This is familiar territory for the Houston Texans.
Losers of a 19-17 affair against the Indianapolis Colts, their AFC South rival, the Texans have opened a second straight season with three consecutive losses.
In 2025, DeMeco Ryans’ team became the seventh team in NFL history to start 0-3 and make the postseason, as the Texans won the division and played in the divisional round for the third straight postseason.
Colts kicker Spencer Shrader nailed a 53-yard field goal with 21 seconds remaining to take the final lead of the game, with quarterback C.J. Stroud unable to lead a drive that gave kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn a makeable field-goal attempt.
The Texans’ defense bottled up Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (23 carries, 68 yards) and surrendered
a lone touchdown from Indianapolis quarterback Daniel Jones to receiver Keenan Allen early in the second quarter. Will Anderson notched 2.5 sacks, but the Colts moved the ball enough to give Shrader four chances to put points on the board, and he never missed.
The offensive line provided little room for backs David Montgomery (11 carries for 33 yards) or Woody Marks (5 for 15).
Stroud finished 16-of-27 for 167 yards and one touchdown through the air. But the Texans ran 20 less plays than the Colts and also had the ball for 10 less minutes.
Texans’ 0-3 start familiar territory for C.J. Stroud, DeMeco Ryans team
The Texans’ rushing attack remains a disaster. Offensive coordinator Nick Caley even tried designing running plays for receivers Jaylin Noel and Xavier Hutchinson.
Before the 2025 Texans, the last NFL team to make the playoffs while dropping their first three contests was the 2018 Texans, then led by JJ Watt on the defensive line and second-year quarterback Deshaun Watson. The 1998 Buffalo Bills were the last franchise prior to the Texans to accomplish the feat.
Only the San Diego Chargers (1992) started 0-4 and made the postseason, putting an added spotlight on Houston’s Week 4 tilt at home against the Dallas Cowboys.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deja vu? Texans' 0-3 start means they must make NFL history to reach playoffs
