2023 Houston Texans Predictions: Game and win/loss record projections
The NFL's 2023 schedule has been released. While a lot is bound to change from early May to the start of each game, here are our best guesses as to how the Texans will fare from week to week — and their final record at the end of the campaign.
*All games listed in ET.
Week 1 (Sunday, Sept. 10) — at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m.: L
Week 2 (Sunday, Sept. 17) — vs. Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m.: L
Week 3 (Sunday, Sept. 24) — at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m.: L
Week 4 (Sunday, Oct. 1) — vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. : L
Week 5 (Sunday, Oct. 8) — at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m.: W
Week 6 (Sunday, Oct. 15) — vs. New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m.: W
Week 7 — BYE
Week 8 (Sunday, Oct. 29) — at Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m.: L
Week 9 (Sunday, Nov. 5) — vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m.: W
Week 10 (Sunday, Nov. 12) — at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m.: L
Week 11 (Sunday, Nov. 19) — vs. Arizona Cardinals, 1 p.m.: W
Week 12 (Sunday, Nov. 26) — vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m.: L
Week 13 (Sunday, Dec. 3) — vs. Denver Broncos, 4:05 p.m.: W
Week 14 (Sunday, Dec. 10) — at New York Jets, 1 p.m.: L
Week 15 (Sunday, Dec. 17) — at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m.: L
Week 16 (Sunday, Dec. 24) — vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m.: L
Week 17 (Sunday, Dec. 31) — vs. Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m.: L
Week 18 (Date/Time TBD) — at Indianapolis Colts: W
Final record: 6-11
For the Texans, playing at Baltimore with a rookie quarterback in C.J. Stroud and a first-year coach in DeMeco Ryans to kick off the season is daunting. The end of the season could be tough for Houston too, considering the Jets (Week 14) are in the preseason Super Bowl conversation, the Broncos (Week 13) and Browns (Week 16) may be much improved in 2023, and two matchups in three weeks with the division rival Titans (Week 15, 17). But this is a team that could get six wins with an improved (and a highly-paid) offensive line in front of star running back Dameon Pierce, plus a better defense with a few potential long-term cornerstones (Jalen Pitre, Derek Stingley Jr., Will Anderson Jr.).
Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.