The Houston Texans have a lot of soul-searching to do after remaining winless in four games. The Texans fell short against the Dallas Cowboys, 34-30, at Reliant Stadium on Sunday.

The Texans held a 10-point lead at halftime, but they allowed the Cowboys to rally after the break. Dallas outscored Houston in the second half, 28-14.

The Texans still had a chance to win, but their last drive went for naught, with CJ Stroud's last-gasp pass falling incomplete.

In the postgame conference, Stroud said they have to find ways to improve and not get stuck.

“Every year is different. Last year's bread is not gonna feed us this year,” said Stroud.

“I remember in college, Coach (Ryan) Day, he's always saying: ‘You have to be an iPhone. You gotta upgrade every year.' You gotta upgrade, whatever that looks like, from personnel to plays to execution, everything. You have to rise up.”

"You have to be an iPhone, you gotta upgrade every year." 😭

CJ Stroud on why last season's success means nothing for this season. pic.twitter.com/JTPkTrfNCv

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 4, 2026

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Last season, the Texans had an inspired run, finishing with a 12-5 record and making to the divsional round of the playoffs. But for the 25-year-old Stroud, they should not stare in the rearview mirror and be more “accountable and honest” instead.

“You can't look back like, ‘Oh, we did it this time, we can do it again.' You have to be able to flush successes and failures to be able to do your job each and every play. It doesn't matter what happened in the previous year, the accolades, the hate, whatever, on both sides,” added the one-time Pro Bowler.

Stroud went 21-of-31 for 347 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions.

Nico Collins had seven receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns in his return from a hamstring injury.

The Texans could not halt the Cowboys' final drive, which led to the game-winning touchdown by CeeDee Lamb off a pinpoint throw from Dak Prescott.

Houston, which fell to 0-4, will visit the Tennessee Titans in Week 5.