Last season, the Texans became only the fourth team since 1990 to start 0-3 and make the postseason (1992 Chargers, 1995 Lions, 1998 Bills). They were staring 0-4 dead in the face after blowing a lead in Indianapolis, but got a reprieve when Frank Reich elected to go for it on fourth down from his own 43 with 27 seconds to go in overtime. Andrew Luck’s pass was incomplete, and Houston stole a win that ended up starting a nine-game winning streak and led to an eventual AFC South title.

For the Texans to duplicate that finish, they have to find a way to protect Deshaun Watson, who was sacked a league-high 62 times last season. They drafted offensive tackles with their first two picks but didn’t do much in free agency to bolster their offensive line, which could be one reason GM Brian Gaine was fired in early June after just one season.

If help doesn’t materialize on the offensive line, Watson at least will have some assistance at receiver with Will Fuller returning from a torn ACL to complement DeAndre Hopkins. Another thing that would help Watson is for Bill O’Brien to be less predictable in his play calling.

While the Texans had to take on Luck twice in 2018, they also got to face three rookie quarterbacks (Josh Allen, Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield) along with six others who are not starters heading into the 2019 season (Brock Osweiler, Blaine Gabbert, Blake Bortles, Cody Kessler, Colt McCoy and Nathan Peterman). This season, they draw Drew Brees, Philip Rivers and Patrick Mahomes all on the road in the first six weeks. Plus, they get a December meeting with that Brady guy.

The play: Texans Under 8¹/₂ wins (+123 at DraftKings).