History fact: The last time these two teams met, Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson connected on a late touchdown pass to send the game into overtime, a game the Texans would go on to win 30-27.
Bill O' Brien and Jay Gruden are looking to debut strong with their respective teams, the Texans and the Redskins. Going a combined 5-27 last year, the two teams garnered the the two worst records in tyhe NFL.
The 2013 season saw the Texans lose 14 straight games after winning their first two games on the last play of the game. The Redskins were hoping Robert Griffen III would make a strong transition from an injured knee, but he would once again go down to injury, leaving Kirk Cousins to do heavy lifting.
This season, the Texans will look for a defense that is stronger than ever. The leader of the defense is JJ Watt. Brian Cushing will be returning from injury. The Texans drafted Jadeveon Clowney. Those three men will take the Redskins to war.
The Redskins will look to expose the Texans pass defense with costless agent pickup DeSean Jackson. The pure speed on the outside will give the Texans secondary fits. Jackson will be matched up against Johnathan Joseph who will be returning after a foot injury.
For the Texans offense, they may not be going against a very strong defense, but they may shoot themselves in the foot. Ryan Fitzpatrick isn't a guy that has superstar ability. The Texans could be their own worst enemy. Luckily, Arian Foster returns to action for Houston to help strengthen this offense and hopefully keep the ball out of the air.
Prediction: The Texans are going to be a stronger team than last year by much. They could probably run away with the game if DeSean Jackson wasn't on the Redskins. Jackson will be the X-Factor. His play determines if Washington has a legitimate chance of winning the game. But in the end, Houston will end their losing streak to start off hot.
Final score: Houston 24, Washington 20.