Season-opening losses by the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans have put both of the state’s NFL teams in a tough position to start the season.
The Cowboys dropped an ugly 16-8 loss at Carolina on Sunday, clearly missing wide receiver Dez Bryant and kicker Dan Bailey who were cut by the team before the season started.
The Texans fell at New England, 27-20. While the Patriots are one of the early favorites to win the Super Bowl, it still hurts Houston to lose its first game.
Losers of their first NFL game have traditionally made the playoffs in only 25 percent of their seasons, including each of the last two seasons.
The winner of the Super Bowl has lost its first game in only 11 of the 52 seasons in the league’s modern playoff era.
Still, it will be ‘s an uphill battle for both Texas teams to keep playing into January.
ESPN.com has the Texans ranked No. 15 in their conference power rankings this week. That figure is the third best among teams with a loss, trailing only New Orleans and Atlanta. It’s also the same ranking the Texans started the season with last week.
Dallasplaced 20th in the ESPN power poll, down from No. 13 in the first ESPN poll.
