Just like last season, the Houston Texans put themselves in a hole early in the season. However, unlike last year, this seems insurmountable.
They started 0-4 before winning their next two and getting back on track. Then, on Sunday, the Texans dropped their most crucial game to the New York Giants and are now 2-5 going into their bye week.
Houston has struggled on both sides of the ball. No matter who they have at running back, the offense cannot seem to get the run game going as they have one of the worst rushing offenses in the NFL. Defensively, it is a 360 from last season, especially in the passing game with missed tackles and blown coverages.
Given all of the struggles, there were some questions going into the bye week about personnel changes.
General manager Nick Caserio would not rule out the possibility.
Nick Caserio did the thing!
— Clayton Anderson | HTX Sports (@Clay_HTXSports) October 26, 2026
For me, this was Caserio's, "It's an 8-8 league" moment right here.
"I know we're looking at this half-empty, but the reality is, we've lost four games on the last possession."
"That's the reality. I don't want to make it more of what it is, but… pic.twitter.com/mDrSSskaPy
“We'll see. We'll look at it. If we feel it's appropriate, great. Then what's the alternative? We'll look at everything. We're not going to make any knee-jerk decisions on the heels of what happened,” Caserio said. “We'll go through the week. We'll take inventory. DeMeco [Ryans] will take time with the coaching staff, talk through different things, whether it's schematically or personnel-wise. We'll try to figure out what's the best formula moving forward."
Caserio also mentioned that the team is missing several key players and continues to wait for their return before electing to make any rash deciscions.
"It's probably going to change week to week as injuries are going to be a part of it, who is available, who is not available, who is coming back, some of those types of things," Caserio said. "We'll take the information in the present time and try to make a decision that we feel makes the most sense for that particular week.”
If they can turn things around, the Texans still have a chance at the playoffs despite this start. They are only two games behind the Jacksonville Jaguars in the division and have to play Jacksonville one more time this season.
But, if they are serious about making the playoffs this year, something has to change on defense. So far, Ryans taking over the play-calling is not enough.
The Texans will take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10 following their bye at SoFi Stadium.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans GM Nick Caserio discusses possible personnel changes during the bye
