Texans have chance to right their ship against Colts

The Houston Texans are reeling at 0-3, but they have a good opportunity to put a mark in the win column on Sunday.

With Deshaun Watson and J.J. Watt returning to health, the Houston Texans were an easy team to tab for a rebound this year. But they’re 0-3 after last week’s loss to the New York Giants, as they’ve been outscored by a combined score of 55-20 in the first half in three losses that have each been by seven points or less.

After a dismal showing in Week 1, Watson has topped 300 passing yards in back-to-back-games while averaging over 9.5 yards per attempt and completing at least 60 percent of his passes in each game. Presumably still working his way back to full strength after a torn ACL, the two-time Heisman Trophy finalist is offering something as a runner too (120 rushing yards so far this season).

The Colts have Andrew Luck back, and they gave the Philadelphia Eagles a rain-aided test in Week 3. But Luck’s arm strength is a legitimate concern, despite head coach Frank Reich’s dismissal of it following a decision to use Jacoby Brissett in a Hail Mary situation at the end of last week’s game. Luck is simply not able to consistently threaten a defense down the field right now, which will help a Texans defense that’s a bit thin in the secondary right now (cornerback Kevin Johnson, safety Andre Hal) and has allowed a completion rate of 73.3 percent (29th in the league).

Watt looked to be back to peak form last week, with three sacks and eight total tackles against the Giants. If Colts left tackle Anthony Castonzo (hamstring) misses another game on Sunday, that will hurt their effort to protect Luck adequately, and right tackle Joe Haeg (ankle) is out a few weeks himself.

If history says being 0-2 essentially seals a non-playoff season, at 0-3 the Texans can book their tee times for early January. But a win over the Colts is there for the taking this week, with superior individual talent all over the field. Week 5 (Dallas Cowboys) and Week 6 (Buffalo Bills) look like winnable games, so Houston could easily be back even at 3-3 when they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars for a potential pivotal game in Week 7.

It would be aggressive, unlikely to make a big difference at this point in the season and probably too late in the big picture, but if the Texans lose badly to the Colts on Sunday head coach Bill O’Brien could be relieved of his duties upon landing back in Houston. With the promise the 2018 campaign came with, realistic or not, an 0-4 record is a point of no return on a lot of fronts.

Simply starting the game better would put the Texans on a winning track against the Colts. If they can get a much-needed win on Sunday and the Titans and Jaguars both lose, Houston would be just one game back in a suddenly bunched up AFC South.