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Tag: DeMeco Ryans

  • NFL Week 9: Broncos 18, Texans 15 – Houston Press

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    Well, the Houston Texans’ 2025 season was officially pushed to the brink on Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium, in a costly 18-15 loss to the Denver Broncos. Sure, there was the loss itself, which pushed the Texans precariously close to the mathematical abyss at 3-5. But there was so much more.

    First and foremost, the Texans lost their quarterback C.J. Stroud, for the second time in three seasons, to a concussion, on a nasty open field hit in which Stroud had given himself up on a slide. However, the Texans also lost their best offensive lineman, Tytus Howard, to a concussion. 

    On top of that, the Texans not only lost the game, but performed embarrassingly poorly across the board on offense, particularly in the red zone, squandering two 1st-and-goal situations inside the Broncos’ two yard line. Put simply, this offense is a joke. It’s an abomination, and there is no help on the way. We will discuss that below. 

    For now, on yet another infuriating Sunday, here are the winners and losers: 

    WINNERS

    Ka’imi Fairbairn’s five field goals provided all of the Texans offense on Sunday. Credit: Jack Gorman

    4. Texans special teams 

    In what we knew would be a low scoring game, between two sensational defenses, big plays on special teams could look large. The Texans’ special teams are what essentially staked them to the 15-7 lead that they held into the fourth quarter. A recovery of a buffed punt right before halftime handed the Texans a field goal, and a 12-7 lead. Jaylin Noel’s 45 yard punt return set up the Texans’ final field goal. Another Noel punt return and a Bronco face mask penalty gave the Texans the ball at their own 44 yard line. Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked five field goals. Tommy Townsend punted frequently and very well. Frank Ross had his guys ready to go. 

    3. Kamari Lassiter

    The Texans’ defense, as a whole, performed well enough to win this game. 18 points allowed is above their season average, but their season average is the best in the NFL. Considering the Texans’ offense had five straight second half series end in punts, on a total of 18 plays, there was no rest for the weary. Lassiter probably best embodied the day for the Texans’ defense, as he lead the team in tackles and was largely excellent in pass coverage. The second year corner is really coming into his own.

    Janice McNair was inducted into the Texans’ Ring of Honor on Sunday. Credit: Jack Gorman

    2. Janice McNair 

    Aside from the effect on the standings, the most disappointing thing about Sunday’s loss is that it occurred on the day in which the franchise’s co-founder and matriarch, Janice McNair, was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor. An active philanthropist and outstanding human being, she deserved a better outcome in this game. By the way, this is the first loss for the Texans on the day of a Ring of Honor enshrinement. The days celebrating Andre Johnson, J.J. Watt, and Bob McNair all ended in victory on the field.

    1. Sean Payton

    Back in the 2023 coaching carousel season, Payton and DeMeco Ryans were arguably the two biggest names. Every team in the market for a head coach wanted to talk to Ryans, and the Texans actually talked to Payton in a first interview, before eventually hiring Ryans. While Ryans’ defense dominated Payton’s offense throughout the afternoon, it was eventually Payton’s offense that was able to make enough plays, and take advantage of questionable Ryans decision making (more on that in a moment) to get the win.

    LOSERS

    C.J. Stroud left the game on Sunday with a concussion. Credit: Jack Gorman

    4. C.J. Stroud

    Stroud was off to a decent enough start, 6 of 10 for 79 yards, until the second quarter, when Broncos defensive back Kris Abrams-Draine splattered Stroud’s brains with a heavy hit on a Stroud scramble. Stroud gave a thumbs up as he was leaving the field, after being down on his back for several minutes, but he is now in concussion protocol, and will likely miss some time. 

    3. Davis Mills

    This means that it’s onto the Texans’ backup quarterback, Davis MIlls, who is now in his fifth year with the team. Like Stroud, Mills is in his first season in Nick Carey’s system, and on Sunday, Mills looked like he was in his first DAY in the system. The team was 1-12 on third downs with Mills under center, and on the final six drives of the game, Mills was the steward of 21 plays for 48 yards, including four 3-and-outs, and six punts. Mills was dreadful.

    Nick Carley’s play calling down near the goal line was brutal. Credit: Jack Gorman

    2. Nick Caley

    Of course, it doesn’t help that he is in an offense where the plays all look designed to add an insurmountable degree of difficulty to generate just a few yards. Whatever Caley has architected here is not working, and his play calling in two goal-to-go situations inside the Broncos’ two yard line was comical. On the first one, Caley called three run plays into the teeth of the Broncos’ strength, their defensive line, before a false start negated what would have been a failed QB sneak by Stroud, allowing the Texans to kick a field goal. On the second series, Mills was at quarterback, and Caley called a QB sneak from the two yard line (here is where the crying emoji goes), and a penalty and sack eventually had them kicking a 41 yard field goal. Again, this offense is a joke. Nick Caley is a joke.

    1. DeMeco Ryans 

    And here we are again. Eventually, this all falls back on Ryans. Sure, his defense is incredible, and he is to be commended for establishing a culture and a vibe on that side of the ball. Ultimately, though, he is responsible for the offense, too. Hell, if nothing else, he is responsible for hiring Nick Caley. The most frustrating thing about this team, aside from the complete futility of the offense, is the inability to self scout certain elements of the team. How does Jaylin Noel go from clear impact guy the last two games to an afterthought behind Christian Kirk? How does Dare Ogunbowale see the field on offense? Most importantly, in THIS game, how does Ryans think the Texans are going to get into field goal range with 1:09 left in the game when they’ve punted on five straight drives? The Texans could have taken this game to overtime, and instead they ran three clock-stopping plays and gave the ball back to Denver with 50 seconds left and two timeouts left at their own 36 yard line. One big Bo Nix scramble later, it was essentially over. Ryans has had a bad third season. 

    This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

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    Sean Pendergast

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  • Four Reasons Sunday’s Win Was C.J. Stroud’s Finest Hour – Houston Press

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    Despite the fact that the “Sports Talk Radio Host” handbook probably has at least a half dozen chapters on how to effectively and necessarily deploy hyperbole, I try to avoid it when it’s a complete sham. If you watch any sort of sports debate television, then you know I am probably limiting my career potential by being so careful. 

    So when I said that the Houston Texans’ win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5 was “DeMeco Ryans’ finest hour as Houston Texans head coach,” I meant it. Now, as it turned out, Ryans followed up that win with arguably his worst week as a head coach, but I meant what I said at the time, after Week 5. 

    So here I go again, about to use the “finest hour” framing of an elite performance by a Houston Texan, and I want you to know, I am about to do this with honesty and authenticity. Here goes — Sunday’s win over the San Francisco 49ers was C.J. Stroud’s finest hour as the quarterback of the Houston Texans. 

    Yep, you heard me. I know, I know. I can hear what you’re saying right now. You want to shake me and remind me of his two wins in the playoffs, over the Browns and Chargers. How about the 470 yard comeback against the Bucs in 2023? Or the play-in win over the Colts in Week 18 of that same season? All great debate points, faithful reader!

    Here are four reasons why I would pick Sunday’s 26-15 win over the Niners:

    4. STATS

    Sure, it wasn’t the statistical tour de force that Week 9 in 2023 versus the Bucs was — 470 yards, 5 touchdowns, no interceptions. However, the game Sunday was highly efficient, with Stroud throwing for 318 yards on 30 of 39 passing. Most important statistic? Stroud helped the Texans convert 9 of 16 third downs, keeping the chains moving and directly impacting the 41 minutes in time of possession for the Texans’ offense. The numbers held up. 

    3. ABSENCES

    This was the first game in Stroud’s career where he had to operate with NONE of Nico Collins, Tank Dell, or Stefon Diggs in the lineup. That’s significant. Stroud was operating with a skeleton crew of Iowa State grads and Braxton Berrios. In fact, once Berrios left with a chest injury, Stroud was deploying a receiving corps that came into Sunday with a combined career total of 51 receptions for 650 yards. Again, COMBINED. Among four people. Stroud undoubtedly and inarguably raised the level of those around him, a huge step for him. 

    2. STAKES

    Sure, it was only Week 8, but the Texans came into that game Sunday reeling a bit off of an ugly 27-19 loss to the Seahawks last Monday night. More importantly, they were 2-4 in an AFC where a loss, dropping them to 2-5, would have been crippling. When you start the season 0-3, every game you play until you’re a couple games over .500 are dire, potential season ending losses, if you lose. Stroud went out and played 60 minutes of winning football.  

    1. FEEL

    Put the records and the statistics aside for a moment, and focus on what you saw with your eyes. With Stroud, you saw a quarterback that was in total control the entire game. He didn’t let bad down and distance situations fluster him. He was sacked ZERO times, for the first time, in the regular season, since Week 5 of 2023 against the Falcons. He used his legs effectively to scramble for first downs. This was the C.J. Stroud Show, and we all had tickets for it, and it was glorious. 

    Some might say, his finest hour. 

    This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

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    Sean Pendergast

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  • NFL Week 8: Houston Texans 26, San Francisco 49ers 15 – Houston Press

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    All week long last week, leading up to the Houston Texans’ Week 8 matchup Sunday with the San Francisco 49ers, there was an unfamiliar feeling surrounding the Houston Texans, coming off of their 27-19 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Monday. Sure, the Texans had lost games before under DeMeco Ryans, but there had never been this degree of line drawing being done by Ryans. Throughout the week after the loss, he was very clear — the problem with the Texans was that the players were not doing what they were being coached to do. 

    Perhaps this was not the first time that Ryans challenged his team publicly, but it was certainly the strongest instance of it. Certainly, his refrain throughout the week was, at least in part, directed at quarterback C.J. Stroud, whose inconsistency this season has been on the list of reasons the Texans were underachieving at 2-4 coming into Sunday.

    Well, whatever buttons Ryans wanted to push, it worked. The Texans had their most impressive performance of the season on Sunday, maybe not by scoring margin, but considering circumstance, player absences, and sheer importance of getting a win. The Texans beat the Niners by a score of 26-15, moving to 3-4 on the season. 

    As always, there were winners and losers. Here we go: 

    WINNERS

    4. DeMeco Ryans

    As mentioned above, Ryans pushed his chips in a bit this week, likely hoping that calling his players out publicly would draw the appropriate response. It did. The Texans responded with one of their cleanest games of the year, in snap to snap execution. The penalties were still a bit of an issue, with eight in total, for 55 yards, but Ryans has to be thrilled knowing that this is the new ceiling for his team. There will be stronger opponents on the schedule, plenty actually, but efforts like this one will go a long way to being in the playoff hunt at year’s end.

    3. Iowa State 

    The Texans came into this game without Nico Collins (concussion) and Christian Kirk (hamstring). Collins is a Pro Bowl caliber receiver, and Kirk is a veteran that the team has been counting on to backfill the absence of Tank Dell and the departure of Stefon Diggs. Instead, the Texans, by game’s end, had just four healthy receivers, who had a combined 51 catches coming into Sunday. It didn’t matter. The group excelled, led by three Iowa State Cyclones — Xavier Hutchinson (5 catches, 69 yards, TD), Jayden Higgins (4 catches, 34 yards, TD), and Jaylin Noel (5 catches, 63 yards, including a 44 yard bomb to set up Higgins’ touchdown). 

    2. The game plan on both sides 

    Thus far, this was Nick Carley’s finest hour as Texans’ offensive coordinator. He mixed the run and pass perfectly. In the run game, Nick Chubb was able to grind out tough yards, and Woody Marks gave the Texans a couple of sparks with a 23 yard run and a 50 yard catch and run. The Texans were rarely in bad down and distance situations, which led to a 9-16 performance on third down. Even when there were penalties putting them behind the chains, there was no panic. They did a great job of recouping the lost yards and subsequently moving the chains. The offensive line was largely excellent, allowing no sacks for the first time all season. 

    1. C.J. Stroud 

    Statistically, Stroud was fantastic on Sunday, competing 30 passes on 39 attempts for 318 yards. He also continued to show how he could use his legs with some useful scrambles, including a long of 13 yards. Above all else, Stroud was in command the entire day. The happy feet that were so evident versus Seattle were gone. Above all else, for a game at least, he proved he could raise the level of an inexperienced, perhaps lesser overall talented receiving corps. You could argue this was Stroud’s best game in his career, due to the extenuating variables.

    LOSERS

    4. Mac Jones

    Opposite Stroud was Mac Jones, the Niners’ backup quarterback coming into the season, who has become their starter for most of the season due to Brock Purdy’s turf toe. Coming into Sunday, Jones had led the Niners to a 4-1 record in his five starts. On Sunday, Jones’ inability to even get a first down on the first three series was a major reason the Texans out-possessed the Niners by a 24:31 to 5:29 margin in the first half. Jones looked like an ineffective backup quarterback for most of the game on Sunday. 

    3. Brian Kelly 

    We interrupt NFL talk for a moment to acknowledge LSU’s firing head coach Brian Kelly, halfway through his fourth season in Baton Rouge. Kelly, who came in with as much bluster as any recent college coaching hire, finishes his career along the bayou with a 34-14 record, and exactly zero appearances in the College Football Playoff. Who knew that a guy using this phony accent wouldn’t work out at LSU?

    2. Texans kick coverage 

    Okay, back to the Texans, where there is very little to criticize in this win over the Niners. Sure, the offense wasn’t great in the red zone, converting just 1 of 5 trips, but they were excellent otherwise. If there was one glaring sequence that deserves criticism, it’s the Texans’ kick coverage on the kick off right before the half, after going up 16-0. The coverage group allowed a return to midfield, and tacked on a Dylan Horton face mask penalty. Four plays later, the score was 16-7 on a George Kittle touchdown catch. That was one of those cases where a bad sixty seconds undoes half of a phenomenal previous 29 minutes. Brutal.

    1. Will Anderson pre-snap discipline

    To be clear, Anderson had another outstanding overall game. He hit Jones three times, and had a big sack in the second half. Anderson is this team’s MVP through the first seven games. However, for the second week in a row, he had an offsides penalty. In fact, he had two, and one of them kept a drive alive for the Niners. Look, Anderson’s good outweighs any bad by a country mile, but the last time we had a player where we had to rationalize presnap penalties was when Laremy Tunsil was here. Eventually, it stops being something you can brush under the rug.  Anderson has five such penalties on the season. This needs to stop. 

    This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

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    Sean Pendergast

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  • Houston Texans 2025 Problems Go Back to 2024 – Houston Press

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    After what felt like a 15 day eternity, the Houston Texans returned to action on Monday night, and as many of you saw, the long wait was not worth it. Not worth it at all. The same slew of silly mistakes and haphazard football that marked the first three games of the season, all losses, was back on display in the team’s 27-19 loss in Seattle. 

    The game was technically a one score game, but anyone with a brain and working set of eyes could tell which team on that field will be going to the playoffs this season. (Hint: NOT the Texans.) This is as angry as I’ve been with the team in three years, and to be clear, I rarely get angry. 

    The Texans now sit at 2-4, with the same number of wins as the Browns and the Raiders, two teams that expect to blow things up, to some degree, at the end of the season. The problem, though, isn’t the 2-4 record in 2025. The problem is the 6-9 record since Week 8 of last season. 

    Six games to start a season is a small enough sample size to rationalize things, and explain things away, oftentimes validly. However, 15 games of the same mess, with a full offseason to make changes in the middle (which means its old faces and new faces messing up) is systemic, and with every passing game, harder from which to extricate the franchise. 

    For the Texans, it’s not just the six wins and the nine losses, but it’s the nature of them. You don’t have to peel the onion layers back too far to see that the six wins are highly unimpressive and the nine losses are largely disastrous. Let’s examine, first the six wins

    ‘24 Week 11 – at Dallas

    ‘24 Week 13 – at Jacksonville

    ‘24 Week 15 – at Miami

    ‘24 Week 18 – at Tennessee

    ‘25 Week 4 – vs Tennessee

    ‘25 Week 5 – at Baltimore

    So if you’re keeping score at home, that’s two wins over Cooper Rush, one win over Trevor Lawrence (until Azeez Al-Shaair murdered him), one win over Tua Tagovailoa, and two wins over the Titans. If this were college football, those six wins would get you laughed out of the playoff committee selection room. Nothing impressive there. 

    Conversely (or similarly, perhaps?), the Texans’ nine losses since the 6-2 start last season:

    ‘24 Week 9 – at New York Jets *

    ‘24 Week 10 – vs Detroit * 

    ‘24 Week 12 – vs Tennessee

    ‘24 Week 16 – at Kansas City *

    ‘24 Week 17 – vs Baltimore *

    ‘25 Week 1 – at Los Angeles Rams

    ‘25 Week 2 – vs Tampa Bay *

    ‘25 Week 3 – at Jacksonville

    ‘25 Week 7 – at Seattle *

    So SIX of the nine losses were on standalone nationally televised games. SIX! Those are denoted above with an asterisk. The other three losses — a home loss to Will Levis, a road loss to Trevor Lawrence, and a loss to the Rams where they had four months to prepare. 

    If you’re wondering why nobody in the national media respects the Texans, perhaps it’s because they’ve ruined at least six football watching days over the last year with horrific football, including a 31-2 loss to the Ravens on Christmas. 

    So now the Niners come to town, and the Texans will likely be without Nico Collins, their best offensive player. This is shaping up to be a long season, and we’re not even halfway there yet. 

    This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

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    Sean Pendergast

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  • NFL Week 7 Disaster: Seahawks 27, Texans 19 – Houston Press

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    As we sat around for the Houston Texans’ bye week for the last 15 days, coming off of two very lopsided wins over Tennessee and Baltimore, the big question that we all pondered — were those two wins real? Was the improvement actual improvement by the Texans or a precipitous drop in opponent quality.

    On Monday night, late in the evening In Seattle, we got our answer. The Texans’ two wins in Weeks 4 and 5 were counterfeit. They were fraudulent. If I can quote some mafia Italian, they were FUGAZI. The Texans are the same disorganized, undisciplined, poorly coached outfit that they were in Weeks 1, 2, and 3.

    The Seattle Seahawks beat the Texans on Monday night by a score of 27-19, in a game that was only a one score game because the Seahawks seemed to want to let the Texans hang around, with several careless turnovers in the second half. The Texans acted with the killer instinct of a field mouse trying to avoid a hawk. 

    The Texans now sit at 2-4, but their record is way down the list of issues with this team. Right now, their offense is a disjointed mess, with no solutions in sight. The mistakes this team makes look like bad attempts at TikTok challenges. Their head coach might not be a good head coach. Oh yeah, and now Nico Collins is concussed. 

    Let’s get to winners and losers: 

    WINNERS

    4. Will Anderson

    As this game was sliding into the toilet throughout the second half, the one guy who was still showing up was Will Anderson. When the Texans offense was running stagnant all night, the one guy who went and got the Texans a touchdown was Anderson, on an end zone strip sack of Sam Darnold, and the fumble recovery for the score. 

    3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba

    JSN came into this game leading the league in receiving yards, and this was after nearly the entire NFL had a one game jump on him, having played on Thursday and Sunday. He lived up to the hype, with 8 catches for 123 yards and a touchdown, beating All Pro Derek Stingley in the process. 

    2. George Springer

    We interrupt the coverage of this gawd awful football game to play a little game of “remember when.” Remember when George Springer used to hit home runs like this for the Houston Astros? 

    Very happy for Springer, and VERY happy that the people of Seattle got to experience some level of soul crushing disappointment on this same day.

    1. The Houston Rockets

    The Houston Texans suck right now. This is undeniable. They can only beat gimpy, injury riddled teams with crappy quarterback play. If they are playing a team of any substance, even if they win the turnover battle by three (evidently), they can’t win. The Dodgers are in the World Series, while the Astros sit at home. The only saving race in our lives are the Houston Rockets. Kevin Durant’s debut is tonight. A new era begins. As Princess Leia once said, “Help me, Obi Wan Udoka. You’re my only hope.” 

    LOSERS

    4. Nico Collins

    I hate putting Nico in this category, because on nights like last night, he is usually the only thing going for the Texans. Unfortunately, Collins had a huge drop in the first half on a play that would have gone for 30 to 40 yards after a catch and run. Ultimately, Collins left the game with a concussion, which on a short week leading up to Week 8, is incredibly problematic. 

    3. Azeez Al-Shaair 

    Azeez Al-Shaair is one of the players on defense where subscribing to Ryans’ SWARM mentality gets him in trouble sometimes. The most famous example was the beheading of Trevor Lawrence last season in Jacksonville, but Al-Shaair popped up again in this game with a completely useless and silly (and illegal) dragging to the ground of Sam Darnold out of bounds, on a play that would have forced a Seahawks field goal attempt on fourth down. Instead, the penalty kept the drive alive, and the Seahawks would score a touchdown a few plays later. It was a stupid four point mistake by Al-Shaair. Completely unnecessary.

    2. Nick Caley  

    Wow, where to begin. I could probably write an entire article for Caley’s disappointing return from the bye week. All of the creativity and execution that we saw offensively just before the bye week, it’s like it never happened. It’s like it was a two week fever dream, and now we landed back in Kansas like Dorothy, only instead of a bunch of random farmhands welcoming us home, we have Dare Ogunbowale, Laken Tomlinson, and Braxton Berrios inexplicably as part of our lives. The part of this game that was “peak Caley” was the two attempts to run Woody Marks over the Texans’ abysmal left side of their offensive line on 3rd and 1, and 4th and 1, in Texans territory, in the third quarter. Needless to say, it was embarrassingly unsuccessful. Caley is ruining C.J. Stroud, and the offense feels like it is still at square one. As of right now, Caley is a worse hire than Bobby Slowik, and it’s not even close.

    1. DeMeco Ryans

    I hate saying this because I am a big fan of DeMeco Ryans, but there is now way you can even squint your way to saying this is even a decently coached football team, let alone well coached. They hurt themselves with silly penalties (10 in all, on Monday), bad play calling, and poor game management. The decision to kick off to the Seahawks just before the two minute warning, down eight points with one timeout left is a fireable offense in the real world. That is amateur hour type stuff. It essentially ended the Texans’ chances of getting the ball back. Ultimately, what actually ended those chances was Tim Settle getting a 15 yard penalty for unnecessary roughness on third down, but I digress. Look, DeMeco Ryans isn’t getting fired, even if this season goes into the toilet. The McNairs believe in him. However, he hasn’t shown a great acumen for hiring key positions, and his decision making this season, in personnel and in-game, has been very questionable. 

    This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

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  • Texans GM Nick Caserio — Three Best and Worst Moves – Houston Press

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    Well, yesterday I said that the Houston Texans’ early bye week gives us a chance to generate report cards on the coaching staff. With no game to discuss, why not discuss the previous five games? I suppose then that the same sentiment could apply to the general manager, Nick Caserio.

    This article is not necessarily a letter grade for Caserio, but instead a summary of his 2025 offseason and the effect it’s had on the actual 2025 regular season thus far. Let’s do look at where Caserio’s offseason has had a positive impact, and conversely, where his moves fell short. Here we go:

    BEST MOVES

    3. Chubb and Speed “prove it” deals

    The Texans are starting to accumulate more and more expensive “second contract” player, most notably Derek Stingley and Jalen Pitre last spring, Next spring, it’s expected that Will Anderson and C.J. Stroud will join them. As a result, Nick Caserio will need to sign veterans looking to prove themselves on one-year deals. This season, thus far, running back Nick Chubb (1 year, $2.5 million) and linebacker E.J. Speed (1 year, $3.5 million) fit that bill, as both have made contributions well beyond their contract totals. 

    2. Jake Andrews signing

    Since he will never tell, we have no way of knowing exactly how deep in the expensive free agent market Caserio chose to dive, in terms of offers or assessment. The only thing we know about is with whom the Texans ended up. Jake Andrews was a street free agent with some history with offensive line coach Cole Popovich back at the University of Troy in 2022. Andrews had started one game in the NFL when the Texans signed him. Thus far, it’s worked out pretty well, as Andrews has been a solid center, supplanting last season’s incumbents, Juice Scruggs and Jarrett Patterson.

    1. Ed Ingram trade 

    Similarly,  Caserio chose to try to fill one of the guard positions by trading a 6th round pick to Minnesota for Ed Ingram. That move has worked out even better than the Andrews signing, as Ingram has been rated the top guard in the sport by Pro Football Focus thus far for the entire 2025 season. Say what you will about PFF grades, but when you’re ranked first, at a minimum, it’s an indicator of solid play. 

    WORST MOVES

    3. Left guard approach

    While center and the right side of the offensive line have represented some feathers in Caserio’s cap, the left side of the line has been shaky, at best. We can live with Aireontae Ersery struggling at left tackle, as a rookie, although it’s shaky strategy starting a rookie in that spot. However, left guard has been a circus, with veteran free agent Laken Tomlinson handling the first couple games (and not well) and then Tomlinson and Juice Scruggs splitting time for a couple games, and finally, Scruggs taking over versus Baltimore, but not well. 

    2. Cam Robinson cap effect

    In March, the Texans signed Cam Robinson to a one year deal for up to $14 million. Robinson proceeded to get hurt during trading camp and Ersery took his job. Robinson never came close to reclaiming his job, and eventually he was traded to Cleveland, with the Texans absorbing the damage for the nearly $9 million in guaranteed money that the Texans signed gave him. 

    1. C.J. Gardner-Johnson cap effect

    It’s kind of wild to think back to the moment when C.J. Gardner-Johnson was injured in West Virginia at training camp. It looked like he was out for the season with a knee injury, and it felt significant at the time. I was there in person, and it was somber. Fast forward, and after the Texans’ 0-3 start they couldn’t cut Gardner-Johnson fast enough. He was a menace behind the scenes, and missed assignments galore on the field. Paying him around $8 million to lose three games for the Texans was suboptimal. 

    This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

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    Sean Pendergast

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  • Houston Texans at the Bye Week — Coaching Staff Report Card – Houston Press

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    It’s the Houston Texans bye week this week, so their 2-3 record is going to hang around until next Monday, when they travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks in a very late (in Houston, at least) Monday Night Football game. That game begins a stretch of four tough games — Seattle, and then three straight home games versus San Francisco, Denver,m and Jacksonville. 

    The Texans’ record is one of the stranger 2-3 records, in terms of emotion. If you had told me before the season that the Texans would be 2-3 going into the bye week, blindly, I would have predicted major disappointment. However, the fact that the two wins are the most recent two games, plus they included a win over the Ravens, means Texan fans have some pep in their collective step. 

    So, with no game to analyze or recap on a Monday, let’s give out grades for the coaching staff on how they’ve done so far this season. Without further ado here are my report cards, five games in, for head coach DeMeco Ryans, and his three coordinators. Here we go: 

    DeMECO RYANS, Head Coach — GRADE: B-

    Of all the people being graded in this article, Ryans is the one whose grade should most be tied to the disappointing 2-3 record. After all, he is the head coach. So why is his grade not in the C or D range, if the team has a poor record? For me, I like the way Ryans has evolved as a head coach this season. I think he’s been quicker to pull the plug on players who are underperforming, and his delegating the defensive play calling to Matt Burke has been a major success, even if Ryans himself chooses to underplay its importance. The wins will come. 

    NICK CALEY, Offensive Coordinator — GRADE: C-

    If we were doing this report card after three games, the grade would have been an unequivocal F. The Texans were averaging the fewest points in the league, and C.J. Stroud looked like he was being held hostage at press conferences. The last two games have given big reasons for hope that this offense can be good enough to win games, make the playoffs, and maybe even take the team to an AFC title game. Stroud won the AFC Offensive Player of the Week in Week 5, for his 244-yard, four touchdown passing performance versus the Ravens. The Texans ran the ball capably. For now, Caley’s body of work as the play caller and architect is a C-, but if I were guessing his year end grade, I’d guess it will be in the B range. 

    MATT BURKE, Defensive Coordinator — GRADE: A

    There’s not a ton to say here with Burke. The Texans’ defense is, far and away, by four points a game, the best scoring defense in football, and they’ve lived up to every bit of the hype. If anything, there is probably more room to improve, as they’ve only forced six turnovers in five games, and they haven’t had a ton of sacks. They are bound to improve in both of those areas over the next several weeks. There is too much talent not to. In Burke’s two games calling plays, the opposing teams have scored a total of ten points. This is an easy A. 

    FRANK ROSS, Special Teams Coordinator — GRADE: A-

    Frank Ross’ special teams units have been a model of consistency and high level performance since he arrived here in 2021. Ross’ energy is infectious. He is perfect in his role. This season, the Texans’ special teams have been excellent, leading the NFL in Expected Points Added per snap. The only reason for downtick from an A to an A- is that, while they were the reason the Texans hung around in the loss to Tampa Bay, they were not great in the other two Texans losses, to the Rams and Jaguars. Still, I would not trade Frank Ross for any other special teams coach in the NFL. 

    This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

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  • Houston Texans Revised Odds To Win AFC South – Houston Press

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    It’s been a strange NFL season so far, here in 2025. Five weeks in, there are exactly zero undefeated teams remaining, and there is only one winless team (sorry, New York Jet fans). The late Pete Rozelle, NFL commissioner in the early ’80s, had a vision for parity in the league, and this season is probably the gold standard for parity. 

    The AFC is a jumbled mess. The Buffalo Bills just lost at home to the Patriots last Sunday, the Steelers lead an AFC North that’s lost Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson to injury, and the Kansas Chiefs are teetering at 2-3 and at risk of losing control of the AFC West.

    Then, there is the division in which the Houston Texans dwell — the AFC South. Who knew that the one division in the entire league with multiple 4-1 teams would be the AFC South? Moreover, who knew that the Texans would NOT be one of those two teams? 

    All hail, the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars, I suppose. They are both 4-1, with the Colts looking particularly dominant with the best point differential in all of football at +72, albeit against one of the league’s softest schedule, thus far. 

    Las Vegas will adjust the odds on winning the Super Bowl, winning the conference, and winning divisions throughout the season. It’s like the stock market. Coming into the season, the Texans had odds of -105 to win the AFC South (meaning you risk $105 to win $100). They were the favorite. Now, five weeks in, according to ESPN BET, the AFC South odds board looks like this:

    INDIANAPOLIS COLTS -105

    JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS +115

    HOUSTON TEXANS +750

    TENNESSEE TITANS +20000 

    The Colts and the Jaguars, and their 4-1 overall records, are way out in front of the Texans and in a different universe than the Tennessee Titans. On top of that, the Texans have, by far, the hardest schedule for the remainder of the season, among these four teams.

    Still, I would put a sawbuck or two down on the Texans to come back and win this thing, for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I am not a believer in either quarterback the Texans are chasing. Sure, Daniel Jones has played like a Pro Bowler in Indy, and Trevor Lawrence just led a last second comeback to help the Jags beat the Chiefs. C.J. Stroud is still the best quarterback in this division. 

    Second, I mentioned that the Colts lead the NFL in point differential. Do you know who is third at +47? Thanks to their two lopsided wins, it’s the Houston Texans. Here is a fun fact for you — since 2022, 90 percent of the teams in the top 10 in point differential through Week 5 have made the postseason. That’s a stat I can get behind, realizing that winning the division is more than just “making the postseason.”

    The Texans get the week off this coming weekend, and then head to Seattle for Monday Night Football. That’s followed by a three game homestand against the Niners, Broncos, and the aforementioned Jaguars. We will find out exactly what the Texans are made of soon enough, and I’ll know after that, how close I am to be being $750 richer on my $100 wager. 

    This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

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  • The Texans’ Blowout of the Ravens Was DeMeco Ryans’ Finest Hour – Houston Press

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    Two full seasons plus five games into his head coaching career, it is unarguable that DeMeco Ryans is a bright, young coach with a very promising future. After all, he (along with C.J. Stroud) is on a short list of head coaching career-quarterback combinations to win their division and a playoff game in their first two seasons together. 

    After an 0-3 start where the Texans might be 3-0 if they were even average on offense (NOTE: They were horrible on offense, so average would have been a massive upgrade.), Ryans has steadied the ship and delivered two knockout wins over inferior opponents, a 26-0 shutout of the Titans two weeks ago, and Sunday’s 44-10 annIhilation of the Ravens.  

    Ryans has had several good to great moments as a head coach, and like anybody in sports, he’s had some games or moments on which he would love a redo. I think Sunday’s win over the Ravens, though, was his finest hour, his greatest lead-up week and subsequent Sunday of his head coaching career. Here’s why:

    They team came in focused on the task at hand

    I’ll preface this bullet point by saying that, first and foremost, the Texans needed to win Sunday, by any score. An ugly 10-7 win gets you to 2-3 and keeps math somewhat on your side for making a run back to the postseason. However, we knew style points, particularly on offense, would indicate that the Texans are “doing what good teams do.” In other words, the Ravens, missing a half dozen Pro Bowlers, were wounded, so FINISH THEM. That game Sunday was never close. Ryans had his team treating those Ravens with a level of focus reserved for Lamar Jackson and Kyle Hamilton. His team played like they had no idea na injury report existed. Great job!  

    They kept their foot on the gas, and killed something that was killable

    Continuing my thoughts off the previous paragraph, it hasn’t always been this way. In fact, up until the last two weeks, oftentimes the Texans failed to blow out their opponents under Ryans. In his first two seasons, 14 of Ryans’ 20 regular seaosn wins were by one score or less. For contrast, just 6 of Bill O’Brien’s first 20 regular season wins were by one score or less. Ryans’ teams have had a fantastic survival instinct, but not a great killer instinct. That was not the case on Sunday. They mercy killed the Ravens by halftime. That’s the biggest thing I hope carries over from this game, the killer instinct.

    Delegating works! 

    For the second straight game, DeMeco Ryans delegated play calling duties on defense to defensive coordinator Matt Burke. While the level of competition is certainly a fair caveat to raise, it’s hard to believe the defense could perform much better in those two games. They gave up a total of 10 points in those two games, and the Texans have been practically perfect on defense. DeMeco being able to see the defense thrive with someone else calling plays frees him up to lend his expertise and defensive mind to rookie offensive coordinator Nick Caley. This is a logical evolution for great coaches, pulling themselves away from tactical stuff to allow themselves to focus on strategy and acute areas of concern. This has been a really good couple weeks for DeMeco Ryans’ professional growth. 

    This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

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  • NFL Week 4: Texans 26, Titans 0 — Four Winners, Four Losers

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    For me, covering the National Football League is always fun. Even when your team is underachieving or flat out stinks, it’s fun to cover the sport of football. Certainly, though, your love of the game gets tested covering two 0-3 teams battling each other for their first win of the season.

    Such was this Sunday at NRG Stadium, as the 0-3 Houston Texans (underachieving, to be sure) battled the 0-3 Tennessee Titans (definitely, they stink), each looking for their first win of the season. To say that the Texans needed this one would be a major understatement.

    Since 1990, in the NFL, only one team has started a season with an 0-4 record and made the NFL postseason. It was the 1992 San Diego Chargers. So, certainly, one of the goals this weekend for those of us in the Houston media was to successfully pray that we would not have to discuss them on our shows or in articles this coming week.

    Our prayers were answered, as the Texans finally got their offense out of first gear in the fourth quarter on Sunday, scoring three touchdown in that final frame to cruise to a 26-0 win over the lowly Titans. As always, we had winners and losers, so let’s dig in!

    WINNERS

    4. Danielle Hunter
    For the first three games of the season, Hunter had played very well, but it was WIll Anderson who had been making more noise off the edge, with three sacks. On Sunday, though, Hunter was all over the place, making life miserable for Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward. On the day, Hunter finished the afternoon with two sacks, three QB hits, and a near caused fumble on the first possession of the game. After the game, Hunter received a game ball from DeMeco Ryans.

    3. Derek Stingley
    Stingley missed most of the loss to the Jaguars with an oblique strain that kept him out for all but a few snaps. All week long, Stingley was on the injury list, and missed practice altogether on Wednesday and Thursday. Coming into the game with a “questionable” designation on the weekend injury report, Stingley was able to gut it out and play, and in the process secured his first interception of the season to set up the Texans second touchdown of the afternoon. Having Stingley out there covering one side of the field just changes how the Texans operate so drastically.

    click to enlarge

    C.J. Stroud generated 233 yards through the air, and three fourth quarter touchdowns.

    Photo by Cody Barclay

    2. C.J. Stroud
    It’s no secret that C. J. Stroud has seemed to be in a bad mood all season. An 0-3 record and a malfunctioning offense will do that to a young quarterback. On Sunday, Stroud was able to do what good quarterbacks do to bad teams. Stroud was highly efficient, particularly in the second half, and finished 22 of 28 for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Most importantly, he protected the football, no turnovers. The  37 yard throw on a 2nd and 33 to Nico Collins, and the 24 yard touchdown to Jayden Higgins were particularly encouraging, as those were throws that invoked memories of Stroud’s rookie season.

    1. Woody Marks
    Since training camp, it’s been quite evident that the rookie Marks operates with a level of explosiveness and wiggle that the veteran running backs on the team just don’t have. He’s clearly needed more touches, and on Sunday he got them, carrying the ball 17 times for 69 yards, and adding four catches for 50 yards. Woods scored two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. Perhaps his most impressive play was this blitz pickup on safety Quandre Diggs:

    This was an afternoon that had to have OC Nick Caley rethinking how he distributes the carries moving forward. Speaking of Caley….

    LOSERS

    4. Style points
    Despite the 26-0 win, there were no shortage of Texan fans after the game who were certainly happy to beat the Titans, but were none too happy that it took three quarters for the offense to penetrate the Tennessee red zone. Three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, two of which came on relatively short fields, were not enough to inspire confidence that Caley nor his offensive line made suitable progress to beat teams like the Ravens, Seahawks, and 49ers. Those are the Texans’ next three opponents.

    3. Joey Slye
    If you Texan fans don’t remember the three games that Slye played for the Texans in 2021, it’s okay. We are all trying to forget the year that David Culley was the head coach of this team. On Sunday, Slye helped impact more Texans winning as a Titans kicker than he ever did as a Texan, missing two very attainable field goals in the first half to make sure the score was 6-0 at half, and not 5-5. Thanks Slye Dog!

    2. Brian Callahan
    Betting outlets have odds on which NFL head coach will be the first one fired, and two weeks ago, Miami’s Mike McDaniel was a mortal lock at -700. Somehow, though, in one week in Week 3, Callahan managed to slice the gap to McDaniel -150 and Callahan’s odds at +150. Callahan has been an abject disaster, now with a 3-18 overall record, and a mind boggling 3-18 record AGAINST THE SPREAD, as well. He’s made a lot of people very wealthy in sports books all over the nation! Callahan’s choice to give up play calling duties resulted in the Texans’ first shutout win since November 28, 2010, also a win over Tennessee.

    1. Cam Ward
    Ward is an incredibly talented football player, but he is off to a putrid start on a team with no solutions to improve his play or the play of those around him. In this clip, he seems at his wit’s end, after four games;

    Seems like a nice kid, but I hope he never wins a game. That’s just the energy of this rivalry. Sorry about it, Cam.

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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  • NFL Week 4: Texans 26, Titans 0 — Four Winners, Four Losers – Houston Press

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    For me, covering the National Football League is always fun. Even when your team is underachieving or flat out stinks, it’s fun to cover the sport of football. Certainly, though, your love of the game gets tested covering two 0-3 teams battling each other for their first win of the season. 

    Such was this Sunday at NRG Stadium, as the 0-3 Houston Texans (underachieving, to be sure) battled the 0-3 Tennessee Titans (definitely, they stink), each looking for their first win of the season. To say that the Texans needed this one would be a major understatement. 

    Since 1990, in the NFL, only one team has started a season with an 0-4 record and made the NFL postseason. It was the 1992 San Diego Chargers. So, certainly, one of the goals this weekend for those of us in the Houston media was to successfully pray that we would not have to discuss them on our shows or in articles this coming week. 

    Our prayers were answered, as the Texans finally got their offense out of first gear in the fourth quarter on Sunday, scoring three touchdown in that final frame to cruise to a 26-0 win over the lowly Titans. As always, we had winners and losers, so let’s dig in! 

    WINNERS

    4. Danielle Hunter
    For the first three games of the season, Hunter had played very well, but it was WIll Anderson who had been making more noise off the edge, with three sacks. On Sunday, though, Hunter was all over the place, making life miserable for Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward. On the day, Hunter finished the afternoon with two sacks, three QB hits, and a near caused fumble on the first possession of the game. After the game, Hunter received a game ball from DeMeco Ryans. 

    3. Derek Stingley 
    Stingley missed most of the loss to the Jaguars with an oblique strain that kept him out for all but a few snaps. All week long, Stingley was on the injury list, and missed practice altogether on Wednesday and Thursday. Coming into the game with a “questionable” designation on the weekend injury report, Stingley was able to gut it out and play, and in the process secured his first interception of the season to set up the Texans second touchdown of the afternoon. Having Stingley out there covering one side of the field just changes how the Texans operate so drastically. 

    ✖i

    • Photo by Cody Barclay 
    • C.J. Stroud generated 233 yards through the air, and three fourth quarter touchdowns.

    2. C.J. Stroud 
    It’s no secret that C. J. Stroud has seemed to be in a bad mood all season. An 0-3 record and a malfunctioning offense will do that to a young quarterback. On Sunday, Stroud was able to do what good quarterbacks do to bad teams. Stroud was highly efficient, particularly in the second half, and finished 22 of 28 for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Most importantly, he protected the football, no turnovers. The  37 yard throw on a 2nd and 33 to Nico Collins, and the 24 yard touchdown to Jayden Higgins were particularly encouraging, as those were throws that invoked memories of Stroud’s rookie season. 

    1. Woody Marks 
    Since training camp, it’s been quite evident that the rookie Marks operates with a level of explosiveness and wiggle that the veteran running backs on the team just don’t have. He’s clearly needed more touches, and on Sunday he got them, carrying the ball 17 times for 69 yards, and adding four catches for 50 yards. Woods scored two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. Perhaps his most impressive play was this blitz pickup on safety Quandre Diggs:

    iThis was an afternoon that had to have OC Nick Caley rethinking how he distributes the carries moving forward. Speaking of Caley….

    LOSERS

    4. Style points 
    Despite the 26-0 win, there were no shortage of Texan fans after the game who were certainly happy to beat the Titans, but were none too happy that it took three quarters for the offense to penetrate the Tennessee red zone. Three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, two of which came on relatively short fields, were not enough to inspire confidence that Caley nor his offensive line made suitable progress to beat teams like the Ravens, Seahawks, and 49ers. Those are the Texans’ next three opponents. 

    3. Joey Slye 
    If you Texan fans don’t remember the three games that Slye played for the Texans in 2021, it’s okay. We are all trying to forget the year that David Culley was the head coach of this team. On Sunday, Slye helped impact more Texans winning as a Titans kicker than he ever did as a Texan, missing two very attainable field goals in the first half to make sure the score was 6-0 at half, and not 5-5. Thanks Slye Dog! 

    2. Brian Callahan
    Betting outlets have odds on which NFL head coach will be the first one fired, and two weeks ago, M Kami’s Mike McDaniel was a mortal lock at -700. Somehow, though, in one week in Week 3, Callahan managed to slice the gap to McDaniel -150 and Callahan’s odds at +150. Callahan has been an abject disaster, now with a 3-18 overall record, and a mind boggling 3-18 record AGAINST THE SPREAD, as well. He’s made a lot of people very wealthy in sports books all over the nation! Callahan’s choice to give up play calling duties resulted in the Texans’ first shutout win since November 28, 2010, also a win over Tennessee. 

    1. Cam Ward
    Ward is an incredibly talented football player, but he is off to a putrid start on a team with no solutions to improve his play or the play of those around him. In this clip, he seems at his wit’s end, after four games; 

    iSeems like a nice kid, but I hope he never wins a game. That’s just the energy of this rivalry. Sorry about it, Cam. 

    This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

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  • Four Thoughts on the Houston Texans Releasing C.J. Gardner-Johnson

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    Right now, the biggest thing failing the Houston Texans’ 2025 season is their 2025 offseason. With a couple of rare exceptions, every button that GM Nick Caserio has pushed leading up to this season is either stuck or has been the wrong button pushed.

    The offensive line, stocked with journeymen and a rookie left tackle, has been a disaster. This was the biggest area that needed fixing in the offseason, and it is far from fixed. The ripple effect has led to a subpar run game, and C.J. Stroud’s chances at a second contract teetering on the brink. To be fair, the offensive line, and the offense as a whole, may get better with time.

    On Tuesday, though, it was another category of failure in offseason decisions, as the team decided to release starting safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson just three games into the season. Gardner-Johnson was acquired in a trade for guard Kenyon Green, right before the Eagles were about to cut him for salary cap purposes.

    Caserio, likely with heavy input from DeMeco Ryans, decided to send Green (plus a Day 3 pick swap) to Philly, and inherit Gardner-Johnson’s contract, around $19 million over the remaining two years. The trade ensured that Gardner-Johnson, and his very mercurial personality, would be playing for his fifth different team in Week 1 over the last five seasons.

    In other words, C.J. Gardner-Johnson is a handful, and everybody knew it. The Texans took a swing, and they missed. Here are some of the particulars, and a few thoughts on the latest Texans fiasco in a season full of them, so far.

    How did we get here?
    Well, where to begin? Look, when a starter on an NFL team gets cut three weeks into the season, there is obviously something going on behind the scenes. While Gardner-Johnson had not played well in these three games (more on that in a moment), if it were just his level of play, he’d get benched, not cut. Therefore, it was not a surprise when multiple reports began rolling in, just minutes after the Texans released Gardner-Johnson, that he had been openly critical of teammates, complaining about one teammate’s contract, and requesting a trade. In short, Gardner-Johnson was checking every box for a guy you DO NOT want on an 0-3 football team. It was time to eject.

    What plays got him cut?
    In addition to the behind the scenes drama, Gardner-Johnson had multiple coverage busts (likely from choosing to go against the game plan) over the three games so far this season, where the end result of the plays contributed HEAVILY to losses, including the 46 yard catch and run by Brian Thomas to set up the Jags’ winning touchdown on Sunday:

    If you want a further breakdown of plays that Gardner-Johnson bungled against the Rams in Week 1, and the Bucs in Week 2, D.J. Bien-Aime of ESPN.com has you covered here:

    What’s the solution?
    In the short term, the Texans will move veteran M.J. Stewart into the starting lineup alongside Calen Bullock at safety. I would guess they will also elevate Myles Bryant and Jalen Mills from the practice squad this week. Longer term, the team could get rookie Jaylen Reed back from injured reserve in the coming weeks, and perhaps veteran safety Jimmie Ward, whose legal issues from an alleged domestic assault appear resolved, could return from the PUP list in the weeks to come. This is not ideal, but it’s not like Gardner-Johnson was giving them much in terms of quality play anyway.

    Are you having flashbacks?
    I’ll just let my tweet do the talking here:

    The Houston Texans host the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at noon at NRG Stadium. Both teams are 0-3 to start the season.

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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  • Houston Texans Awful History After Winning Division Titles Playing Out Again in 2025

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    After starting up their NFL existence in 2002, it took the Houston Texans practically a decade to finally make the NFL’s postseason. In 2011, when the Houston Texans clinched the AFC South, with T.J. Yates, of all people, under center, the city was jubilant, knowing that we would be heading to the playoffs for the first time.

    Little did we know that 2011 division titles would touch off one of the strangest success (and lack thereof) patterns that I can recall in my five decades of watching sports. The Texans would repeat as division champs in 2012, and enter 2013 with high hopes. Instead, in 2013, they would bottom out and finish 2-14, worst in the league.

    They’d get their mojo back fairly quickly, though, winning division titles in 2015 and 2016. Unfortunately, 2017 would bring a 4-12 season, whose only redeeming quality was seven games of rookie phenom Deshaun Watson. The Texans would quickly rebound with AFC South titles in 2018 and 2019, but 2020 would bring three horrible things — COVID, Bill O’Brien as a GM, and a 4-12 Texans record.

    We all know what’s happened since then. The Texans bottomed out for two more years, stockpiling draft picks and severance payments for fired coaches. Eventually, DeMeco Ryans would get here, and another pair of division titles ensued. Now, we’re in that season following two division crowns, and it’s going the same way it’s gone the previous three times. The Texans are 0-3, and cannot score points. It’s bad.

    So, the question is, three games in, how does this compare to the first three times the Texans have chased multiple division crowns with seasonal abominations? Let’s take a look:

    2013 SEASON (Final record: 2-14)

    First three games (2-1 record)
    The Texans started this season with a last second field goal win over the Chargers in San Diego, followed by an overtime win at home against the Titans. In Week 3, they lost to the Ravens, 30-9, with Matt Schaub throwing a pick six for a second consecutive week, a streak that would reach four weeks eventually. So three games in, things seemed okay.

    When did the 2013 season go off the rails?
    Some would say once the team benched Schaub for Case Keenum in Week 7, but Case actually brought some hope. I’d say the season died in Week 9, when Gary Kubiak passed out from a stroke, on the field, just before halftime of a loss to the Colts.

    What was the response from ownership?
    Gary Kubiak was fired after a Week 11 debacle in Jacksonville. Matt Schaub was traded to the Raiders after the season. The Bill O’Brien Era was underway, on January 1, 2014.

    2017 SEASON (Final record: 4-12)

    First three games (1-2 record)
    The Texans opened the season with a 29-7 loss to the Jaguars, where the team’s energy level appeared to be zapped from dealing with Hurricane Harvey. Deshaun Watson was named the starting QB in Week 2, and engineered a 13-9 upset of the Bengals, and in Week 3, nearly knocked off the defending champion Patriots as a 13-point underdog in Foxboro. Despite a 1-2 record, excitement was brewing with the Watson Era underway.

    When did the 2017 season go off the rails?
    Even with a season ending injury to J.J. Watt in Week 5, the energy was still high from Watson’s performance through two months. However, a torn ACL suffered the day after the Astros won their first World Series took all the starch out of the season, and reminded us that Houston can never have nice things for very long.

    What was the response from ownership?
    Knowing that Watson’s recovery from the torn ACL would be enough to make the team relevant in 2018, the team stood pat with O’Brien, but GM Rick Smith did choose to leave the organization to attend to his wife, who was suffering from cancer.

    2020 SEASON (Final record: 4-12)

    First three games (0-3 record)
    This was the most obvious train wreck of the three teams outlined in this article. The day the schedule came out in May 2020, you knew O’Brien, who’d taken over as GM in addition to head coach at this point, was doomed. The Texans were blown out by the Chiefs and Ravens in the first two games, and lost by seven to the Steelers in Week 3.

    When did the 2020 season go off the rails?
    One week later, after losing to the Vikings at home, Bill O’Brien was fired, Romeo Crennel was made interim head coach, and Jack Easterby was made interim GM. Just a really dark time in Texans history.

    What was the response from ownership?
    After firing O’Brien, and rolling with Crennel and Easterby the rest of the season, the Texans hired Nick Caserio as the GM, which has worked out okay, and David Culley became the first of two one-and-done head coaches. Lovie Smith was the other.

    All of that led, eventually, to where we are today, with high hopes in 2023 and 2024, under the coaching eye of DeMeco Ryans. However, doubt is creeping into the fan base now on Ryans, and people are really questioning whether or not C.J. Stroud can be a franchise, game changing quarterback. While you might seem surprised, don’t be. Unfortunately, this is just what happens in Houston after two straight division titles. Misery.

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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  • How Can DeMeco Ryans Claim the Houston Texans are “Close” to Success?

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    DeMeco Ryans told all of us after Sunday’s 17-10 abomination of a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars that the Texans are “close.” Since there was no follow up question as to what exactly this slipshod operation is close to, I can only assume he means “close to becoming the winning team we thought we were getting during training camp.”

    From a final score perspective, I suppose he isn’t lying. I mean, each game they’ve lost has been by a margin of a touchdown or less, and deep into the fourth quarter of each game, the Texans actually had a chance to go win the game. Obviously, they did not, not a single time. So there’s that.

    However, for me, being “close” doesn’t mean they almost beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team that was just as mistake stricken as the Texans on Sunday. Being “close” means that they are close to being a consistent winner, and make no mistake, with the operation that is Nick Caley’s offense, this team isn’t “close” to anything good.

    Consider the actual facts. The Texans’ offense is last in the league in points scored. Not close to anything remotely good. Beyond that, the team has only made four trips into the red zone ALL SEASON. TRIPS, not scores. They are 0-4 on those four trips. I’m not sure what’s more embarrassing — not scoring on any red zone trips this season, or only getting there four times.

    Indeed, the red zone, the area of the field inside the opposition’s 20 yard line, is adjacent to the end zone, where last I checked, points are scored. Thus, the Texans could not be farther away from whatever DeMeco Ryans sees them as close to.

    In addition to the sheer numbers outlined above, here are two moments from Sunday’s loss, where the optics, execution, and decision making all point to an offensive coordinator, and perhaps a quarterback, who are in over their heads:

    Final play of the 3rd quarter
    On the stat sheet play-by-play, it’s a throwaway play, just a three yard run by Nick Chubb on 2nd and 5, near midfield, where the whistle blows and the clock runs with about 30 seconds to go in the quarter. This means that, with the clock running, the Texans can either run a play or take it all the way down to the end of the quarter. Watch what happens, and pay attention to the Texans’ huddle and how slow everything moves:

    They clearly want to run a play, but by the time they break the huddle, there are less than five seconds on the game clock. They’re functioning like a team that was paying zero attention to the game clock. I’d have had no issue with them regrouping, and taking the clock to the end of the third quarter, for an important 3rd and 2, but they clearly wanted to run a play, but couldn’t even get lined up in 30 seconds!

    4th-3 at HOU 33 yard line, 1:12 to go in Q4
    This was on the final Texans drive of the game, just a few plays before Stroud’s second pick ended things. Here, Stroud hooks up nicely with Christian Kirk on 4th and 3 to keep the drive alive. Kirk runs the ball out to near midfield for a 1st down. The clock is running, but the Texans have two timeouts. Instead of using one, Stroud decides to spike the ball on 1st down to stop the clock:

    Why on earth the Texans would feel like wasting a down is a good idea, in stopping the clock OC, instead of, ya know, USING A TIME OUT, I have no idea. If any team needs to keep all four downs to run plays, it’s these Texans. It’s a little thing, and ultimately, the Jags committed a penalty to help move the chains, but that’s another move where, at the very least, the Texans don’t seem all that self aware.

    We’ve got 14 more of these games, but I don’t know how many more we have to where I won’t break something after another Nick Caley-led fiasco on offense.

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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  • NFL Week 3: Texans at Jaguars — Four Things to Watch For

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    I use the phrase “muster win” cautiously, when it comes to situations in sports that aren’t literal MUST wins. Most of the time when that phrase gets used, there is still a small percentage chance for ultimate success, even after losing said “must win” game. So with that preface out of the way, I am here to tell you that Sunday’s game in Jacksonville is a MUST WIN for the Houston Texans.

    At 0-2, it already feels like the mood around the team has become understandably dour. Fans are angry with the offense, under new offensive coordinator Nick Caley. DeMeco Ryans is trying to tell all of us that “they’re close” to breaking out on offense, the same battle cry that eventually got Bobby Slowik fired. Make no mistake, 0-3 would feel like a catastrophic disaster.

    Fun fact — only one team this century has made the playoffs after an 0-3 start, and team was:

    So maybe it’s not a literal “must win,” but man does this season teeter on the brink of falling into the abyss, if the Texans lose. Let’s look at four things to watch for in this weekend’s matchup:

    4. The return of Kirk and Berrios
    Among the most frustrating things on the list of “stuff that still looks like a Bobby Slowik offense” is the fact that C.J. Stroud is still getting hit and pressured at an absurdly high rate, and it has undoubtedly affected his pocket poise. He needs quick answers, targets that he can get the ball to in under two seconds after the snap. Along those lines, the Texans will get their two slot receivers back this week, Christian Kirk and Braxton Berrios, who were both dealing with hamstring injuries. Kirk, in particular, should get plenty of targets in the quick game.

    3. First trip back since Azeez-gate
    Jacksonville is typically not on the list of intimidating home field advantages. To be fair to the good people of Jacksonville, it’s not like the team has given them much to cheer in their recent history. However, I would imagine that THIS particular crowd on Sunday will be raring to go. After all, this is the first game back in Jacksonville for the Texans since this Azeez Al-Shaair hit on Jags QB Trevor Lawrence:

    This hit got Al-Shaair suspended for three games and turned him into the biggest NFL villain since Jack Tatum for about four days after that game. Al-Shaair will hear it from the Jacksonville  crowd, no doubt.

    2. Travis Hunter, game changer?
    The most intriguing new face on the Jaguars is second overall pick in the 2025 draft, and 2024 Heisman Trophy winner, Travis Hunter. The Jaguars drafted Hunter to play on both sides of the ball, wide receiver on offense and cornerback on defense. At least that’s what I gathered from this absurd diatribe by Jags GM James Gladstone:

    Thus far, Hunter has nine catches for 55 yards, and three tackles on defense. Forget about “pushing the boundaries” of the sport of football. Hunter can’t even see the boundaries with a telescope right now. Texans, please do not make this his coming out party.

    1. Ruin Trevor Lawrence
    I’m not saying “ruin Trevor Lawrence” in an Azeez Al-Shaair 2024 style. I’m not an animal. What I am saying is that Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter, two of the bright spots so far this season, need to continue their assault on quarterbacks. From there, the Texans need to take advantage of the inevitable gifts that he will throw to the Texans’ secondary. We’re still waiting on the supposed “best secondary in football” to get a pick this season. Let’s make it Sunday.

    SPREAD: Texans +2
    PREDICTION: Texans 23, Jaguars 17
    SEASON RECORD: 0-2 SU, 0-2 ATS

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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  • Houston Texans Try to Extend WIldest Streak in Team Sports on Sunday

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    The Houston Texans are traveling to Jacksonville this weekend to face the Jaguars in what is essentially an early season “must win” for our hometown team. The Texans are 0-2 to start the season, and one really awful way to sustain the misery would be losing a divisional game to the lowly Jags. The playoff probabilities are bad enough for 0-2 teams. 0-3 teams are almost banished from the playoffs.

    Beyond watching their playoff probabilities dwindle to next to nothing with a loss  Sunday, losing to the Jags would also end one of the most remarkable streaks in team sports — the Texans’ current 11 game road winning streak inside the division. The ledger of games that are part of this streak is as follows:

    (Texans record at the time of the game in the first parentheses. Betting line and Texans money line in the second parentheses.)

    2021, Week 11 (2-7) – Texans 22, Titans 13 (LINE +10, +350)
    2021, Week 15 (3-10) – Texans 30, Jaguars 16 (LINE +6, +210)
    2022, Week 5 (0-3-1) – Texans 13, Jaguars 6 (LINE +7, +250)
    2022, Week 16 (1-12-1) – Texans 19, Titans 14 (LINE +3, +135)
    2022, Week 18 (2-13-1) – Texans 32, Colts 31 (LINE +2.5, +120)
    2023, Week 3 (0-2) – Texans 37, Jaguars 17 (LINE +9.5, +325)
    2023, Week 15 (7-6) – Texans 19, Titans 16 (LINE +3, +135)
    2023, Week 18 (9-7) – Texans 23, Colts 19 (LINE -1.5, -130)
    2024, Week 1 (0-0) – Texans 29, Colts 27 (LINE -2.5, -140)
    2024, Week 13 (7-5) – Texans 23, Jaguars 20 (LINE -3.5, -190)
    2024, Week 18 (9-7) – Texans 23, Titans 14 (LINE: +1.5, +105)

    A few thoughts on this wild multi year accomplishment by the Texans:

    This streak includes some of the worst versions of the Texans ever
    Divisional games in the NFL are truly the only matchups where the records of the teams don’t matter. Division foes hate each other. Throw the records out the window, as they say, So an 11 game winning streak inside the division is a major feat for a team that is actually GOOD over that period of time! This Texans streak, though, includes two games coached by David Culley and three games coached by Lovie Smith. Oddly enough, the three games coached by Lovie Smith are the only three wins of his Texans head coaching career.

    The most iconic win of the streak was…..
    There are a few good candidates. In 2022, the Week 18 win over the Colts pushed the Texans down to the second pick in the draft, which netted them C.J. Stroud. In 2023, DeMeco Ryans’ first win as Texans head coach was in Jacksonville in Week 3, while the win over the Colts in Week 18 won them the division. However, my vote for most iconic win during this streak was also in 2023, the Week 15 win over the Titans, with Case Keenum at quarterback. Ka’imi Fairbairn’s last second field goal spoiled Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk’s little “Oiler uniform” cosplay party. THAT was the best!

    $100 parlay on these games would have paid….
    I know the enterprising part of you wants to know just how much money you could have made by betting on all of these improbable outcomes. After all, the Texans were only favored  in two of these contests. Well, thankfully you’ve got me here to do the math (or find a website to do it for us). So, here you go — if you had bet on all of these games and just kept rolling over your winnings on each game, an original bet of $100 would have turned into $2,392,421 by now.

    For the record, the money line on the Texans this Sunday is +130, so prepare to turn $2,392,421 into $5,502,568. Go Texans!

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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  • The Houston Texans’ Encouraging History in Seasons With 0-2 Starts

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    Hey, I’m not sure if you’ve heard the news, but the Houston Texans, on the heels of preseason Super Bowl aspirations, have started the season 0-2. In some ways, it’s the most painful kind of 0-2 start, in that the Texans are (a) a team with high expectations, and (b) close losses to good teams in each of those games, a 14-9 loss to the Rams in Week 1 and a 20-19 loss to the Buccaneers on Monday night.

    If Dare Ogunbowale doesn’t fumble away the football against the Rams late in the fourth quarter, the Texans possibly win that game. If Henry To’o To’o tackles Baker Mayfield on 4th and 10, instead of sailing past him like a drunken maniac, the Texans close out the Bucs and win 19-14 on Monday. As poorly as the Texans have played offensively (lowest scoring team in the NFL through two weeks), they probably should have won both games.

    Alas, “should have” has all the worth of a Nick Caley play call at the opposing one yard line in the world of the NFL. The Texans are 0-2, and that’s that. So what does it mean? Well, you’ll be seeing plenty of stats over the next few days on the near death blow that an 0-2 start portends for a team’s playoff chances. The two biggest ones, for me:

    * From 1990 through 2023, only 11.5 percent of the teams to start a season 0-2 have gone on to make the postseason.

    * Since the playoff field expanded from 12 teams to 14 teams in 2020, only 5 of the 43 teams to start a season 0-2 have made the playoffs, 11.6 percent.

    So, on the surface, these last nine days have been a rock hard body blow to the Texans chances of achieving the “new heights” hoped for by DeMeco Ryans. Ryans wants to get to an AFC title game, but the problem is that you have to actually make the playoffs to do that.

    This is the ninth time in Texans history that the team has started 0-2 to begin the season. Here is the definitive list of Texans 0-2 seasons (playoff years in BOLD)

    2004: finished 7-9
    2005: finished 2-14
    2006: finished 6-10
    2008: finished 8-8
    2015: finished 9-7
    2018: finished 11-5
    2020: finished 4-12
    2023: finished 10-7

    So if you’re looking for a silver lining in this painful slog of a 2025 season thus far, just know that, while the rest of the NFL is barely cracking 11 percent on making the playoffs after an 0-2 start, the Texans are smacking a robust 37.5 percent batting average, including making the playoffs three of the last four times an 0-2 start has occurred.

    Does that make you feel any better? (I didn’t think so.)

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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  • NFL Week 2: Buccaneers 20, Texans 19 — Four Winners, Four Losers

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    When Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans fired his good friend Bobby Slowik after the team’s dismal offensive performance in 2024, Texan fans rejoiced. Not only would there be something new, but this showed that Ryans was willing to can a friend, if it meant giving the team a better chance at reaching new heights. After all, this is a franchise that’s never played in a conference title game.

    Fast forward to Monday night, Week 2 of the “Nick Caley as OC,” and the excitement of something new is totally gone, as the Texans’ offense spent a Monday night looking a whole lot like last season’s offense in a 20-19 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Texans are now 0-2, and live in the same standing neighborhood as teams like Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, and Chicago Bears,

    As always, there were winners and losers in last night’s game. Here we go….

    WINNERS

    click to enlarge

    The return game from Jaylin Noel was one part of the Texans game plan that worked well.

    Photo by Jack Gorman

    4. Special teams
    After a rough Week 1 for Frank Ross’ special teams units, on Monday night they kept the Texans in the game, particularly in the fourth quarter. Jaylin Noel may have found an early home in his career as the Texans’ kick and punt returner, including a 53-yard punt return setting up the final Texans score. Prior to that, a blocked punt set up a Ka’imi Fairbairn 53-yard field goal to make it 14-13. Give a gold star to Coach Ross, great job special teams.

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    Danielle Hunter picked up his 100th career sack on Monday night.

    Photo by Jack Gorman

    3. Danielle Hunter
    One positive constant for the Texans’ defense through these first two games has been the pass rush off the edge. There’s nothing wrong with Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter, both of whom got to Baker Mayfield for a sack. We acknowledge Hunter here because his second quarter sack of Mayfield was the 100th sack of his highly decorated career.

    2. Bucky Erving
    Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled programming of criticizing the Texans’ defensive line’s and linebackers’ performance. Somehow, they made Bucs running back Bucky Erving look like Eric Dickerson on Monday night. Irving finished with 121 all purpose yards on 23 touches, and seemingly had the Bucs in 2nd and medium, or 2nd and short, all night long. Irving had a huge catch and run, breaking roughly six tackles, on the final drive, and was probably the biggest reason the Bucs had 37 minutes time of possession.

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    Baker Mayfield made the big plays when he needed to for the Bucs.

    Photo by Jack Gorman

    1. Baker Mayfield
    Baker Mayfield, in three seasons in Tampa Bay, has gone from one of my least favorite players to one of my favorite players, because he stared his career mortality in the face, having been let go by Cleveland, Carolina, and the Rams. His redemption story in Tampa Bay has been nothing short of remarkable, and now he’s the type of quarterback that C.J. Stroud talks about being. In the final moments of the game on Monday, Mayfield had a huge scramble on 4th and 10 to keep the game winning drive alive, and a nice throw to get Irving into open space for a 22 yard gain. Baker Mayfield plays winning football.

    LOSERS

    4. Me
    I don’t bring my affiliations into this space often. People know I’m a Texans fan, but many don’t know that I am also a proud graduate of the University of Notre Dame. So you can imagine my last 72 hours, where my college team AND my pro team both lose heartbreaking games at home, after taking a late lead on a touchdown (missing the extra point), and then allowing a length of the field touchdown with under ten seconds to go to fall to 0-2. Feel free to cry for me.

    3. Dare Ogunbowale
    One week after having a catastrophic fumble to lose the Rams game for the Texans, Ogunbowale was a disaster for the few snaps he was on the field on Monday, the big play being a sack he allowed on a third down, in which he was trucked by a blitzing cornerback. Ogunbowale can go ahead and play special teams, but he doesn’t need to be playing snaps on offense anymore.

    2. Texans tackling
    DeMeco Ryans arrived in Houston touting his “SWARM” mentality almost three years ago, and it all sounded pretty cool. It stands for “Special Work Ethic And Relentless Mindset,” but implies a style of attacking football slathered in hard hits and lots of pain. The problem now is it has devolved into a parade of poor tackling and dumb penalties. On Monday, poor tackling was a huge reason the Bucs had 169 rushing yards on 30 carries.

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    Nick Carley’s offense, thus far, does not feel like a change from last year’s offense at all.

    Photo by Jack Gorman

    1. Nick Caley
    There’s not much to say, because it’s so blatantly obvious that the Texans have not evolved one bit on the offensive side of the football, and yet I could write 5,000 words about how, two weeks in, we feel duped by all the promises of a “dog” mentality on the offensive line. That group of dogs has played like chihuahuas these first two weeks, allowing constant pressure and opening up virtually nothing in the run game. The most specific failure by Caley so far was his play calling on three straight plays from the Bucs’ one yard line, where he had the Texans in shotgun, and on the final two plays, third and fourth down, he had Stroud throwing low percentage passes to the back corner of the end zone. Caley has been a failure of a hire, so far.

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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  • Three Big Things The Houston Texans Must Correct From Their Week 1 Loss

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    There’s an annual tradition in the NFL, after two or three weeks in the season, when the stat nerds will begin to pepper the fans, cities whose teams are winless, with the percentage chance their team has of making the playoffs, once they are 0-2, or 0-3, or 0 and whatever. Consider this an alert for all cities with football teams that are 0-1.

    The Houston Texans happen to be one of those teams, on the heels of a 14-9 loss in Los Angeles to the Rams. They are 0-1 on the season. Now, 0-2 is not a death blow, by any means. DeMeco Ryans knows this, as his first iteration of the Houston Texans started the season 0-2 back in 2023. They ended up going 10-7 and winning a playoff game.

    The Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to town for a Monday night football game this week, fresh off a 23-20 season opening win in Atlanta. The Bucs are widely viewed as one of the top dozen or so teams in the sport, about what the Texans were viewed as before Week 1 (and still are, by many). We’ll preview this game in more depth on Monday, but just know that, if the Texans don’t correct some serious blemishes from Week 1, then 0-2 is a distinct possibility.

    Here are the three biggest things that need correcting by DeMeco Ryans and his staff:

    Operate with greater urgency
    It was pretty jarring after the loss on Sunday to hear C.J. Stroud in his postgame press conference openly questioning the quality of the team’s practices in the week leading up to the Rams game, and openly lamenting the urgency of the offense on the field on Sunday:

    Indeed, “lallygagging” is now a firm part of the Houston vernacular. Thanks, CJ! As far as Stroud’s contention that the team was going through the motions in the game on Sunday, they absolutely need to break the huddle and get to the line quicker on offense. If Stroud is going to have the control pre-snap that OC Nick Caley has decided to give him, he needs time to survey the field, and get the team in the right protections and plays.

    Feed Nico Collins (more than five targets!)
    In a game where you score no touchdowns, score nine points, and lose despite the defense putting up a Herculean effort, it cannot be that your best offensive weapon gets five targets. However, that’s exactly what happened. Nico Collins, arguably one of the six or seven best receivers in football, and the 32nd best player on the planet (as rated by his peers), had three catches for 25 yards on five targets. For some context, Collins was targeted fewer than SIX times just twice all last season, and in each of those two games, he was out of the game by the end of the first quarter (once for injury, once for rest). I would expect Collins to get a ton of targets on Monday, even if they have to force feed him the football.

    Eliminate the penalties!
    I love DeMeco Ryans, and I love the “SWARM” mentality that he’s brought to the team, and really to the Texans’ building, if you talk to people around their offices. It’s high energy, high intensity stuff. Unfortunately, a byproduct of the “SWARM” mentality might be a drop in football IQ or focus, because the Texans have been among the league leaders in penalties since Ryans’ arrival. On Sunday, they committed 11 penalties for 80 yards against the Rams, and the variety of the penalties was somewhat remarkable — eight different types of infractions committed by 11 different players. In other words, there was a LOT of football-stupid going on last week. That number has to be cut, at least in half, this coming Monday.

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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  • NFL Week 1: Rams 14, Texans 9 — Four Winners, Four Losers

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    Give credit to the Houston Texans this past offseason in recognizing the urgency of their problems on offense under former offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. The offense had become predictable, stale, and looked like they had no clue what to do, at times.

    So the Texans brought in a lot of “new” in the offseason. New offensive coordinator. New offensive line coach (or a promoted from within offensive line coach, at least). Four new starters on the offensive line. We were told things would be different. Fundamentals would be king! C.J. Stroud would be the maestro of this offense at the line of scrimmage.

    On Sunday afternoon, under the shadows of the HOLLYWOOD sign in Los Angeles, we got the “season premiere” of DeMeco Ryans Era, Season 3, featuring the Texans’ new fangled offense, but if the debut of said offense is any indicator of how the rest of the season will go, I really don’t feel like binge watching this debacle.

    Sure, the Texans were competitive, with a chance to win the game late on Sunday, but a Dare Ogunbowale fumble short-circuited any chance of a comeback, and the Rams made enough plays to survive.

    Final score — Rams 14, Texans 9.

    As always, there were winners and losers in this game, some very, VERY evident. Here is the list for the Week 1 loss:

    WINNERS

    4. Ka’imi Fairbairn
    How can the guy who scored all nine of your points not be on the winners list? I say that somewhat tongue in cheek, but Fairbairn was mirroring his early season performance from last season, when he made kicking field goals of more than 50 yards look like child’s play. On Sunday, the field goals came from 51, 45, and 53 yards, so there were no chip shots among them. Good job, Fairbairn.

    3. Texans’ defense overall
    Look, this is a good Rams team, with two elite receivers, one of the better running backs in football, and a likely Hall of Fame quarterback (whose back injury was way overblown). Holding them to 14 points is an accomplishment. Forcing a turnover with four minutes left in the game, deep in Texans territory, gave the Texans’ anemic offense a chance to win the game. If that’s the effort the Texans get every week, they should win their fair share of games.

    2. Puka Nacua
    One thing they didn’t do well, though, on defense was account for Nacua, and his extreme “middle part of the field” playmaking ability. Nacua caught a few passes in the first half, and it felt like he paid for it every time. He even went into the tent to get checked for a concussion at one point. However, when the Rams needed Nacua the most, he got matched up on Jalen Pitre and cooked him on a 3rd and 8 to seal the game.

    1. Matt Stafford’s herniated discs
    Stafford’s back was one of the bigger topics throughout the NFL in the offseason, so much so that when it was revealed that Stafford was needing epidurals just to feel right, I did lots of deep dive research on epidurals. (It takes a lot for me to “deep dive research,” but when an opposing quarterback is injured, that’s definitely above the threshold.) Stafford finished the afternoon with 245 yards passing, no turnovers, and most importantly, an impressive 7 for 13 on third downs.

    LOSERS

    4. Nico Collins fantasy owners
    Five targets, that was it for one of the best wide receivers in football. Collins ended up with a stunningly invisible afternoon, with just three catches for 25 yards. Say what you will about Bobby Slowik, but the one thing he did was find ways to get the football to Nico Collins. This was depressing, especially if you started Nico Collins in fantasy football (which you still should do every week).

    3. Dare Ogunbowale
    I feel awful for Ogunbowale, who was voted a captain this past week by his teammates, not just for his leadership, but his attention to detail, his consistency, and his ability to avoid mistakes. Unfortunately, he made the biggest mistake fo the game, allowing Rams linebacker Nate Landman to punch the ball loose on a run after catch, just as the Texans were getting into the Rams’ red zone.

    2. Texans team discipline
    One thing that excited me about the hiring of Caley as the team’s offensive coordinator was his background as a position coach, tight ends coach to be exact. As a position coach, as opposed to a running or passing game coordinator (which was Slowik’s background), you get your hand dirty teaching the nitty gritty stuff. Typically, I would expect a coach with this background to put out a more fundamentally sound product. Instead, Caley’s offense contributed more than their fair share of penalties to an 11 penalty (for 80 yards) effort. Disgusting.

    1. Nick Caley
    Indeed, in the end, Caley’s first game as offensive coordinator will not be remembered fondly. They were 2 for 9 on third down, and Caley made several questionable play calls and personnel decisions in game. (Why is Dameon Pierce touching the ball ever?) Caley has got to get this thing figured out, because for the first time in a postgame press conference, C.J. Stroud was rumbling about the offense’s practice habits and overall sloppiness.

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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