Texans’ Offensive Collapse Fuels 0-3 Start and Raises Bigger Questions
- 7 days ago
- 10 min read
The Houston Texans are 0-3 after falling to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and it’s hard to sugarcoat what we’ve watched: this offense is flat-out putrid right now. Three weeks into the season, they look disorganized, turnover-prone, and incapable of stringing together sustained drives. If not the worst offense in football, they’re certainly in the conversation.
This wasn’t a game lost because of one bad play. It was another example of a unit that looks broken at its core.
Sloppy From the Start
The offense never looked clean or in control. Even when drives gained traction, they were sabotaged by turnovers, penalties, or missed assignments. CJ Stroud threw two interceptions, Nico Collins fumbled in Jaguars territory, and every one of those mistakes came on drives where Houston was finally moving the ball.
It’s becoming the defining trait of this team: anytime momentum builds, it gets ripped away by a self-inflicted error. There’s no rhythm, no consistency, and no confidence that they can play mistake-free for four quarters.
Scheme Growing Pains, or Something Worse?
Some of this may be attributed to the challenge of adjusting to a new scheme under first-time play caller Nick Caley. Timing, spacing, and confidence are all lagging. Right now, the offense is trying to run before it learns to walk, calling shot plays on third downs when they can’t even establish a reliable short passing game or run game. They haven’t earned the right to chase deep strikes.
The route designs don’t look cohesive, spacing is off, and Stroud too often has muddy reads with receivers running into coverage. Even in max protect looks with seven or eight blockers, Stroud is still seeing pressure from four-man rushes. The basics aren’t being executed.
Stroud–Kirk Connection Stalling
One connection that was supposed to jumpstart the offense was Stroud to Christian Kirk. Instead, it’s been one of the biggest disappointments. The timing and spacing between them hasn’t looked right at all. Kirk’s preseason hamstring injury may still be lingering — either in trust or in comfort — and it shows in his routes. Stroud isn’t pulling the trigger with conviction when Kirk is the target, and what should’ve been a quick-hitting chemistry builder has instead stalled the offense.
Playmakers Going Missing
Beyond Kirk, more has to be done to involve other weapons. Noel has barely been a factor, and Higgins’ vertical speed hasn’t been given a chance. For an offense that’s constantly stuck in mud, giving Higgins opportunities downfield feels like one of the few ways to spark something. Instead, the scheme is asking Stroud to force contested throws into tight windows because the receivers aren’t creating separation or following spacing rules.
It’s not just a protection issue. The entire passing game is bogged down by lack of precision and missed opportunities to maximize talent.
Offensive Line and Supporting Cast Failures
Ar’tonate Ersery struggled against elite edge rusher Josh Hines-Allen, but what stood out most was the lack of help. Little to no chips, no consistent double teams, just leaving a rookie one-on-one against a star. That’s setting him up to fail. On top of that, the backs and tight ends contributed to the collapse. Nick Chubb, Woody Marks, and Harrison Bryant all had brutal reps in pass protection. Dalton Schultz was the lone bright spot in this group, holding up his end.
One encouraging note: DeMeco Ryans made a decisive adjustment by rotating Juice Scruggs in at left guard early and often over veteran Laken Tomlinson. With Tomlinson’s early-season struggles, this was something many were calling for, and it was refreshing to see Ryans act with urgency. Scruggs, in a limited sample size, held up well in pass protection and looked the part of a player who deserves more snaps moving forward.
Ryans’ urgency has also shown up in other offensive personnel decisions. He made Dameon Pierce inactive earlier this season, and this week he admitted Nick Chubb needed to play more on third downs — which happened. While Chubb had some rare poor reps in pass pro against Jacksonville, his presence kept Dare Ogunbowale off the field. That move was applauded by fans after Ogunbowale’s Week 1 fumble late against the Rams and continued struggles in pass protection versus Tampa Bay.
Still, when backs and tight ends can’t consistently handle their assignments, it doesn’t matter how many linemen you invest in — the entire operation collapses.
Defense Does Its Job
The frustrating part is the defense once again did enough to win. DeMeco Ryans came out with a smart adjustment against Jacksonville’s heavy 12 personnel looks — mixing in a five-man front and adding run blitzes. This was something he hadn’t shown before and was a clear sign of growth after last week’s loss to Tampa Bay, when the Buccaneers repeatedly gashed the Texans between the tackles.
That loss also provided a blueprint. Against Tampa, with nine seconds left before halftime in an obvious run situation out of 12 personnel, Houston came out light in the box and got punished. This week, Ryans flipped the script, leaning into heavier looks and downhill pressure. The run blitzes helped limit Travis Etienne and forced the Jaguars into longer down-and-distance situations.
Overall, the plan was solid: rush four, drop seven, and make Trevor Lawrence beat them through tight windows. That approach paid off in several ways. Jacksonville was sloppy, committing multiple presnap penalties and dropping five passes. It also directly set up Houston’s lone takeaway when Jalen Pitre baited Lawrence in zone coverage, leaving his flat assignment to undercut a throw for an interception.
Still, the pivotal breakdown came late. On a critical third down, the Texans showed pressure, and Lawrence checked into a pass. The coverage rules had Kamari Lassiter and C.J. Gardner-Johnson matched inside-out: Lassiter taking the outside release, Gardner-Johnson the inside. Instead, CJGJ jumped the outside man, leaving Lassiter scrambling to chase Brian Thomas Jr. on an over/post route. Thomas converted, Lassiter threw his arms up in frustration, and the Jaguars punched it in on the very next snap.
That score came with Houston intentionally letting Jacksonville walk in, hoping to preserve time and steal a possession back. It was the reverse of last week’s outcome against Tampa Bay — the Bucs let Houston score, got the ball back, and converted to win. This time, the Texans were the ones burned by the gamble.
By Tuesday, Gardner-Johnson was waived, with that busted coverage highlighted by DJ Bien-Aime as a prime example of his issues understanding the scheme. Locker-room frustrations, including complaints about the lack of blitzing and gripes about contracts, only cemented the decision.
At the end of the day, though, the defense still deserves credit. They adjusted, they forced mistakes, and they gave the offense multiple chances to seize control. While it may not feel like the dominant unit many fans expected, this is still one of the top defenses in the league. The bigger issue is that they’re being asked to shoulder too much — living with short fields, quick three-and-outs, and an offense that refuses to play complementary football. Until the offense holds up its end, this defense’s work will keep being wasted.
Questioning the Bigger Picture
As bad as the offensive performance has been, it also magnifies some of the initial concerns I had about the way this roster was built. Most notably, the approach Nick Caserio took to addressing the offensive line after the Laremy Tunsil trade looks more questionable by the week.
I didn’t think trading Tunsil itself was a mistake — it was a smart salary dump that cleared money and opened the door to reshape the line. The issue was the plan afterward, or really the lack of one. Instead of aggressively targeting the weakest part of the unit — the interior, which had been among the worst in football — Caserio bargain-shopped. He signed struggling veterans like Ed Ingram and Laken Tomlinson to plug holes, hoping coaching and scheme would elevate them. In the draft, with chances to grab a high-end lineman in the first round or trade up, he chose to trade back and draft a wide receiver in Jayden Higgins who is barely playing. He eventually took tackle Ar’tonate Ersery in the late second — a pick I like — but then doubled down with another wide receiver in Jaylin Noel, who also isn’t playing. Meanwhile, multiple guard prospects who could’ve immediately helped were passed over.
To complicate things further, Caserio handed $12 million to veteran tackle Cam Robinson, who isn’t even starting. So while the Texans technically added bodies, the overall approach felt like patchwork — leaning on cheap stopgaps and hoping value would emerge — instead of decisively building a stronger five. It’s too pragmatic, too focused on maximizing long-term “value” and avoiding overpaying, and not focused enough on fixing the glaring short-term issues in front of their franchise quarterback. Pressure up the middle is far more damaging than edge pressure, and the smarter path would’ve been to invest in the interior first. Instead, Houston ended up with neither stability inside nor clarity outside.
The wide receiver decisions raise similar questions. Jayden Higgins looks like a beast, but his skill set overlaps heavily with Nico Collins, Xavier Hutchinson, and Justin Watson (who's now on IR) as outside “X” types. Even then, he's still not playing enough. Jaylin Noel was taken after signing Christian Kirk, another slot player, creating more redundancy but solid depth, and he’s not seeing the field much either, even when Kirk was out. What the Texans really needed was a true “Z” type receiver with the Tank Dell skillset to replace… well, Tank Dell. Maybe it all works out, but the approach of doubling down on similar player profiles while ignoring the obvious need feels like a byproduct of the “best player available” mantra. It puts the onus on coaching to force the pieces to fit. It also makes me wonder how much input DeMeco Ryans and Nick Caley had on the offensive draft process. The Texans clearly value character and their SWARM mantra in player selection, which is good, but perhaps they leaned too far into that at the expense of roster balance.
And to be clear — just because I didn’t like the process doesn’t mean I don’t like the players. I’m high on Ersery, Higgins, and Noel long-term. The issue is the amount of pressure being put on them right now. Ersery is essentially being asked to fix most of the line’s problems while coinciding with an 0-3 start, which doesn’t allow him the space to take natural growing pains without the entire team feeling it. That same 0-3 start magnifies the minimal snap counts from Higgins and Noel, making their lack of usage harder to stomach. Other teams drafted linemen in those same spots who stepped in from Day 1 and are already playing good football. Instead, Houston leaned too much on future value over immediate help, and the results look like a front office more focused on tomorrow than on winning right now.
Final Thoughts
This wasn’t a close-but-no-cigar loss. It was a clear indictment of a unit that’s dead last in execution and confidence. Stroud is pressing, the line is leaking, the receivers are failing in the details, and the play designs aren’t creating answers. Through three weeks, the Texans don’t just have an offense with issues — they look like they might have the worst offense in the NFL. Until they clean up the turnovers, simplify the approach, and give Stroud reliable options, these results will keep repeating.
That said, there are small slivers of hope. I still believe CJ Stroud is the guy. He’s being dragged down by his supporting cast — predictable play calls, congested route concepts, questionable situational awareness (deep shots on short yardage), an offensive line that is getting beaten physically and mentally, poor protection from tight ends and running backs, and a receiver group that has repeatedly let him down. Whether it’s Kirk and Berrios battling injuries, or the coaching staff refusing to give rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel consistent roles, Stroud isn’t getting the help he needs. Add in wideouts missing landmarks, running through zones without awareness, and taking bad angles on routes, and the passing game looks broken.
The run game hasn’t provided relief either, leaving Stroud in constant disadvantageous situations. Even in max-protect looks, he’s pressured too often to ever get comfortable. That hesitancy extends to his legs — while he’s made strides since the end of last year, he still needs to be more decisive in tucking and running when the yards are there. Picking up those hidden yards would soften defenses and open up the passing game.
The one real sign of optimism came from DeMeco Ryans himself. In a conversation with Marc Vandermeer this week, Ryans said the Texans need to “lean in” more to the two-minute drill. That’s massive. It’s been clear since Stroud’s rookie year that he thrives in tempo situations — closer to the spread offense he dominated in at Ohio State. Tempo, spacing, quick rhythm throws — these are the things that take pressure off a leaky offensive line and put Stroud in his comfort zone. If Ryans follows through, this could be the catalyst that finally gets the offense clicking.
Nick Caley has preached adaptability, saying he wants to adjust not only to opponents but also to his personnel. Well, this is the adjustment that makes sense. Passing to open the run, instead of trying to run to set up the pass, fits this roster better. CJ Stroud, the RB duo of Woody Marks and Nick Chubb, a WR group better suited to tempo, and an inferior offensive line that benefits from quicker concepts — all of it aligns with a two-minute, spread-based approach.
It’s also worth remembering the Texans haven’t exactly opened against cupcakes. The Jaguars currently rank 2nd in defensive EPA, the Rams 5th, and while the Buccaneers sit 20th, they may be better than the numbers suggest this early in the season. Houston’s offense being this poor makes every defense look better too, and it’s still early enough that rankings are volatile.
None of this is an excuse — at 0-3, the Texans have dug themselves a hole, and even thinking about the playoffs feels grim. Contenders don’t leave themselves one play away from winning every week. But if there’s any chance to flip the script, it has to start with the offense finding an identity. A matchup against a reeling Titans team provides the first opportunity. Whether they seize it will tell us if this group is capable of turning hope into reality.
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