(SportsRadio 610) - With franchise altering decisions hanging in the balance as the 2022 season comes to a close, one more loss could mean a major win for the organization.
While the Texans are guaranteed a top-two pick in the NFL’s upcoming April draft, controlling their own destiny still seems paramount if they believe the face of the franchise could only be had at number one overall.
The consensus nationally is that the University of Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, who officially declared for the draft Monday morning, is the guy a number of NFL teams that need a quarterback would covet.
No team needs one more than the Houston Texans.
Yet, the Texans (2-13-1) still need one more loss to clinch that top pick, with the Indianapolis Colts standing in the way. A Chicago Bears win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday would negate any outcome by the Texans and clinch the top pick for Houston.
However, with the Bears (3-13) mired in a nine-game losing streak themselves and fresh off of a 41-10 blowout loss to the Detroit Lions (8-8), it doesn’t appear to be a great bet they’ll snap their skid at home against the Vikings (12-4), despite opening the week as just 1.5-point underdogs.
The Vikings, currently the no. 3 seed in the NFC, can still obtain the two-seed with a win Sunday, coupled with a loss by the San Francisco 49ers (12-4), who host the Arizona Cardinals (4-12) on Sunday.
Only the top seed in each conference receives a bye, but the second seed could play an extra home game.
It remains to be seen whether the Vikings will make a serious push Sunday considering they’d need help from the Cardinals, who opened the week as 13-point underdogs on the road.
The Colts opened only as 3-point favorites against the Texans for the week 18 regular season finale.
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Texans head coach Lovie Smith was asked Monday afternoon how he and the organization are approaching this final game with so much on the line in regard to the upcoming draft in April.
He mentioned how they could also benefit from the No. 2 or 3 overall pick, in case they win this last game.
Not exactly the words Texans fans want to hear at this point in time.
While Smith could very well be packing his bags just one week from now at season's end, his staff's future within the organization currently hangs in the balance.
Smith insisted the team's draft status will not play a role in how they approach the game in Indianapolis.
"We’re going to go to work this week and do everything we possibly can to win this last game," he said.
It’s a sad state of affairs when as a fan, all you want the team to do this week is everything they possibly can to WIN what really matters in the grand scheme of things.
The draft.
But, that’s where we are Houston.
Here’s hoping that Colts interim head coach Jeff Saturday finishes how he began.
With a win.
Shaun Bijani has spent the last 16 years covering the Houston sports scene for SportsRadio 610. Follow him on Twitter @ShaunBijani.
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