... horse" pick. Many teams get that label despite the attention they get ultimately flying in the face of the true definition (i.e. little-known). 

Most of those teams, picked to make great steps in the preseason or early in the year, have now found themselves facing the very real possibility of a missing the playoffs entirely after being picked to possibly make some noise. 

Houston is the poster child for this effect. Chosen as the dark horse pick in the preseason by the bulk of so-called experts, the team is now below .500 and fighting just to match its prior year’s 8-8 record. With a high-powered offense that seemed to have all the pieces in place, it was assumed that Matt Schaub’s health ...

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