The Houston Texans were favored to defeat the New York Giants in Week 7 before the bye.
However, the Texans fell in overtime, are now 2-5, and have seriously jeopardized their playoff chances entering Sunday's matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.
But not all hope is lost. There is still a path for Houston to make it to the playoffs if they can get on a run, starting with a win against the winless Bolts this Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
They also had two weeks to prepare for this game after being on bye.
“Our opportunity starts this week with us being focused on handling what we can control, controlling what we can control and not putting the focus on a run,” Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said. “It's about how do we prepare the right way. ‘How do we play
more disciplined? How do we have the self-discipline to go out and play clean football?’ That's where it starts for me. I'm not concerned about a run. I'm concerned about us playing better.”
The Chargers are the easiest game Houston has on its schedule. However, they have four other games against teams with losing records. They also have to play the Baltimore Ravens in a few weeks.
MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson won't play after suffering a thumb injury in Week 9's loss to the Buffalo Bills. It is unclear if Tyler Huntley will be available either, making that a winnable game for the Texans. Houston also has three more AFC South matchups, all at home, including two against the rebuilding Colts and Titans.
Still, they are three games behind in the division and in the wild card race. Therefore, if Houston is going to make the playoffs, they must pull off some upsets and win every game they are favored to win.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans HC DeMeco Ryans focused on playing better, not a winning streak
