MATT HARAB
4 NFL games to watch this weekend not involving the Texans
Oct 12, 2018, 6:53 am
The Jaguars hope to ride their defense against Dallas. Jacksonvillejaguars.com
There are certain games over the course of the season that you simply cannot lose if you want to seriously consider yourself contenders for the playoffs. The Texans have one of those games against the Bills this weekend. If they are for real, they get back to .500 this weekend and ride a three-game winning streak into the biggest game of the season on the road against Jacksonville next week. Make Josh Allen eat grass. I want to see J.J. Watt set up a tent and a campfire in the backfield this weekend. This front seven should DOMINATE Sunday in what is hopefully a statement game for the Texans at home. Here are four must watch games other than the Texans we must pay attention to on Sunday.
Cowboys vs. Jaguars
Without a doubt, this game is a must watch if for no other reason than Houstonians want to see Dallas lose again. But in all honesty, the Cowboys have a stingy defense as the Texans discovered last week. How does Jacksonville’s running game look? No Leonard Fournette. T.J. Yeldon is playing, but he’s banged up. They literally signed Jamaal Charles off the street this week. An area where Houston can really take advantage next week in Jacksonville is making Blake Bortles HAVE to throw the football. Put them into third and long situations by stopping the run. That’s how you can beat Jacksonville. We’ll see if Dallas can do that to them Sunday.
Ravens at Titans
The second team above the Texans right now is Tennessee. I do not buy this squad at all as legitimate playoff contenders. They have got to fall off the cliff at some point right? It could start this week against an angry flock of Ravens coming off a loss in overtime to Cleveland, a game where they failed to score a touchdown.. Houston doesn’t play the Titans again until Nov. 26, however the Titans free fall could take place over the next four weeks. This game against the Ravens, at the Chargers next week, at Dallas the following week and then home for New England. Texans fans should be waving the purple flag this weekend high and proud.
Chargers at Browns
If you are being completely honest with yourself as a Texans fan, you are thinking Wild Card is PROBABLY the path into the playoffs. Jacksonville has an elite defense and although I cannot wait to see if they can pull the upset off next week, at this stage in the season the probable path into the postseason is as a five or six seed. Both the Chargers and Browns are in that situation with Kansas City flying high, and the Bengals in first place in the AFC North. These are two teams right here who could be competing at the end of the year with Houston for a way into the playoffs. I am curious how they stack up against each other. Texans fans want Cleveland to win this game, as they have the worse record of the two and are the worse team in my opinion.
Chiefs at Patriots
I know you have work on Monday. I get it. But go in tired, call in sick, I don’t really care. But WATCH THIS FOOTBALL GAME. His Highness Brady vs. the next biggest thing. This will be the best game of the weekend, and I hope it ends 38-35. I don’t really care which way, but if you want to see two offenses to be jealous of as a Texans fan then watch. Butt in couch. Beer in hand.
Oh yea, and raise that beer to one more fact. The Texans after an 0-3 start are ABSOLUTELY still relevant. Sunday’s don’t suck. Cheers.
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Winning consecutive series over last place teams does not mean all is well again in Astroworld, but taking five of seven games from the Orioles and Rockies stopped the bleeding which saw the Astros stumble through an awful 14-23 stretch. The regular season is now in its final month, the Astros are in the middle of three different playoff races. The high-end goal is finishing with one of the two best records in the American League to secure a bye past the two out of three lightning round Major League Baseball calls the Wild Card Series. Entering the holiday weekend the Astros sit four games behind the Toronto Blue Jays, three and a half back of the Detroit Tigers. If the Astros can’t overtake either the Jays or Tigers, they at least want to hold off Seattle to win the American League West. Winning the division for an eighth consecutive full season would be its own accomplishment, for the postseason it would at least assure the Astros of homefield advantage in a best-of-three. The race the Astros hope to need to pay little attention to is holding off Kansas City for the final wild card spot. That would be necessary should the Astros lose out on the division title to the Mariners, and finish behind both the second and third place finishers in the AL East in the wild card race, presently the Red Sox and Yankees. The M’s, Bosox, and Yanks all finishing ahead of the Astros is a clear possibility. The good news on that front is the Astros holding a five game lead over the Royals with 28 games to go, though Kansas City does win the tiebreaker should it come to that. The Astros have a significantly easier closing schedule than do the Royals. The Astros have just six games left against teams that would currently qualify for the postseason. The Royals have 12. So to miss the playoffs entirely the Astros basically have to fold, and/or the Royals need to play four weeks of spectacular baseball.
Yordan Alvarez’s looooong awaited return is a big boost to the lineup. Even if he isn't peak Yordan, his presence matters. His missile of a home run to centerfield was the wow moment of his return series, but Alvarez drawing five walks in nine plate appearances speaks to what opponents think of him. Still, offense remains an Astro struggle all too often. The Rockies have the worst pitching staff in MLB. The Astros managed nine runs in three games against it. At least that was enough to win two out of three. 67 times this season the Astros have scored three or fewer runs, equaling their three or fewer total of the entire 2024 season. For a good while this year the Astros were winning an amazing percentage of their games where the offense did little. At one point the Astros were 19-27 when scoring three or fewer, which was stunning success and as I wrote at the time, wholly unsustainable. Since then, the Astros have lost 20 of the last 21 games in which they failed to score four.
Christian Walker’s power surge has been a boon, of late helping offset Jose Altuve’s slump (just 10 hits in his last 60 at bats heading into the Angels series) and Carlos Correa’s lack of thump (just two extra base hits and a sub-.700 OPS over his last 15 games). Over 46 games played from July 1 through Thursday, Walker has been very good hitting .279 with an .859 OPS. That doesn't undo his being wretched through June, but credit where credit is due.
Alvarez is the big bopper (remember the ex-Astro who had that nickname?) addition to Joe Espada's lineup cards, but Jake Meyers could be a lower key big return as well next week. To call Chas McCormick and Jacob Melton poor offensive players this season would be an understatement along the lines of saying Yao Ming is above average in height. When Meyers blew out his right calf it short-circuited what was his breakout big league season. Even if Meyers can't regain that form, by accident he'll still be better than what McCormick and Melton have provided.
After finishing up with the Angels on Labor Day, the Astros get the Yankees for three big games at Daikin Park starting Tuesday. Hunter Brown starting Sunday means he will not pitch against the Yankees. That's not a mistake, it's just how the rotation falls. It will be a mistake if the Astros' brain trust doesn't properly map out starting pitching ahead of the massive matchups against the Mariners September 19, 20, 21 and make sure both Brown and Framber Valdez start games in that series. After this homestand wraps, the Astro have only six home games remaining versus 15 on the road.
Oh yeah. Glenn Davis was "The Big Bopper."
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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