From here on out, the Houston Texans must win.
Sitting with a mere two victories — albeit against in-division opponents — the Texans can't afford to drop a game moving forward. They're currently 0-4 at Reliant Stadium and have matchups against several losing teams who have already thrown in the towel for 2026.
Should a loss come on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, what's left to play for? Houston won't be headed toward the postseason and likely will need to shake up the coaching staff and roster to get back to winning football in 2027.
But right now, DeMeco Ryans isn't focused on a potential fire sale before the NFL trade deadline or a run toward the playoffs. Sights are set, following a week off to take care of the Bolts, and moving toward a 3-5
record.
“Our opportunity starts this week with us being focused on handling what we can control, controlling what we can control and not putting a focus on a run,” Ryans said. “It's about how do we prepare the right way. How do we play more disciplined? How do we have the self-discipline to go out and play clean football?"
With Week 9 here, let's look at how Houston stacks up among all 32 NFL teams entering the regular season.
Stats courtesy of Team Rankings, The Football Database, ESPN and PickWatch.
Offense
Defense
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Where the Houston Texans rank statistically heading into Week 9?
