The Houston Texans started this season with Super Bowl ambitions, and a large percentage of the NFL viewing public was behind them. Three weeks and three losses later, and this dream seems almost comical in hindsight. But, remarkably, the 12-5 squad from last year was in the same exact apocalyptic position at 0-3, and they went on the win nine straight! So, even though an 0-3 start is close to a death sentence, the Texans are technically not out of the race quite yet.
But, was does their 0-3 really
say about this 2026 Texans team? How does it compare to last year’s squad? Well, going back to my Week 4 Power Rankings of last year, I had a lot of similar things to say:
Punt after punt after punt (six in total for this game), hope deflated out of Texans fans like a balloon and was refilled by discontent and confusion. Why are so many receivers not getting open? Why is Stroud still getting pressured nearly every down? Why can’t the Texans get a rhythm going on offense? What in the WORLD are all these penalties about? – NFL Power Rankings Week 4 (2025)
Failing to get an offensive rhythm? Stroud getting pressured on every down? Sounds a lot like the complaints about Houston we’ve been hearing recently, but this doesn’t tell the whole story: In the first three games of the 2025 season, the Texans scored a total of just 38 points and failed to gain over 300 yards of offense in any of those contests. By contrast, the 2026 Texans have scored a total of 54 points in three games and have already broken the 300-yard mark twice so far. At first, this might yield some optimism on the Texans’ outlook for this season, but to still be 0-3 despite the modestly improved offense means the three losses may be more complicated, and not so easily repaired. The interior offensive line remains the primary culprit of Houston’s suffering, but the defense this season has not been quite as dominant as they were last year (at least so far), and combined with questionable time management by the coaching staff creates a recipe for a disastrous start to the season.
Houston fell out of most pundits’ top ten after their first loss, then they dropped into the middle of the standings after the second loss, and now following a third loss, the Texans may see their stock fall to its lowest point of the CJ Stroud/DeMeco Ryans era. This is going to be like ripping off a band-aid: here’s where the Houston Texans are ranked following their Week 3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts:
NFL.COM:
24. Houston Texans (0-3)
The Texans have serious problems offensively that are painfully familiar. They can’t run the ball, lack difference-makers at receiver and still can’t consistently sustain drives. After a six-point output in the Week 2 loss to Cincinnati, the Texans were nearly as dreadful Sunday in Indianapolis, save for one urgent drive to briefly take a late lead. It’s unrealistic to expect the defense to carry Houston on a weekly basis, and until offensive coordinator Nick Caley finds some solutions, the Texans will remain mired in these struggles.
ESPN:
21. Houston Texans (0-3)
Week 3 result: Lost to the Colts 19-17
Week 3 ranking: 15
Fantasy surprise: RB David Montgomery
After scoring 28.9 fantasy points in Week 1, Montgomery has only 11.2 in the past two games combined. He averages 0.5 yards before contact — an abhorrent number for a rushing attack. Any hope for an improvement in Montgomery’s fantasy production starts with better play from the offensive line. That unit is a big reason the Texans are winless and averaging 11.5 points over the past two weeks.
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED:
16. Houston Texans (0–3)
Last week’s ranking: No. 13
Last week’s result: lost to Colts, 19–17
This week: vs. Cowboys
When you get as involved in a team’s success as I did, the absolute breakdown of its most vulnerable unit—the one you believed would look brand new—feels especially difficult to stomach. But I would like to be a fly on the wall during the next phase of offensive meetings for the Houston Texans. Where is the machine coming unplugged?
BLEACHER REPORT:
27. Houston Texans (0-3)
Last Week: 16
Week 3 Result: Lost at Indianapolis 19-17
The good news is that the Texans are in familiar territory.
The bad news is that familiar territory is up a creek.
This marks the second straight season that the Texans have started 0-3. Last year, they rebounded to make the postseason and won a playoff game. The Texans also started 0-3 and made the playoffs in 2018.
But no team has made the playoffs after an 0-3 start in back-to-back seasons, and right now the Texans do not look the part of a contender—at all.
Houston’s offensive line play and rushing attack have been all but non-existent—against a Colts defense that entered Week 3 with the AFC’s worst defense, the Texans had 70 rushing yards and averaged less than 3.5 yards per carry. C.J. Stroud had his worst game of the season throwing the ball in Indianapolis.
Houston’s defense can’t do it all—and right now the offense isn’t doing much.
CBS SPORTS:
27. Texans (0-3) (Last Week: 24)
At 0-3, their season is on the line against the Cowboys this week. The offense just isn’t good enough right now.
USA TODAY:
25. Houston Texans (18): While he’s been hindered by key offensive absences, C.J. Stroud does not look like a quarterback deserving of a, say, $55 million-a-year contract.
YAHOO! SPORTS:
24. Houston Texans (0-3, LW: 19)
The Texans were 0-3 last season and went 12-5. So Houston can turn this around. But only six teams in NFL history, not counting the 1982 strike season, have made the playoffs after an 0-3 start, according to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press.
“0-3 is where we are right now,” Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said, via Texans Wire. “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. For me, it starts with me. I have to do a better job of getting our guys ready to roll.”
The offense has been a problem. It has failed without Nico Collins, who has missed two games with a hamstring injury. Against a Colts defense that had allowed the most points and yards in the NFL through two weeks, the Texans had 93 yards through three quarters. And 68 of those yards, and seven of their eight first downs, came on one drive. Even with Collins out, it shouldn’t have been that hard to sustain drives. QB C.J. Stroud is looking for a contract extension, and the start to this season shouldn’t be providing the Texans any optimism that he’s worth the massive raise he’s seeking.
THE ATHLETIC:
22. Houston Texans (0-3)
Last week: 17
Sunday: Lost to Colts 19-17
QB confidence: Falling, again
It’s been a roller-coaster ride for Houston fans and C.J. Stroud. In his first 23 games, Stroud was 15-8 with 26 touchdowns, five interceptions and a 101.7 passer rating. In the next 21 games, he was 9-12 with 11 touchdowns, nine interceptions and an 86.2 passer rating. Then another climb, seven straight wins that included nine touchdowns and four interceptions and a 91.5 passer rating. But now, Stroud has lost four straight games, and the Texans have started a second straight season 0-3.
Up next: vs. Cowboys, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
PRO FOOTBALL TALK:
17. Texans (No. 10; 0-3): The offense needed to get a little bit better. Instead, the defense got more than a little bit worse.
Average Ranking: 22.56 (Last Week: 15.89)
If it makes you feel any better, Houston’s average rankings after last year’s 0-3 start was 20.78, and that clearly wasn’t indicative of how they finished the season. Last year, their swarming defense led that thrilling midseason resurgence, but what about this year? What could bring us optimism in these dark times of 2026?
Well, for me, I’m pining on the Texans steadily improving once again this year, which will be spurred this time by starters gradually returning from the injury report and new players improving as the season wears on. The return of WR Nico Collins and RG Ed Ingram should dramatically raise this offense’s ceiling and at least make CJ Stroud more productive. Another possible development of this season would be the improvement from rookie LG Keylan Rutledge and trade acquisition WR Kayshon Boutte, who hold within themselves the ability to transform this offense. If these four players can stay on the field and play complementary roles to each other, the Texans will start winning again.
What do you think, though? Will the Texans be able to actually right this ship in the 2026 season, or are they headed for troubled waters from which they will never return? What gives you optimism about this team, if any? Is a comeback like last year in the cards, or are they stuck in this rut until a serious change is made on the coaching staff, like offensive coordinator? Next week, the Texans will be hosting the Dallas Cowboys in a classic Texas battle, which could end up being Nick Caley’s last game if he fails to get the team over 20 points for the third time in a row. Could that be a blessing for this team, or a curse? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below!
Go Texans!
