Beyond the Boxscore
An 11-1 underdog? Texans historically dissed like overblown Cowboys never wouldbe
Arian Foster and the Houston Texans find themselves as underdogs in New Englanddespite their 11-1 record.Photo by © Michelle Watson/CultureMapSNAP.com
Tom Brady makes Super Bowls, he must be better than the Texans . . . thisseason's evidence be damned.Elsa/Getty Images
Bradie James played in the hype haven of Dallas. He knows an 11-1 Cowboys teamnever would be branded an underdog.Photo by Karen Burd
The man on the phone from Las Vegas pauses when asked if he's ever seen an 11-1 NFL team listed as an underdog before.
"I can't think of one right away," he says. "But the Texans haven't been in this type of game before. They're really a new entity."
Yes, even Vegas sportsbook workers don't quite know what to make of an 11-1 team that doesn't have enough public belief to be a favorite in its biggest game of the year.
It's more than a little unnatural. Eleven and one teams aren't supposed to be underdogs. The Texans are very much in range of one of the NFL's all-time historic seasons.
14-2 years are crazy good. 15-1s are almost unheard of (only five teams in NFL history have ever gone through a 16-game regular season with only one loss).
And yet a team on the brink of possibly pulling off one of those seasons, a team that is 6-0 on the road, is more than a field goal underdog at a 9-3 team on Monday Night Football.
That is what you call a historic diss.
It's more than a little unnatural. Eleven and one teams aren't supposed to be underdogs.
And you can bet the Texans players have noticed.
"This game is about respect," linebacker Bradie James says. "We know people are still doubting and underplaying what this team is doing."
Any time an athlete starts talking about disrespect these days, it's natural to almost instantly roll your eyes. Being disrespected is the most overplayed motivator in sports.
And there's no doubt these Texans — particularly defensive coordinator Wade Phillips — have conjured up disrespect before when it has not really been there to drive them.
But Bradie is absolutely right on this one. He knows what many in the Houston media — a group that seems to be largely disbelieving of just how good this 11-1 team is after years of eagerly overplaying the power of inferior, flawed Texans teams past — is missing.
Oh, Bradie James knows.
He played for the Dallas Cowboys. And there is no chance an 11-1 Cowboys team would be an underdog on Monday Night Football — unless the 1985 Bears were conjured back up out of a laboratory.
That's the type of respect this type of record usually buys.
Yes, the Texans are playing the New England Patriots. But they're not playing the 2007 16-0 regular season Patriots. They're playing a 9-3 version that's beaten exactly two teams with a winning record this season (the 10-3 Denver Broncos and the 9-4 Indianapolis Colts, both at home).
Meanwhile, Mattt Schaub, Arian Foster, J.J. Watt and Co. have wins at Denver, at Chicago and a blowout of the 9-4 Ravens at home. With Atlanta's loss to Carolina on Sunday, the Texans are also the only team with only one loss in the NFL.
These Texans are not a Notre Dame team that's squeaked out wins over an inferior schedule prepping to play SEC bad boy Alabama. They've arguably played a tougher schedule than New England so far. And done better with it.
Bradie James played for Dallas. And there is no chance an 11-1 Cowboys team would be an underdog on MNF.
No matter. Tom Brady and the Patriots are favored over the Texans by four points or more almost everywhere you look. Common logic goes something like this: It's Tom Brady. He's at home. And it's the Texans.
"Our team doesn't get that respect," James says. "If we want to get what we deserve, we're going to have to go out and take it."
The last time the Texans felt this legitimately disrespected? You'd have to go back to Week 13 of last season when they hosted the Atlanta Falcons at Reliant as a 8-3 team and were declared underdogs. The Texans turned that fuel into a hard-hitting 17-10 win held up by a defensive stand.
Now, they go into New England, wearing specially-commissioned letterman jackets like they're a jacked-up, high school team hitting the road for the first time. Let the Patriots play it cool. These Texans are not going to downplay how much this game means to them.
They're not going to forget the historic diss.
"It’s a good opportunity for us to kind of cement our place and what we’ve been doing the past couple years," nose tackle Earl Mitchell says. "This game is really big as far as making a name for ourselves and putting the legacy on the Texans' name."
11-1 and underdogs? Child, please.
Win this game and the Texans are sure to be favorites the rest of the way. All the way till the Super Bowl.
