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The Texans are looking to cap an unlikely playoff berth with what would be a historic Super Bowl title.
Entering the season with a rookie quarterback behind center and a rookie coach on the sidelines, Vegas oddsmakers didn’t have very high expectations for Houston this season.
The Texans opened the year at +550 (BetMGM) to make the postseason, according to Sports Odds History, which was the second-worst odds in the NFL ahead of only the Cardinals (+1000).
They were also, of course, extreme long shots to be the Lombardi Trophy winners come February, sitting at +20000, again only ahead of Arizona (+40000), before Week 1.
Since 1978, the Texans are just the seventh team with preseason odds at 200-1 or higher to make the postseason, according to Action Network’s Evan Abrams.
Now, while they still have little chance to pull it off, the young Texans have a puncher’s chance at a Super Bowl championship.
According to SOH, the Texans would be the biggest preseason long shot since at least 1977 to win the Super Bowl, surpassing the 1999 Rams, who were +15000 entering that season.
But even a deep playoff run would come as a shock to oddsmakers.
Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans looks on before kickoff against the Indianapolis Colts. Getty ImagesThe Texans currently have the second-longest Super Bowl odds (+7000) at FanDuel Sportsbook, beating out only the Buccaneers (+9500).
As of this writing, they are two-point home underdogs to the Browns, who they’ll play at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in Houston.
No matter how this season ends, Texans brass has to be happy with how it turned out.
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After opening with a win total at 5.5 with most sportsbooks, the Texans finished 10-7 during the first year of the CJ Stroud-DeMeco Ryans era, winning the AFC South with a victory over the Colts during Week 18.
Ryans and Stroud are the first rookie head coach-quarterback duo to make the postseason since Chuck Pagano and Andrew Luck did with the Colts in 2012.
Stroud is in line to win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, while Ryans is squarely in the conversation for coach of the year.
