The Houston Texans left Week 2 with a 6-20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, and the offense did itself no favors. The run game never got going, the offensive line was still a problem, and Houston went 0/4 in the red zone.
Even with all of that, C.J. Stroud still piled up numbers in a way that landed him in NFL history. According to Scott Kacsmar on X, Stroud became the first quarterback in league history to throw for 350 or more yards with no interceptions while his team scored fewer than 10 points.
Stroud: 1st QB in NFL history to throw for 350+ yards with no INTs and his team scored fewer than 10 points 🤷 https://t.co/ctYtaR3rc0
Stroud finished with a career-high 55 pass attempts and 353 passing yards, though he completed just 54.5% of his throws. He also protected the football, bouncing back from the two giveaways he had last week against the Buffalo Bills with no interceptions and no fumbles against Cincinnati.
That ball security helped Houston stay around for much of the game, but the rest of the offense kept sinking. The Texans managed only six points, and Week 2 became just the fourth time in the DeMeco Ryans era that Houston scored seven points or fewer in a game. It was also the first such outing since the 2024 Christmas Day game against the Baltimore Ravens, a 2-31 loss.
For the Texans, the issues that showed up against the Bengals are not new. They look a lot like the problems Houston tried to address this offseason, but through two weeks, those changes have not produced much in the way of results.
There is still the possibility of improvement once Collins is back in the lineup and the season moves along, but right now the Texans are dealing with a familiar kind of frustration.
Houston will try to shake off the ugly offensive showing in Week 3 when it heads to Indianapolis for its first AFC South matchup of the 2026 season against the Colts.
In Other News...
Texans Run Game Faces An Early Test C.J. Stroud Cant Ignore
The Texans spent the offseason trying to take some of the burden off C.J. Stroud by giving their ground game more structure and support, and Week 1 offered an early look at where that project stands. Against the Bills, the running backs brought effort but not much efficiency, with David Montgomery finishing at 3.0 yards per carry as Houston searched for a steadier way to stay ahead of the chains.
Now the attention shifts to Cincinnati, where the rebuilt offensive line and backfield get another tough assignment. The Bengals bring a defensive front that can make life difficult in a hurry, and the presence of Dexter Lawrence II only raises the degree of difficulty for a Texans run game still trying to prove it can be more than a work in progress. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Offense Already Has An Early Problem They Need To Fix
The Texans are already dealing with an offense that looks out of sync two weeks into the season, and the loss to the Bengals only sharpened the concern. Without Nico Collins because of a hamstring injury, Houston had trouble stretching the field, and the passing game leaned heavily on Dalton Schultz, who finished with 12 catches for 140 yards while the rest of the attack struggled to find much rhythm.
The bigger issue was how little the run game and red zone offense offered when the Texans needed balance most. David Montgomery and Woody Marks combined for just 18 yards on 14 carries, and Houston came away empty on all four of its red zone trips. At 0-2, the Texans do not need to panic yet, but they do need answers quickly if this offense is going to keep up in the AFC South. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Offense Just Raised An Early Concern Around C.J. Stroud
The Texans came out of Week 2 with more questions than answers on offense after a 20-6 loss to the Bengals, a game that never gave Houston much room to settle in. Both defenses did their part, but Cincinnati was simply better at turning drives into points, with Joe Burrow and the Bengals producing two touchdowns and three field goals while Houston had to settle for three field goals of its own.
For a team built around C.J. Strouds growth, that kind of showing lands as an early concern rather than a one-week blip. The Texans were able to keep the game from turning into a track meet, but they also spent most of the afternoon chasing instead of dictating, and that is not the formula they wanted this offense to find so early in the season. [Read more 🡒]