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It’s hard to believe that the AFC expansion Houston Texans are now in their 25th year in the NFL.
The city of Houston was the long-time proud home of the American Football League’s “Luv Ya Blue” Oilers from 1960 to 1996.
The Oilers never played in a Super Bowl game. Terry Bradshaw and his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates eliminated Coach Bum Phillips and the Houston Oilers in both the 1978 and 1979 AFC title games.
The Houston Oilers remained quite competitive into the mid-1990’s.
However, team owner “Bottom Line” Bud Adams had regularly threatened to move his football team unless the city replaced the 50,000 seat Astrodome with a bigger football facility – financed by Houston taxpayers.
The voters said “No”.
Bud Adams thumbed his nose at Houston and bid adieu. He moved his NFL franchise to Tennessee in 1996. The renamed Tennessee Titans moved into a more spacious new football stadium in Nashville – all paid for by local taxpayers.
Nissan Stadium in Nashville has a seating capacity of 70,000.
Believe it or not, a new domed football stadium for the Titans is now under construction. It should be ready for the Titans beginning in 2027.
Ironically (to Houston pro football fans), Nashville’s new domed football stadium will have a capacity of just 60,000. That’s a decrease of 10,000 seats! The stadium may be downsizing, but Titans season ticket holders will see significantly increased prices to generate even more revenue for the city’s NFL team.
The city of Houston was left without a pro football franchise from 1996 until 2002.
That’s when America’s fourth largest city was granted an NFL expansion franchise. The new ownership oddly chose the rather generic nickname of “Texans” for the new Houston football team.
(Personally, I preferred the nickname “Houston Traffic” because it strikes fear into the hearts of visitors.)
The new Houston Texans NFL franchise would not play in the Astrodome (which opened in 1965) either. A new air-conditioned facility with a retractable roof known as Reliant Stadium opened in 2002. It has a seating capacity of 72,200.
As you might have guessed, football-starved taxpayers in Harris County agreed to foot the $350 million bill to pay for the Texans’ new football stadium. Go figure.
The Houston Texans are 0-24 in Super Bowl appearances
Houston’s latest NFL franchise has qualified for the NFL playoffs in each of the past three seasons. The Texans have made the playoffs nine times in 24 seasons.
Contrast that to the lowly New York Jets. The J-E-T-S have not appeared in the playoffs since 2011 (15 long and miserable seasons).
Houston came into the 2026 NFL season as one of the oddmakers’ AFC favorites to make their first Super Bowl. That’s because the team finished 12-5 last year and made it to the second round of the playoffs on the strength of the NFL’s top-rated defense.
After stumbling to an 0-3 start in September, the Houston Texans have dropped to 16th out of 32 NFL teams in chances of playing this season’s Super Bowl.
The Texans have started the 2026 season 0-3 – just like last year
Houston entered the 2026 season with one of the most fearsome defenses in the NFL. The Texans were favored to win the AFC South.
This 0-3 start by the Houston Texans has sent a shock wave across H-Town during the month of September. A 36-31 season-opening loss to Super Bowl favorite Buffalo wasn’t totally unexpected.
It was a rather lethargic 20-6 home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week #2 which raised warning flags. For the second straight season, the Texans’ offense was struggling to score enough points.
Last weekend’s 19-17 loss at the mediocre (1-2) Indianapolis Colts found the winless Texans churning out just 223 yards in total offense.
Indianapolis had three turnovers in this game compared to zero for Houston. That meant that the Texans were gifted a few extra opportunities to score points but failed to take advantage of those chances.
Fans of the Houston Texans might say, “Well, we started 0-3 last year and still finished 11-5”!
That is true. But that was also last year’s team.
This 2026 Houston Texans squad is rushing the football for just 85 yards per game. It ranks 29th out of 32 NFL teams.
That means defenses don’t have to worry about Houston running backs doing much damage. It puts more pressure on Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud to perform at a high level every week.
Stroud is beginning his fourth NFL season. His rookie year stats (4,100 yards and 23 touchdown passes) still represent the best season of his young pro football career, though.
C.J. Stroud hasn’t exactly been surrounded by top NFL pass receivers in Houston.
Former third round draft pick (2023) Nico Collins has blossomed into one of the NFL’s better receivers over the past two seasons. He has not played a down yet in 2026 due to a hamstring injury. Collins remains questionable for this Sunday’s critical game against intrastate rival Dallas.
Outside of Nico Collins, the Texans wide receivers room is not exactly filled with household names.
Does anyone have Xavier Hutchinson, Jaylin Noel, Jared Wayne, or Jayden Higgins on your fantasy football team? Didn’t think so.
Houston acquired former New England (and LSU) wide receiver Kayshon Boutte in August. He led AFC champion New England in touchdown catches (six) in 2025.
Alas, Boutte has just six catches in the first three games for Houston this season.
What’s wrong with Houston’s offense? Is it quarterback C.J. Stroud, the coaches or simply a lack of top talent?
Stroud is now in the final year of his rookie contract with the Houston Texans. His fully guaranteed four-year $36 million deal (about $9 million per season) makes C.J. Stroud a relative bargain for Houston.
Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys both earn more than $50 million – per year.
Stroud’s career statistics are middle-of-the road. However, his resume accurately reflects that he has led the Texans into the playoffs in each of his three NFL seasons.
Houston and C.J. Stroud failed to negotiate a contract extension during the offseason. A few quarterback-needy NFL teams (Minnesota, Miami, and the New York Jets come to mind) are likely to offer C.J. Stroud $50 million or more beginning next season.
Some wonder whether Stroud has already mentally checked-out this year or is simply struggling. Regardless, the Houston Texans’ offense has been the team’s boat anchor again this year.
Nick Caley is now in his second year as the offensive coordinator for the Texans.
His previous experience was primarily as a tight ends coach at both New England and the Los Angeles Rams.
It should come as no surprise that Houston tight end Dalton Shultz is currently leading the team in receptions with 19 catches in the opening three games. The next closest pass receiver (Xavier Hutchinson) has only nine grabs in his first three games.
Teams which throw primarily toward their tight end rarely score a lot of points. It might indicate that the Texans coaches have little faith in their offensive line to provide enough protection time for C.J. Stroud to throw the football downfield.
It might also indicate that the team’s coaching staff and quarterback do not have a lot of confidence in the Texans’ wide receiving corps.
If the Texans’ offensive players are sub-par, then blame General Manager Nick Caserio
Coaches can only work with the talent which the team’s General Manager provides via the draft and free agency.
Houston Texans General Manager Nick Caserio came to the team in 2021 after nearly two decades with the New England Patriots. He was Director of Player Personnel for the Patriots prior to moving to Houston.
Patriots fans will tell you that legendary head coach Bill Belichick actually made the final determinations in constructing his team’s roster.
On paper, Nick Caserio has been successful with the Texans. The team has made the playoffs in the last three of his four seasons in Houston.
Caserio should be credited with helping to build the Texans’ top-rated defense. All-Star talent like defensive end Will Anderson, Jr. and former LSU cornerback Derrick Stingley, Jr. anchor an outstanding defensive unit.
Head Coach DeMeco Ryans knows a lot about his defense, too.
Ryans was once the starting linebacker for the Texans from 2006-2011. After retiring as a player, he became the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers prior to accepting the head coaching job in Houston in January, 2023.
Last season, the Texans defense allowed opponents only 17.4 points per game to rank #1 in the NFL. The 2025 squad won its final nine regular season games to finish 12-5.
Of note, Houston won seven of those final nine games by seven or fewer points.
Houston’s offense finished 23rd in the NFL last year by scoring only 38 touchdowns in 17 regular season games (2.2 per game).
It’s safe to say that the Houston Texans have been built on defense with hopes that their fragile offense can generate enough points to win games.
This week, the rival Dallas Cowboys come to Houston for a pivotal game
Last year’s Houston Texans started 0-3 before winning 12 of their next 14 games to finish 12-5. Can they duplicate that feat again in 2026?
The Dallas Cowboys will ride down I-45 into Houston this Sunday (12 Noon CDT on FOX) with a lot at stake, too.
Dallas blew a chance go 2-1 last weekend in rather unique fashion. A questionable kick-off decision resulted in the Cowboys giving Baltimore an opportunity to convert a long downfield pass into field goal position with one second remaining. The Ravens kicked a 56-yard field goal on the game’s final play handed the Cowboys a 34-31 stomach-turning defeat.
The Dallas Cowboys score a lot of points on offense but often give up more with their lousy defense. Meanwhile, the Houston Texans don’t score many points but feature a premier defensive unit.
Something has to give on Sunday.
Dallas needs a win to avoid a 1-3 start. The NFL stats indicate that a 1-3 team has just a 20% chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
Houston desperately needs a win this Sunday to turn the momentum around.
The upcoming schedule for the Texans is filled with winnable games – assuming the team’s offense can reliably generate 20 points per week.
If Houston should lose to Dallas and fall to 0-4, they will face overwhelming odds of making the playoffs.
Only the 1992 San Diego Chargers (led by former Northeast Louisiana University quarterback Stan Humphries) fought back from an 0-4 start to make the NFL playoffs at 11-5.
By Sunday night, we are going to know a lot more about the outlook for this year’s Houston Texans.