On September 10, 2020, the National Football League (NFL) regular season will take place. After a series of proposals and game plan revisions, the NFL organization has decided to start the tournament next month with limited spectators per venue. The whole season will take a 17-week playoff, with the finals set at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida.
During the opening day, the American Football Conference (AFC) will set the mood by featuring the Houston Texans against the Kansas City Chiefs. These teams are scheduled to take the first game where the defending champion, the Chiefs, will have home-court advantage against the Texans.
With these highly anticipated games, there are a lot of exciting things to look forward to going into the gameBr. While the Kansas City Chiefs are taking the favorites, the Texans, on the other hand, will show what they’ve got as an underdog. To give you a little spice up, let’s see the Texans’ latest NFL betting lines and odds, and how they might dispatch the Chiefs on game day.
Dominated Most Divisional Games
In the last eight years, the Houston Texans have clinched six divisional titles. This achievement is quite impressive for a team representing a conference within one decade. It is composed of two victories from Gary Kubiak and four from Bill O’ Brien. Apart from that, they have been victorious four times in the wildcard games, and the Chiefs should work double-time.
With this divisional record achievements, the Texans will surely hustle hard to start this NFL season with a bang. Facing the defending champs this year with a home-court advantage may not be easy for them, but they can turn the tables as long as they play well. It may not be an easy starting match-up, but if they defeat the Chiefs, the Texans might have the most wonderful journey in the Super Bowl LV.
Fresh Faces In The Passing Department
One of the shocking moments in the 2020 NFL Draft was DeAndre Hopkins leaving the Houston Texans and getting traded by the Arizona Cardinals. The fans were not quite expecting that as he was the main man of the Texans who led a way to dominate the AFC since he joined the team.
However, Bill O’ Brien had to accept these realignments, and instead of getting disappointed, he made a huge tweak in the passing department. He will have Kenny Stills and Will Fuller as the starting wide receivers. Moreover, the Texans will have Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb, who played the NFL last season with impressive records.
J.J. Watt’s Comeback
The Houston Texans might have passed the divisional rounds last year, but they struggled a lot. It was because J.J. Watt was pulled out in the middle of the season due to a pectoral injury. He was advised to take some rest and missed the entire Super Bowl LIV season. It may be one of the Texans’ downfall, but this year he’s back to play for his team.
As a three-time awardee of the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, J.J. Watt is looking to break the Chiefs momentum to control the AFC games. Looking into his NFL career statistics, Watt has recorded 479 tackles, 96.0 sacks, 54 pass deflections, 23 forced fumbles, 15 fumble recoveries, one interception, and two defensive touchdowns. These numbers are no joke, and the Chiefs should reconsider their game plan.
An Interminable Running Attack
One of the reasons why the Houston Texans have remained solid last tear even with Watt’s absence was a solid running attack. Carlos Hyde brought the team to a spotlight by accomplishing 245 carries and 1,070 rushing yards. Although this year, he would no longer play for this team, he will be replaced by a Pro-Bowler David Johnson, which the Texans obtained in the draft from the Cardinals.
Apart from David Johnson, they will also have Duke Johnson in the starting running attack roster. This player had a career-high last NFL season after recording 410 yards. If both the Johnson’s can recapture their performance last year or even perform beyond that, there is a big possibility that the Chiefs will get left behind.
A More Progressive Offensive Line
Despite the fact that the Texan’s starting quarterback, DeShaun Watson, had been sacked 63 times last year, the team improved their offensive line. The team had given a plethora of their best offensive linemen in the field, like Laremy Tunsil. Apart from him, highly drafted players, such as Tytus Howard and Max Scharping, performed excellently, contributing to the team’s more powerful offenses.
This year, the Texans will take the same line-up in the offensive line, working together with Will Fuller and J.J. Watt. With the Texan’s current roster on the offensive side, there is a huge tendency to smash the Chiefs to win their first game.
Takeaway
In a few more weeks, the 2020 NFL opening game will start-off by clashing the AFC’s best; Texans versus Chiefs. Will a more boosted Texans line-up this year be enough to dispatch the current Super Bowl titleholder? We’ll look forward to that.
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