How Texans' health, pride, and playoff positioning now take center stage
TEXANS LAST STAND
02 January
TEXANS LAST STAND
The Houston Texans head to Nashville this Sunday to take on the Titans and put a bow on the regular season. There's not much at stake for either team outside of pride, and draft positioning for Tennessee.
Speaking of pride, the Titans will be sporting the Oilers throwback uniforms in the season finale, so that could add some extra motivation. Especially considering the bad blood between these two franchises.
The main focus for the Texans this week should be getting through the game healthy, and trying to recapture some success on offense after a disappointing season.
Newly acquired receiver Diontae Johnson should get some valuable reps in this week's contest, and it would be great to see CJ Stroud develop some chemistry with Johnson before the playoffs begin next week.
If it were up to us, Stroud and the top starters wouldn't see the field this week. But it looks like Texans HC DeMeco Ryans plans to play his starters and see how the game progresses.
While it would be nice to see the offense click even against the lowly Titans, it's hard to imagine this week will be any different from the rest of the regular season.
However, we understand that the Texans would like to wash the bad taste out of their mouths after laying an egg on Christmas against the Ravens.
What does Vegas think?
The Titans are favored by 1.5 and the total is set at 37 points. This matchup features the lowest total of the week, so points could be hard to come by.
Playoff path
It appears the Texans are likely to face either the Steelers or Chargers in the Wild Card round. If we had to chose, we would prefer Houston face the Steelers, because the Chargers are stronger at quarterback.
But Steelers fans travel, so the Texans won't have much of a home field advantage with half the stadium full of Steelers fans.
This is one video you don't want to miss as we preview Texans-Titans, reveal some Pro Bowl snubs, and look ahead to the NFL postseason.
The Houston Astros closed out a powerful homestand with a statement series win over the Cubs, led by the continued emergence of Cam Smith and the lockdown stuff of Bryan Abreu. Smith, who seems to live for high-leverage moments, went toe-to-toe with Kyle Tucker and delivered again and again, further cementing his place in Houston’s growing offensive core. Meanwhile, Abreu was simply untouchable—striking out all four batters he faced in a lights-out appearance on Thursday and returning Sunday to toss two scoreless innings in front of Josh Hader’s 23rd straight save. The bullpen continues to impress.
As Houston heads west for a six-game road trip, starting with the Rockies and ending with the Dodgers, the rotation will remain under the microscope. On paper, the Rockies series should be a tune-up—Colorado owns the worst record in baseball. But even in a small three-game set, anything can happen. The Dodgers are a different animal entirely. They’ve been the class of the National League and pose a challenge that may mirror what the Astros saw from the Phillies and Cubs—but this time, Houston won’t have the advantage of home field. Considering the team’s elite pitching and recent play, the Astros should still feel confident, but they’ll need to prove they can sustain this level on the road.
Trade speculation is beginning to swirl, particularly around Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins. Mullins hasn’t lit it up this season—he’s hitting just .213—but his 12 home runs suggest some underlying pop. Houston may believe there's untapped potential in his swing that can be unlocked. It's a move that would fit the Astros’ track record: buying low on a talented player and letting their system do the rest.
Speaking of roster decisions, Christian Walker's bat is officially on watch. Despite showing flashes of life earlier this season, Walker hit just .221 in June and has been dropped to seventh in the lineup. Meanwhile, Jon Singleton has been crushing home runs in Sugar Land and waiting patiently for another big-league shot. The organization has to be thinking about giving Singleton a chance if Walker’s struggles continue.
But not every question has an immediate answer. Lance McCullers Jr.’s return from the injured list was rocky at best, surrendering eight runs in a short outing. Still, the reaction from fans calling for his release is premature at best and delusional at worst. Joe Espada left him in too long, and everyone knew it. It's still June, and McCullers is a proven postseason arm. He’s not going anywhere, not with that contract—and frankly, not with the upside he still offers.
More to the story
Then there's Jeremy Peña. The hope was that his sore ribs were nothing serious. That changed after the homestand, when further imaging revealed a small fracture and landed Peña on the 10-day IL. It’s a frustrating development, but credit the Astros’ medical staff for pushing for clarity—learning from the Yordan Alvarez situation this year. With superagent Scott Boras now representing him, it appeared negotiations were over. But Astros GM Dana Brown revealed on the pregame show this weekend that he’s already reached back out to Boras to reopen the conversation. Whether both sides can agree to new terms is a different story.
So while the Astros leave home riding a wave of momentum, the road ahead holds tougher matchups, key roster questions, and new injury concerns. They’ve shown they’re built to weather all of it. Now they’ll have to prove it.
There's so much more to get to! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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