TEXANS SCHEDULE PREDICTION
Predicting the Houston Texans 2022 NFL schedule
May 11, 2022, 9:28 am
The Texans would play the Browns Week 18 in this scenario. Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images.
11 observations from Texans' 31-21 loss to Browns
The Houston Texans will have their entire schedule released officially on Thursday, but here is my best guess on what 2022 will look like.
The opponents are below and the Texans will play one more road game than home games this year.
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Week 1 - vs Kansas City Chiefs
If there were any time to catch the Chiefs, it would be in the first week when they haven't settled into their Tyreek Hill-less offense.
Week 2 - at Tennessee Titans
Hopefully, there is another Ryan Tannehill disaster in the cards for the Texans in this early-season divisional tilt.
Week 3 - vs Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles boast a quarterback from the Houston area and a familiar foe in former Titans wideout now Eagles pass catcher A.J. Brown.
Week 4 - at Miami Dolphins
The Texans don't escape seeing Tyreek Hill in the first month but hopefully, the game is better than last year's abomination in Miami.
Week 5 - vs Los Angeles Chargers
Justin Herbert and the much-improved Chargers will have revenge on their minds after the last-season debacle against the Texans.
Week 6 - at Jacksonville Jaguars (Thursday Night Football)
This game has some storylines to keep it interesting for the national audience, with Davis Mills playing well last year and Trevor Lawrence struggling, plus three of the top 15 draft picks.
Week 7 - at Denver Broncos
The Broncos off the mini-bye is a nice setup but if the Denver offense is going to be great, it will easily be humming by this part of the season.
Week 8 - vs Indianapolis Colts
Matt Ryan will be settled in at this junction of the year or we will all know if he has played his last competitive football by now.
Week 9 - at Dallas Cowboys
No Thanksgiving game for the Texans in this matchup as Houston looks for a win over the Cowboys for the first time since their Sunday Night overtime stunner in 2018.
Week 10 - at New York Giants
The NFC East in back-to-back weeks for the Texans who will have a good idea if Davis Mills is better than Daniel Jones by this point.
Week 11 - Off Week
Pretty close to the best time in the season for an off week.
Week 12 - at Las Vegas Raiders
Nick Caserio's old friend Josh McDaniels will host Houston in Sin City while the Texans try to prevent Davante Adams from replicating his stellar 2020 performance that saw him amass 196 yards and score twice.
Week 13 - vs Jacksonville Jaguars
The visit from Jacksonville is much later than it usually seems to happen, as it feels like the Jaguars have usually popped into Houston early in the schedule.
Week 14 - vs Washington Commanders
Carson Wentz should have melted down by this point but the defense of the Commanders as well as some other talented players are still a tough late-season opponent.
Week 15 - vs Tennessee Titans
The Titans should be well on their way to the playoffs at this point or playing Malik Willis in this game. Either way, the game holds intrigue.
Week 16 - at Chicago Bears
Justin Fields will have the Bears in a position to finish the year strong if he is indeed a franchise quarterback. If he isn't, this could be a Bears team headed towards the top overall pick.
Week 17 - at Indianapolis Colts
The Colts should be in the playoff hunt at this point and some of the young players they are counting on will have either stepped up to the challenge or sunk the season.
Week 18 - vs Cleveland Browns
How great would it be to knock the Cleveland Browns out of the playoffs in the last week of the season? Can you even imagine the level of vitriol Deshaun Watson would experience if this was the final matchup of the season?
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
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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