The Houston Texans have the 30th-hardest schedule in the NFL according to the conventional strength of schedule metric. However, there is another perspective that shows just how favorable the Texans’ schedule is in 2023.
According to Gordon McGuinness from Pro Football Focus, the AFC South is the seventh-toughest division in the NFL. That sounds convincing until one realizes the league is comprised of eight divisions. Part of the reason the AFC South is near the bottom is due to the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans being in rebuild mode like the Texans.
The other South teams appear to be looking more to the future, with three quarterbacks selected in the top 33 picks in the 2023 NFL Draft in C.J. Stroud for the Houston Texans, Anthony Richardson for the Indianapolis Colts and Will Levis for the Tennessee Titans. Of those three, the Titans will feel the closest to contending for a playoff spot in 2023. But the reality for all three teams is that a successful season would be learning what they have in their young signal-callers.
The Texans could have a successful season by McGuinness’ terms of evaluating Stroud, but also a successful season in the standings.
In addition to the AFC South, the Texans also play the NFC South this season, and that division was ranked worse than Houston’s division. While the Texans are facing what is considered the toughest division in football in the AFC North, that is counterbalanced by being last in the AFC South, and thus Houston has three same place finisher games with teams that came in last in the NFC West (Arizona Cardinals), AFC East (New York Jets), and AFC West (Denver Broncos).
Whether due to strength of schedule or public perception, the Texans couldn’t have asked for a better schedule to kickstart a turnaround.
