Houston Texans: The Cleveland Browns will pose as a potential trap game

Having won a franchise-record eight straight games, the Houston Texans get set to take on the Cleveland Browns, unlike in previous years, they’ll bring in a potential team that could pose as a problem for the Texans.

Remember in the sixth Star Wars film when Admiral Ackbar tells his troops that what they were encountering from the enemy was a setup? Or in other words, it was a trap? Well, that’s what the Houston Texans find themselves in this week, a trap game.

Basically, for those that don’t know, a trap game is a game when you’re playing a team that you should beat, but the pressure can be so empowering that the other team comes out and surprises you. In this case, we’re playing the Cleveland Browns this weekend?

Who? The Cleveland Browns. Oh! You mean the team that’s been the laughingstock of the NFL for the past twenty years since they rejoined the NFL in 1999? Yes, except for one problem. These aren’t the same Cleveland Browns.

Currently, the Browns are 4-6-1, which is in a way a mile off what they were for the past few seasons. What’s changed about them? Well for one thing, they have a quarterback who can play in former Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield from Oklahoma. Not only is Mayfield having himself a good season.

But recently, he has managed to be part of some controversy with saying how he truly feels. Call it cockiness or frat boy mentality, but the Browns have a player with swagger and confidence, which is what they’ve been missing since their return. Does Houston have that type of player? Well maybe on the Astros, but that’s another story.

They also possess one of the best pass rushers in Myles Garrett. In addition, the running game has been improved with the play of Nick Chubb. Even more so, the Browns have won their last two straight games including a butt-whooping on the Bengals last week.

Y’all might not be intrigued with all this from first glimpse. But perhaps I can show you something that I read about the Browns’ reasons to win. So Nick Dudukovich is a FanSided writer for the Factory of Sadness, which is Cleveland’s FanSided blog. In it, he wrote about reasons why the Browns can beat the Texans and end the streak. To summarize, he listed five reasons.

1. Texans’ Letdown

   • Coming off an emotional win over the Titans, the Texans are facing a short week while dealing with the aftermath of Bob McNair’s passing.

2. Baker Mayfield’s Touchdowns

   • Since working with offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens, Mayfield has completed almost 74% of his passes with nine touchdowns to one interception and a quarterback rating of 129.5.

3. Browns’ Defense Forcing More Passing Situations

   • For the Browns to have a chance to win, they need to force more passing opportunities from Deshaun Watson by taking away the outside game from Lamar Miller. Doing so could lead to takeaway opportunities on defense.

4. Nick Chubb

   • The running back must have the versatility to against the Texans, who are seventh in defending the run. But with the speed of Chubb and an offense coming together, Houston would need to stop multiple factors on the Browns’ offense.

5. Defensive Stars Contributing

   • With the return of linebacker Joe Schobert on defense, the Browns have a much-improved defense and the secondary is healthy while Garrett rushes the passer.  Cleveland has also forced 27 turnovers, which includes a +14 ranking in that category.

It should be fair to say that all these points are valid with good reasoning. After seeing the Browns take it to Cincinnati, the Houston Texans should be on high alert. Oddsmakers have them at least winning by 5.5 at home. In the past, that number would be up to 10 points. But Cleveland has gotten some respect from the league that the odds expect this game to be close.

There is another factor that plays into this matter. This one was not mentioned in the article, but should be taken into account. Cleveland is to Houston as Houston is to Los Angeles or New England

What does that mean? That doesn’t mean Cleveland is in the same boat as a football city as Houston as far as media coverage with all due respect. Both cities are underdog cities although, Houston is starting to emerge as a major sports town in general. But that’s not the point. What is the point then? Well, it’s pretty simple when you understand it.

On Monday Night Football, analyst Booger McFarland was talking about the Texans and what role they could be in the AFC Playoff picture. He basically said that it didn’t matter whether it was Kansas City or New England in the AFC playoffs because no one would want to play the Texans.

That’s not to say that Kansas City nor New England can’t beat the Texans in the playoffs because they would most likely be favored. But the Houston Texans present a mindset of a team that would have nothing to lose in the playoffs and can surprise the elite teams. Hey, they almost beat the Patriots by dominating them in the second half. With the Chiefs and Patriots having good seasons, a loss to the Texans come January would be tough to swallow and a failed ending.

In this particular case, the Houston Texans have something to lose. Aside from the streak, they could lose ground in the AFC South by seeing their lead shrink to a game as the Indianapolis Colts are also on fire. You have the Cleveland Browns, who are unlikely to make the playoffs, coming in. What do they have to lose? Well, coming off a big win last week, the Browns are looking for momentum to continue. The task is tall, but with everything working for them, the chances of an upset are possible.

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If the NFL were like the food chain, it would feature the elite teams looking to swallow the teams seeking to take their best shots against them. While the Houston Texans are still hunting for opportunities to knock down the elite, they’ll have to hold off teams that aren’t in the same position they’re in at this point. Cleveland won’t be the best team remaining on Houston’s schedule. But they are probably the best option to give the Texans a trap game.

It’s simple for the Houston Texans. The offensive line needs to keep blocking for Watson and Miller. Watson can’t do too much, but be effective. The defense will certainly need to apply pressure to every position player on the offense. And most importantly, the Texans need to keep playing for sixty minutes. The strategy has worked for the last eight games. So number nine is expecting to be the same thing.

All things considered, this should be an interesting test. It’s unfortunate that this game won’t be on primetime because everyone should see how much both teams can be coming to take the crown soon. But for right now, let’s take care of business against the Browns.