Plenty of decisions to make for the Texans, maybe even one including J.J. Watt

Texans are AFC South champs despite ugly win. Now what to do for Week 17?

Texans are AFC South champs despite ugly win. Now what to do for Week 17?

3 Headlines, 2 Questions, and 1 Bet ahead of the Texans regular season finale.

Winning ugly is better than losing pretty

The Texans won. Yes, it was ugly. Yes, it was a little disappointing. Yes, they probably should have blown out the Buccaneers.

A win is a win, even when it clinches the AFC South.

The Texans are AFC South champs for four of the past five seasons, and now four of the six and as my above tweet indicates, that's not bad.

Week 17 doesn't really matter for the Texans. They need to be ready for the 4-5 matchup and likely the Buffalo Bills.

The frustration is the same issues from games of the past popped up. Consistency on offense is seemingly dead. The in-game management is often times questionable, but has worked out a few times for Bill O'Brien. The defense is leaky. It doesn't feel championship quality. Well, it is AFC South champion quality. But there has to be more to the 2019 season than another banner.

Will Fuller's injury lingers yet again

Will Fuller is one of the most important players on this Texans team. He is also one of the most injured players. Fuller hasn't come close to playing a full season in his NFL career since his rookie year. This year soft tissue injuries have ruined his season. Yet again, he's hurt.

The team is so much better with him on the field. Everything is better. Specifically the passing game. That's a problem though. This offense shouldn't be built on success based off a speedy outside wide receiver being available. Bill O'Brien has to use the weapons he has better and so does Deshaun Watson. It is unacceptable for this offense to be so heavily reliant on Fuller's availability.

O'Brien's comments after the game were clear and this is as close to negative he comes at the podium about a player.

"He is a great guy and I love coaching him, but it is hard for him to stay healthy – that's the bottom line. Hopefully we can help him stay healthy because this team is a very good team when we have him in the lineup."

Trying to win games

The Texans will take the field Sunday knowing exactly what spot in the playoffs they are locked into. The Chiefs play in the early game and if they win, they will be locked into the third seed pushing the Texans to the fourth seed.

It is incredible to ask the Texans to prepare for a relaxed game, see the Chiefs accidentally lose, and then try to gear back up for the game and try to get the third seed.

So you either try to win the game that likely doesn't matter or you relax for a week. In a game that doesn't matter, Deshaun Watson and Laremy Tunsil shouldn't play. Neither should DeAndre Hopkins. The numbers game gets funny, but the Texans could manage it.

Health ahead of the Bills should be the the most important thing for week 17.

Angelo Blockson...am I right?

​Texans defensive lineman Angelo Blackson has blocked a field goal in back to back weeks. The Texans have won both of those games by three points. You do the math.

The thing that has impressed me about both the blocks is Blackson's ability to find himself in the kicking lane. He's adjusted one of his big paws to be in the trajectory of what the kicker needs to make the field goal. Obviously he has to get that hand free too.

A few colleagues of mine, as well as myself, wondered why Blackson was given the contract he was in the offseason. He has played well and frankly those two blocks have been worth the price of his deal. Bill O'Brien called him a fabric player and it is hard to disagree considering his performance this year.

Can Watt come back? I ask again, can Watt come back

Bill O'Brien didn't feel like talking about J.J. Watt much today. Makes sense. The more mystery, the better. Make the Bills start thinking about Watt. About having to block him with their inexperienced right side of their line. Ultimately the subterfuge might not matter.

Brian Gaine worked here. He hired plenty of people in this building. He now works for the Bills. Gaine will know exactly how well Watt is when the game rolls around.

If Watt can help, he should play. If he can be re-injured seriously it should be up to Watt if he wants to play. You certainly wouldn't want to pass up the chance Watt could come back. There could be something this week with perhaps the activation of his 21-day window to practice.

I bet the Bills are licking their chops to face the Texans

The Bills can absolutely beat the Texans and likely should be favored when the two teams square off in the first weekend of January.

Buffalo brings a terrorizing defense that should smother a Texans passing attack which will be missing Will Fuller. Their offense is suspect, sure, but Josh Allen can exploit the Texans with the deep ball and the rushing attack can do enough. They have run the ball well too.

It is imperative for the Texans fan base's sanity for Houston to win this game. People will again question the whole operation with a loss, but a win would be a step in the right direction. It is the bare minimum for the Texans this year for the season to be considered even remotely a success.

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The Astros welcomed first baseman Christian Walker to the team Monday, in one of two moves that almost certainly marks the end of Alex Bregman’s time in Houston.

Walker signed a $60 million, three-year contract that will pay him $20 million annually just more than a week after the Astros acquired infielder Isaac Paredes from Cubs in the trade that sent outfielder Kyle Tucker to Chicago.

“The way I view it right now is Paredes is going to play third base and Walker is going to play first base,” general manager Dana Brown said Monday. “And Bregman’s still a free agent.”

The Astros had hoped to re-sign Bregman, the team’s third baseman for the last nine seasons, but Brown said the negotiations stalled.

“I thought we made a really competitive offer, showing that we wanted him back,” he said. “But we had to pursue other options. We couldn’t just sit there. We locked in Paredes early in that trade, knowing that he could play third or first and then when the opportunity to add another bat came up we just jumped on it.”

The addition of a first baseman was a priority this offseason for the Astros after they released struggling first baseman José Abreu less than halfway through a $58.5 million, three-year contract.

“We knew we had to get better at first base,” Brown said. “We pursued (Walker) and we’re excited to have him because we know that we’re going to have a really good first baseman that can defend and also hit the ball on the seats from time to time.”

Walked was attracted by the sustained success of the Astros, who won their first two World Series titles in 2017 and '22.

“I’ve been watching this team for a while now, and that edge, the energy, the expectation, you can tell that they’re going out there with a standard,” he said. “And I’m very excited to be a part of it.”

Walker is looking forward playing on an infield with star second baseman Jose Altuve. He’s fascinated by the success and consistency Altuve has had over his 14-year career.

“I get a chance to learn from Jose Altuve,” Walker said. “Nothing really gets better than that.”

Brown was asked what he would tell fans disappointed to see the Astros lose another star after George Springer and Carlos Correa left as free agents in recent years.

“I would just tell the fans that look, we are very focused on remaining competitive,” he said. “We’re very focused on winning division and going back to the World Series, and I think with these additions that we have the ability to do that. So, I feel strongly that we’re going to be picked to win the division first off. And if our pitching holds up, which I feel strongly about, as well, I think we’ll get deep into the postseason.”

The Astros won the AL West for a fourth straight year this season before being swept by the Tigers in an AL Wild Card Series.

Walker, who turns 34 during the opening week of the season, hit .251 with 26 homers, 84 RBIs, 55 walks and 133 strikeouts this year. That was down from 2023, when he batted .258 with 33 homers and 103 RBIs as the Diamondbacks reached the World Series.

Walker played in 130 games this year, down from 157 in 2023 and 160 in 2022. He was sidelined between July 29 and Sept. 3 by a strained left oblique.

He spent the last eight seasons with the Diamondbacks, where he hit 146 homers with 442 RBIs and a .251 batting average.

He didn’t secure a full-time job in the big leagues until 2019. He’s provided consistent power over the past six seasons and has grown into an elite defensive first baseman, winning Gold Gloves in each of the past three seasons.

Walker played college ball at South Carolina and was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2012. He made his big league debut with the Orioles in 2014 but couldn’t stick in the majors and was claimed off waivers by Atlanta, Cincinnati and Arizona in a five-week span.

Walker’s contract has a limited no-trade provision allowing him to block deals to six teams without his consent. He would earn $200,000 for winning an MVP, $175,000 for second, $150,000 for third, $125,000 for fourth and $100,000 for fifth.

Walker also would get $100,000 for World Series MVP, $50,000 for League Championship Series MVP and $75,000 apiece for making the All-Star Game or winning a Gold Glove or Silver Slugger Award.

Infielder Grae Kessinger was designated for assignment to open a roster spot.

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