How Colin Cowherd just can't help himself in latest hot button Texans take

REALLY?

The NFL Combine is in full swing and as we await what the Houston Texans will do in free agency, now is a good time to examine some predictions for the upcoming season.

FS1's Colin Cowherd put out his way-too-early predictions for the 2024 playoff picture, and guess which team did not make the list. That's right, Cowherd has the Texans missing the postseason with the Colts winning the division and the Jaguars winning a wild card spot.

So how did he come to this conclusion. Colin makes the case that six new teams make the postseason every year, so he has to take some teams out that made the playoffs the prior season. Two of those teams in the AFC are the Dolphins and Texans.

He believes the Colts will have a strong season behind QB Anthony Richardson, who is coming off shoulder surgery. He makes the case that they only came one game short last year with backup Gardner Minshew taking the snaps. So with their starting QB back in the mix and a ton of salary cap space, the Colts will take the division.

As for the Jaguars, he thinks they struggled down the stretch because of nagging injuries that slowed down QB Trevor Lawrence. With him fully healthy, Colin has them back in the playoffs, with Houston watching from home.

And of course, strength of schedule. This has to be his strongest point, as the Texans play a first place schedule that appears pretty daunting.

When comparing the Texans opponents to the Colts, three games really stick out. The Texans play the Chiefs, Cowboys, and Ravens. While the Colts get the Broncos, Giants, and Steelers. There's no doubt the Colts have the advantage in those matchups.

Counterpoint

Cowherd makes a point of saying most of his picks are quarterback driven. Yet, he has the best QB in the AFC South missing the playoffs.

Also, Houston is right behind the Colts in cap space, so there's really not much of an advantage there. He also believes things will be different now that the league has tape on Stroud. I would argue there was a ton of tape on Stroud before playing the Browns in the playoffs. Cleveland's defense surrendered the least amount of yards in the entire league last year, and Stroud and the Texans won 45-14.

Finally, Vegas does not agree with his take. Houston has the 6th-best odds to win the AFC. The only other team in the division that cracked the Top 10 was Jacksonville, who came in with the 9th best odds.

Be sure to watch the video above for the full discussion!



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The Rangers beat the Astros, 5-1. Composite Getty Image.

Marcus Semien hit his 250th career home run and Adolis García also went deep to back up a strong start by Nathan Eovaldi and give the Texas Rangers a 5-1, series clinching victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday.

Eovaldi (7-3) limited Houston to five hits and a run with eight strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings for his third straight win.

Houston starter Hunter Brown (9-4) allowed five hits and four runs while striking out eight in five innings as the AL West leaders lost for the fifth time in six games. It was the second straight tough outing for the All-Star, who gave up a season-high six runs in his last start against Cleveland.

Wyatt Langford walked to open the second and the Rangers made it 1-0 when he scored on a triple by Evan Carter. There were two outs in the inning when Carter scored on a ground-rule double by Ezequiel Duran to push the lead to 2-0.García’s third homer in the last four games put Texas ahead 3-0 with two outs in the third inning.

Carter doubled to start the fourth and Kyle Higashioka singled before Carter scored on a sacrifice fly by Alejandro Osuna to make it 4-0.

The Astros cut it to 4-1 on a home run by Zack Short with no outs in the sixth inning.

Semien’s shot with one out in the eighth inning was his second of the series and gave him 250 in his 13-year career.

Key moment

Texas jumping on Brown for two runs in the second inning to take the lead for good.

Key stat

García’s 20 home runs against the Astros since 2021 are the most of any player in that span.

Up next

The Astros open the second half of the season Friday night at Seattle, and the Rangers host Detroit on the same night.

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