At the outset of the 2012 season I considered the Houston Texans one of the two best teams in the NFL, the best in the AFC:
10. Houston Texans (10-6); Sun., Nov. 11, 7:20 p.m.
Analysis: The Texans are a Super Bowl pick for some and have a defense that was No. 2 in yardage defense and No. 4 in points allowed and added Illinois Whitney Mercilus with the 26th-overall pick. QB Matt Schaub has had trouble staying healthy but this was a playoff team last year and got better.
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Result: L (6-3)
The 6-3 is what I expected the Bears record to be after Houston, but that was based on the expectations that the Bears were playing the Tennessee Titans and not the NFLs equivalent of the Washington Generals. That one left me, like the Bears, 7-1 on the season.
This was one of the games I assessed in August as a Bears loss. The fault was not with the Bears but rather with the level of the Texans. And the closer the examination, the more accurate the prediction feels. And so:
Texans 20 Bears 16