Three weeks down the gullet, and the Houston Texans are leaving a dangerously bad taste in the mouth. You can try washing it down with a tonic of optimism and reassurance, but there’s no replacing the yuckiness that comes with the record 0-3. Now that they’ve lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars, all of those championship aspirations are no longer just on the ropes, but hanging by the slimmest of threads. Even making the playoffs feels like a pipe dream now, and for what reason? What went so deeply wrong
between 2024 and 2025 for the Houston Texans?
Well, if you hadn’t noticed already, that question has recently received a firestorm of answers, or rather, a firestorm of finger-pointing. The 0-3 start has sent waves of hysteria through the Texans community, drawing scathing criticisms of offensive coordinator Nick Caley, head coach DeMeco Ryans, the entire offensive unit, and even the franchise leader, quarterback CJ Stroud. Everyone is a target for blame after this start, and at the end of the day, some of it is justified.
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 CJ 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?
Suffice to say, the Houston Texans are facing a lot of problems. Those problems defined the game for the Texans, and they have defined their season, as well. I mean…do you even want to see where they are ranked, now? Are you sure that you want to continue scrolling downward? You’re not going to be happy, but I can’t stop you. Okay, this is your last chance to turn back….here’s where the Houston Texans are ranked entering Week 4 of the 2025 NFL Season:
NFL.COM:
23. Houston Texans (0-3) (Last Week: 17)
It felt like Houston gambled that former offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and former O-line coach Chris Strausser were holding this attack back, as the Texans seemed to believe a few coaching changes would fix everything. Right now, the results haven’t borne that out at all, with the Texans falling to 0-3. Their meager 271 yards in Sunday’s 17-10 loss to the Jaguars actually represented a highwater mark for the season, with Houston committing three fourth-quarter turnovers, including two in the final four minutes inside the Jacksonville 30-yard line. Houston ran the ball a bit better, and Nico Collins had a big game, but his late fumble was wicked. The Texans have made four trips to the red zone this season and have six points to show for them. C.J. Stroud hasn’t done enough, but the blocking also remains a big issue. The protection was actually decent on the final drive in Jacksonville, but rookie bookend Aireontae Ersery allowed pressure and Stroud’s arm was hit on the game-sealing pick. The Texans can get off the schneid by beating the winless Titans at home this Sunday, but then they have road games against the Ravens and Seahawks. This is a big hole they’ve dug for themselves.
ESPN:
21. Houston Texans (0-3)
Week 3 result: Lost to the Jaguars 17-10
Week 3 ranking: 14
Biggest issue on defense: Getting that final stop
Houston’s defense doesn’t have any glaring issues. The Texans are tied for fifth in scoring defense (17 points per game). They have nine sacks on the season and are on pace for 51. The one spot where they could improve is the final drive of games, during which they’ve allowed winning touchdowns over the past two outings. But even given that criticism, the Texans held the opposing offenses to 14 and 10 points until under the two-minute warning — so that falls back on Houston’s offense continuing to struggle.
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED:
24. Houston Texans (0–3)
Last week’s ranking: No. 18
Last week’s result: lost to Jaguars, 17–10
This week: vs. Tennessee
This Texans offense looks irreparably broken. While some of my gripes about the construction of the offense are also C.J. Stroud isn’t throwing it problems, it’s a vicious combination that has to somehow solve itself in real time. That Jacksonville loss was the kind of ugly that tends to stick with a unit.
BLEACHER REPORT:
24. Houston Texans (0-3)
Last Week: 18
Week 3 Result: Lost vs. Jacksonville 17-10
You will undoubtedly hear a lot this week out of Houston about how the Texans are not going to panic. How they will stay the course. Play their game. All that happy claptrap.
The Texans should panic—because their game right now is losing.
Houston has all but given up on the run—despite averaging 4.6 yards per carry against Jacksonville, the team ran the ball just 19 times. With C.J. Stroud being forced to drop back and throw constantly behind a suspect offensive line, he has been under constant duress—two sacks and six QB hits against the Jaguars was actually a good day for the Texans’ line.
Three games into the season, the winless Texans are averaging an NFL-low 12.7 yards per game. A team who was the favorite in the AFC South is being outscored by the Cleveland Browns.
CBS SPORTS:
26. Texans (0-3) (Last Week: 23)
At 0-3, they have major problems. The hole might be a real challenge to climb out of with their schedule. C.J. Stroud just doesn’t look right.
USA TODAY:
21. Houston Texans (20): When they start losing games in Jacksonville − for the first time since 2017 − then it’s time to start eyeing that panic button … especially if pushing it could add points to the league’s worst offense (12.7 per game so far).
YAHOO! SPORTS:
24 (17): Houston Texans (0-3)
Remove one 50-yard touchdown from the fantastic Nico Collins and the Texans did not score a touchdown with only 221 yards against a suspect Jaguars defense. It’s just three games in, but the preseason AFC South favorite’s season seems like it’s unfixable.
THE ATHLETIC:
27. Houston Texans (0-3)
Last week: 24
Sunday: Lost to Jaguars 17-10
QB confidence: Time for the panic button
C.J. Stroud’s 2024 season was dismissed as a sophomore slump after an incredible rookie season. But now those issues have lingered into Year 3, and it’s time to be worried. Yes, the offensive line stinks. But Stroud has thrown 13 interceptions in his last 17 games and has just one big-time throw this season, per PFF. It’s fair to be concerned.
Up next: vs. Titans, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
PRO FOOTBALL TALK:
20. Texans (No. 15; 0-3): There’s a very weird vibe coming from this team.
Average Ranking: 20.78 (Last Week: 18.67)
Last week was a pretty significant fall down the rankings for Houston, and now this week another drop has officially arrived. Last week’s placements were a wake up call for the Texans that this won’t be like last year, yet many pundits still kept Houston in the teens. After this game, the Texans have officially been knocked off the peg, and have received some the sharpest of drops the power rankings have seen this year as fans and critics alike bail from the Texans hype train. Of the little good news we got from this game, Texans left guard Juice Scruggs had one of the best pass-blocking games of his career! It’s not a lot of good news, but it’s something! In these dark times, the Texans must restore confidence in their team by building upon what is working, and maybe keeping Scruggs in the the lineup is, strangely enough, a step towards a functional offense.
What do you think, though? Will this be the biggest drop in collective confidence the Houston Texans will face this season, or is have we yet to reach the bottom? Will this team get itself ship-shape before it’s too late, or will this be the first losing season of CJ Stroud’s career? Let us know down in the comments below!
GO TEXANS!!!
