either, and well... After decades of watching the NFL (and every other sport where this is also true), there's exactly one sure thing when it comes to being a "Super Bowl (championship) contender": you are not one if you're not in the playoffs. Outside of that, anything can happen, and I'll gladly take my chances with Deshaun Watson running the table over not having that opportunity because I give a flip about made-up contender status.
What does "limping" into the playoffs even mean? There is zero correlation between the end of a regular season and the postseason. The Bears won 9 of their final 10 games - their lone loss in OT. They were 1-and-done. The Ravens and Seahawks both won 6 of their final 7 - both, like the Bears, their only loss in OT. Both 1-and-done. The Rams lost 2 of their final 4; made it to the Super Bowl. The Chiefs lost 2 pf their final 3; came within OT of the Super Bowl... The Texans had a bad day.
I think we have a shot at making the playoffs if DW4 can consistently make plays while scrambling for his life.......
Past 10 year, 20 Super Bowl participants. 17 had bye in first round. 2 were division winners who hosted the WC game. One WC team. So no, not every playoff team is a super bowl contender.
Again, it just comes down to the argument that every playoff team is a SB contender. Technically true, statistically not.
Well it is these subjective terms and phrases Texans fans always love to use to explain why this team hasn't had any success but technically could've had lots of success and just would've had more success if things went a bit better and in the future will have more success because technically speaking every NFL team has a chance to win.
Zero correlation from regular season to playoffs? How do you distinguish a team like Patriots to Texans? Cause u r hardcore homer if u can't tell the difference. Plus u using all these good examples of team who competed hard and loss in OT, while we got sht on in first round playoffs. I hate going into playoffs just to get sht on every single fking time, yet we have many fans like u celebrating winning the stupid AFC South Division title like it means something. Hey we got sht on by the Colts during playoffs, but we Division Champs!!!! Limping = we couldn't eliminate eagles in a must win, and blew our chance to get a 1st round bye.
I respect you as a poster but this is the biggest load of bullshit. The Texans haven’t consistently just had bad days in the playoffs. They haven’t been as good as the teams they have played. They blew a bye down the stretch and didn’t score a point in the playoffs until the 4th quarter. It had nothing to do with bad luck. They just were not that good.
"They had a bad day" is the most Texans ****ing excuse I've ever heard in the history of ****ing Texans excuses since that day that Clay Walker's one guitar string broke.
I didn't say that. If the implication is that the Texans "limped" into the playoffs, we're very obviously not talking about the regular season as a whole. Yes. I'm aware the Texans are not better than New England. That does NOT mean the Texans can't be better for 60 minutes one January Sunday afternoon. Where do you see me celebrating... well, anything? I'm responding to this idea that the Texans are a clown-show operation - that's not true. That leaves plenty of room for them to be disappointments. But any team coming off an 11-win season with Watson, Hopkins, Watt & Clowney + a host of other really good players...... it's OK to appreciate that the Texans do, in fact, have a promising foundation and could be really, really good.