In the immortal words of Herm Edwards, “You play to win the game.” Too bad the Texans didn’t realize “the game” was the race for the first overall pick in the 2023 draft.
Houston beat Indianapolis 32-31 on Sunday, while Chicago lost to Minnesota 29-13. Those two results mean that the Bears hold the first overall pick in the upcoming draft while the Texans drop to second overall.
It’s curious that the Texans would choose the last week of the season to play one of their better games of the season. Houston (3-13-1) took the one-point lead after converting a two-point conversion with 50 seconds remaining.
Lovie Smith, the Texans’ head coach, is on the hot seat and many expect him to be fired in the near future. It wasn’t lost on Twitter that Smith pulled out all the stops for a victory that clinched the first pick in the draft for his former team.
Smith coached the Bears from 2004-2012, leading the franchise to Super Bowl XLI after the 2006 season.
If Houston fires Smith after gifting him a roster with a scarcity of talent, his kiss-off is one for the ages.
Chicago (3-14) is expected to field plenty of offers for the first pick in the draft. While the top overall prospects are defensive tackle Jalen Carter and defensive end Will Anderson Jr., teams know that Houston is eyeing a QB at second-overall. QB-needy teams — such as Indianapolis — can deal with the Bears to leap the Texans for a chance to draft a QB.
Draft experts lean toward Bryce Young as the most likely first-overall pick in April’s draft. Chicago QB Justin Fields made strides this season and the team could acquire multiple draft picks by trading the number one pick to build around its burgeoning star at QB.
The Texans no longer have the pick of the litter when it comes to drafting a QB. Perhaps the team doesn’t see much difference between Young and other top QB prospects C.J. Stroud and Will Levis. As electric as Young was at Alabama, that might not be a wise evaluation.
It wouldn’t be the first time the Texans missed the mark.
