The Texans came into the 2026 season with expectations soaring after what they did the year before, but four games in, the defense is the part raising the loudest questions.
Houston still looks loaded at every level on that side of the ball, yet the results have been ugly in the spots that matter most. That’s what makes the early slide so jarring. Regression happens in the NFL, sure, but when a unit keeps most of its talent and still falls off this sharply, it gets hard to chalk it up to chance alone.
What makes this even more frustrating is that the Texans’ defense had already shown it could start slowly. Last season, it needed time to settle in before becoming the dominant group everyone remembers.
Back then, the offense was the side carrying the biggest burden. This time around, the script has flipped.
When Nico Collins has been on the field, Houston’s offense has looked much better, putting up 30 points per game. Collins missed two games, and the offense badly felt it, but the larger issue here is what happened late in games.
C.J. Stroud gave the Texans a late fourth-quarter lead in three of their first four contests, and the defense could not hold up its end by getting the stop needed to close things out.
That’s a big reason Houston is sitting at 0-4.
The talent is still obvious. Nobody is questioning that.
The concern is that the pieces don’t always seem to be placed in the best spots, especially in certain schematic situations. When a defense this gifted keeps coming up short in decisive moments, the conversation naturally shifts from the players to the way they’re being used.
There is still a real belief that this group can turn things around, because there is simply too much ability on the roster for it to keep playing this way. But the turnaround has to start on defense, and it has to happen quickly.
Will Anderson Jr. has been the bright spot. He is already putting together a Defensive Player of the Year-caliber season and has been nearly impossible to deal with through four games. He has become the center of gravity for the unit, delivering impact after impact every week.
Now the rest of the defense has to catch up.
An 0-4 start is a rough place to be, and Houston has put itself in a hole. Still, this does not look like a team that has completely unraveled.
The Texans have had chances to win several of these games. They just haven’t finished them.
In Other News...
Texans Just Sent A Clear Message About Their QB Depth
The Texans added another layer to their quarterback room ahead of Week 5, signing Mark Gronowski to the 53-man roster after a two-week stay on the practice squad earlier this season. He now slots in as the third quarterback behind C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills, giving Houston a little more insurance as it moves deeper into the early part of the schedule.
Gronowski arrives with an unusual path for an NFL reserve, having originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the Miami Dolphins before landing in Houston. His college rsum also stood out for the sheer number of quarterback wins he piled up, which is part of why the Texans continue to see enough in him to keep him around at a spot where depth rarely goes unnoticed. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Could Get A Needed Secondary Boost At The Perfect Time
M.J. Stewart is on track to give the Texans a timely lift in the secondary, with the veteran safety expected back in Week 5 against the Titans after working his way back from a torn quadriceps. He has moved through the practice process since being designated to return from the reserve/PUP list, putting him in position to make his season debut this week.
For a Houston defense that has been tested in recent games, Stewarts return would bring a needed dose of experience and stability. The timing matters, too, with the Titans up next and the Texans looking for any edge they can get on the back end as they try to steady a secondary that has had its share of issues. [Read more 🡒]
DeMeco Ryans Turned One Cowboys Weakness Into A Texans Statement
After studying film of Baltimores special-teams success the week before, the Texans found a similar opening against Dallas and turned it into one of the cleaner momentum plays of the day. Houston got its hands up and blocked a Cowboys field-goal attempt, a small sequence on the scoreboard that said a lot about how thoroughly DeMeco Ryans staff had prepared for a familiar vulnerability.
Ryans pointed to a repeated protection issue in the C and D gap area, the sort of breakdown that can get exposed fast if a defense knows where to attack. The Texans saw it on tape, recognized it on the field and, according to Ryans, Dallas had not corrected the flaw from one game to the next. [Read more 🡒]