The Houston Texans are back in a familiar, uncomfortable place after a 7-19 loss to the Indianapolis Colts: 0-3.
That’s the same spot they were in at this point last season, and it’s a hole that only one team has climbed out of since 2020 - the Texans themselves. So there’s at least some recent proof in the building that this kind of start doesn’t have to bury a season.
DeMeco Ryans isn’t treating it like a lost cause. After the loss in Indianapolis, the Texans head coach made it clear that the answer starts with the people in the room, and with him.
"0-3, that's where we are right now," Ryans said postgame. "The only way we can do anything about it is to go through it.
We're going through it right now; it's adversity. It happens.
And for me, it starts with me. So, I've got to do a better job of getting our guys ready to roll."
That message sounds a lot like the one Houston heard when it stumbled into this same record a year ago. Back then, a Week 3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars set off the same kind of alarm bells. This time, the Texans are dealing with a rough afternoon against another AFC South opponent, and the reaction outside the building is likely to be just as loud.
There was plenty for critics to grab onto in Indianapolis. Without Nico Collins, the passing game looked out of sync, the run game never found traction, and the coaching decisions were hard to ignore as the game slipped away.
Ryans, though, is leaning into the idea that the Texans need to tune out the noise and stay locked together.
“We keep working. I told our guys everybody’s going to come at us, tell us what we should do, what I should do, everybody has the answers," Ryans said postgame. "But the only way we can get through this is us sticking together."
"I told the guys this week, a divided house cannot stand. So we stand together through it all.
I’m standing behind our guys. We’ll keep pushing, keep punching, and we’ll see our way through this.”
The urgency is real now. An 0-4 start would put Houston in a place no NFL team has ever escaped.
For now, Ryans is keeping his tone steady. But the Texans need a turnaround fast, and Week 4 brings them back home for a matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.
In Other News...
DeMeco Ryans Just Put The Texans' Biggest Early Problem On Himself
The Texans 0-3 start has already turned every narrow miss into a bigger conversation, and the latest one came in a 19-17 loss to the Colts. Houston has flashed enough on offense to suggest the pieces are there, but the results have not followed, and the frustration is starting to land where it often does in a young season, on the coaching staff and how it is handling the details that decide close games.
DeMeco Ryans put that burden on himself after the loss, saying he has not coached well enough and that the team needs better preparation and adjustments. For a Texans team trying to turn promising stretches into actual wins, the issue now is not just execution on Sundays but whether the sideline can help clean up the decision-making and urgency that have kept those games from flipping in Houstons favor. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Are Already Asking Too Much Of C.J. Stroud
Houstons offense has already drifted into a familiar place early in the season, with the ground game failing to match the investment the Texans made at running back and along the offensive line. Through two weeks, the running backs have not consistently generated positive plays, and C.J. Stroud has ended up leading the team in rushing yards, a sign of just how quickly the attack has tilted toward the pass.
For the Texans, that puts an unfair amount on Strouds shoulders and leaves little margin for error if defenses keep treating Houston as a one-dimensional offense. David Montgomery and Woody Marks have not yet given the unit the steadier production it needs, and until that changes, the Texans will keep asking their quarterback to carry far more of the load than any young passer should have to. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Offense Has Fans Worried After Another Missed Chance To Reset
Another missed chance to steady the season left Houston staring at an 0-3 start after the Week 3 loss to Indianapolis, and the concerns are starting to stack up on the offensive side of the ball. Without Nico Collins, the passing game never found much rhythm, and a run game that looked like it should have had room to work against the matchup never really got going.
For a team still trying to find its footing under the current coaching staff, the early signs have not been encouraging, even if it is far too soon to write off the season. What makes the situation uneasy is how familiar the problems look already: the Texans keep coming away from these games with more questions than answers, and the offense has not yet shown it can provide a reliable reset. [Read more 🡒]