Texans remain worst-standing team in NFL after yet another loss
As the 2022 National Football League season reaches the halfway point, many teams are showing just how good (or bad) they are. The Eagles are undefeated, and the Bills are continuing to impress. And on the other side of the spectrum is the Houston Texans, the worst team in the NFL. At 1-6-1, the Texans seem to do nothing right, and are yet again disappointing their somehow devoted fans.
At the helm of this train wreck is second-year quarterback Davis Mills. Despite being listed as the third-string option, Mills played in 13 games last year, and has started each game this season, hence the underwhelming record. Through eight games, he has thrown for ten touchdowns, or just over one per game. To go along with that let down, he has thrown eight interceptions, which is not horrible, but disastrous when paired with ten touchdowns. After a season last year, and Mills with a 41.2 QBR (quarterback rating), it seemed that drafting a notable quarterback would be a given.
With the third overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans selected Derek Stingley Jr., a cornerback from LSU. While he is likely a top ten player at his position, the front office needed to recognize that Davis Mills was not going to be the answer to their problems. In Feb., this same front office decided to hire Lovie Smith, a former NFL and college coach. With an NFL winning percentage just over .500 and a college win percentage at .304, he is just another below average coach going to a far below average team. After two straight seasons at third place in the AFC South, only beating the Jaguars, a new coach was in order, just not Lovie.
This season, the Texans have squeaked out a singular win, narrowly defeating the Jaguars in week five. Aside from that, the only decent game they played was their season-opener against the Colts, in which they held on for a tie. Their worst performance was a three-possession loss to the Raiders, who were 1-4 going into the matchup. Currently sitting at 2-6, the Raiders are a fellow dumpster fire, but are still unable to be as bad as the Texans. The luckiest team in the NFL is the New York Giants, because they are the next team to obliterate the embarrassment of Houston, Texas. Looking ahead for the Texans, they have a modest schedule, and may cinch a win or two if they are lucky.
The beginning of the Texans downfall seems to have begun in the 2020 season, the same year they traded away DeAndre Hopkins, their star wide receiver. In return, they received running back David Johnson and two draft picks. Both picks were traded away, and David Johnson currently sits unemployed. The picks that were traded away ultimately landed them Garret Wallow, a linebacker from Texas Christian University. Currently, he has a total of 18 solo tackles, far below average. In conclusion, the DeAndre Hopkins trade was a major failure for the organization and seems to have sunk them for years to come.
While it remains possible that the Houston Texans could be a competitor within the next few years, the statistics would make that seem highly unlikely. Pinpointing the problem would be impossible, but starting from the top is usually what needs to be done. Unfortunately as football fans, we are required to watch another half of the Texans season.