Following the bye, the Texans have been good.
Since the start of 2014, Houston's won four of their five games that came after the bye week. All five of those contests were on the road, and the lone loss came in a shootout at Seattle in 2017.
Also in that five year span, the Texans played 40 games after the off week. The combined record is 21-19. However, in 2017, with quarterback Deshaun Watson playing in just the one game before going on injured reserve, the Texans lost nine of 10 games. In the other four seasons, they're a combined 20-9.
Head coach Bill O'Brien said he doesn't have "the secret sauce" on being successful after the bye, and instead focused on the important things to accomplish during the week without a game.
“Hopefully the time was used wisely by the coaching staff to self-scout, by the players to get healthier, the players that are banged up to get healthier and players to get ahead on some Baltimore film and things like that," O'Brien said. "In the end, we've got to have a good Monday, a good Wednesday, a good Thursday, a good Friday and go play a really good team.”
With the Ravens at 7-3 and atop the AFC North, the Texans face a stiff challenge in Baltimore. But getting the rest when they did came at the perfect juncture, according to nose tackle D.J. Reader.
"We had a bye at the good time of the season," Reader said. "We're in a good spot but we have to keep pushing. We could be in a bad spot real quickly so we want to keep ourselves in a good spot. We've got to keep pushing, keep working."
The players had Tuesday off, and will return to practice on Wednesday at the Houston Methodist Training Center.
The Houston Texans roster in photos. (Updated 12/1/2019)
S, Mike Adams, 27
LB, Tyrell Adams, 50
S, Jahleel Addae, 37
TE, Jordan Akins, 88
P, Bryan Anger, 9
CB, Cornell Armstrong, 30
DE, Angelo Blackson, 97
WR, DeAndre Carter, 14
OL, Chris Clark, 77
CB, Gareon Conley, 22
WR, Keke Coutee, 16
CB, Keion Crossen, 35
ILB, Zach Cunningham, 41
DE, Brandon Dunn, 92
K, Ka'imi Fairbairn, 7
TE, Darren Fells, 87
WR, Will Fuller, V, 15
OL, Zach Fulton, 73
FB, Cullen Gillaspia, 44
S, Tashaun Gipson, 39
CB, Vernon Hargreaves, 28
DE, Joel Heath, 93
WR, DeAndre Hopkins, 10
RB, Buddy Howell, 38
RB, Carlos Hyde, 23
RB, Duke Johnson, 25
CB, Lonnie Johnson, Jr., 32
OL, Roderick Johnson, 63
RB, Taiwan Jones, 34
CB, Johnathan Joseph, 24
OLB, Peter Kalambayi, 58
OL, Greg Mancz, 65
LB, Jacob Martin, 54
C, Nick Martin, 66
QB, AJ McCarron, 2
LB, Benardrick McKinney, 55
OLB, Whitney Mercilus, 59
LB, Barkevious Mingo, 52
WR, Steven Mitchell, Jr., 11
S, A.J. Moore, 33
DE, Charles Omenihu, 94
NT/DE, D.J. Reader, 98
S, Justin Reid, 20
CB, Bradley Roby, 21
OLB, Brennan Scarlett, 57
OL, Max Scharping, 74
WR, Kenny Stills, 12
TE, Jordan Thomas, 83
OL, Laremy Tunsil, 78
NT, Eddie Vanderdoes, 95
DL, Carlos Watkins, 91
QB, Deshaun Watson, 4
LS, Jon Weeks, 46
