Hard to believe, the Houston Texans are in an unfamiliar position. After an intense battle against the Jacksonville Jaguars, where they lost a close game 17-10, they fell to 0-3. This loss rehashes an ever-present issue for the Texans. Dating back to Week 5 of the 2023 season, they’ve now played 25 one-score games, the most in the NFL. Despite the close contests, the Texans have not been able to secure a victory, raising concerns about their ability to finish games.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans faces his first 0-3 start in the NFL, with each game this season decided by a single score. The Texans’ defense has played lights out all year long. They’re only giving up 17 points a game, good for fifth best in the league. It’s been the offense that’s been laughably bad, averaging a league-worst 12.7 points per game. It’s a combination that has put the Texans on an ever-tighter razor’s edge, where the slightest misstep is magnified into the disastrous.
In their Week 1 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, the Texans held possession in Rams’ territory with just 1:51 remaining, yet they could not capitalize on the opportunity. Flash forward to the Texans’ third game of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Unfortunately, they uncharacteristically gave up a game-winning drive that doomed them in yet another nail-biter.
That’s why the offense’s embarrassing return to form performance against the Jaguars last week was so hard to swallow. They didn’t come close to eclipsing 300 total yards and went a putrid 4-for-15 on third downs. All three of those turnovers proved pivotal in the nailbiter. One of them was a critical lost fumble by running back Dare Ogunbowale on a reception from rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
In an exasperated instant replay, Stroud graded the team’s performance. He said, “We’re going to continue to see these outcomes until we get to the end!” He was clear on the need to translate these competitive efforts into victories and stressed that close only counts in horseshoes.
DeMeco Ryans, for his part, backed up his quarterback’s words, saying, “that’s pretty discouraging to be close…We’re trying to win ballgames. The players have consistently told us they don’t want to repair the damage with band-aids on offense and defense.
And just like that, the Texans’ margin for error has grown dangerously small. No room for error, when one mistake could have horrific results. That was on display when Meghan Josh Hines-Allen knifed in to tip Stroud’s pass in the first half at an opportune moment. Ryans and his staff know that improvements need to happen immediately if they want any hope of salvaging the remainder of their season.
Historically, the Texans have fared better in one-score games, boasting a record of 14-8 in such contests prior to this season. Beyond the immediate impacts from the pandemic, this recent trend is extremely concerning. That’s particularly the case for a team that opened the season with aspirations of following Ryans’ track record, which featured consecutive AFC South titles and appearances in the divisional round.
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