The Houston Texans did not expect their 2026 season to start off this way. Houston is now 0-3 to start the year for the second consecutive season. But unlike the 2025 season, it does not look like a rapid improvement is coming right around the corner. The Texans lost an important divisional matchup on Sunday, falling 19-17 against the Colts.
Houston is now in the cellar of the AFC South with Tennessee. That is a terrifying reality for a team that entered the season with legitimate Super Bowl hype.
Beyond the poor result, Sunday's loss is even worse because it came against Daniel Jones and the Colts. It was frankly shocking that Houston's defense could not shut down that offense.
So what exactly went wrong in this one? And are any of these issues fixable before the Texans play their next game?
These are the Texans most to blame for Sunday's crushing divisional loss against the Colts.
Houston's offensive line, running game is completely broken right now
The Texans made a more concerted effort to run the ball in Week 3. But they still didn't have a lot of success on the ground.
David Montgomery finished with 11 carries for 33 rushing yards, making himself the team's leading rusher by a wide margin. Houston ended the game with 70 total rushing yards.
The Texans are only averaging 84.7 rushing yards per game so far this season. That ranks 30th in the NFL behind only the Packers and Broncos.
Houston's offensive line has been a huge problem early in the season. C.J. Stroud was sacked three times in Week 3 and never had the opportunity to get into a rhythm. The Texans' o-line finally got into the zone late in the game, but by that point the damage was already done.
Texans fans have to hope that this unit gelling throughout the season will provide some relief.
The Texans defense was good, but not great, against an inferior opponent
Houston's calling card has been the defense ever since Ryans took over at head coach. Unfortunately, the Texans did not look so mighty in Week 3.
One positive was how effective Houston was at shutting down Jonathan Taylor. The superstar running back only managed 68 rushing yards on 23 attempts on Sunday. He is the engine of Indy's offense, so that was a big silver lining.
But Texans fans have to be concerned about how their defense got shredded by Jones and the Colts.
Houston could not slow down Josh Downs, Keenan Allen, and Tyler Warren for much of the game. That is one of the worst pass catching trios in the NFL right now, so it is puzzling that Houston could not stop them. Especially with a flawed quarterback like Jones throwing them the ball.
This does not bode well for when Houston goes up against the best offenses in the NFL. If every good team can put up points on the Texans, there's no reason to believe they'll go anywhere in the playoffs.
Houston must play better on defense to give themselves a shot at competing this season.
Special teams, multiple coaching decisions led to the Texans losing a close game
A combination of special teams gaffes and poor coaching decisions played a big role in this loss.
The day did not start out on a positive note. Head coach DeMeco Ryans opted to go for it on fourth down during the first quarter instead of kicking a field goal. In a vacuum, that is a solid analytical decision. But when your team can't run the ball, even a fourth-and-short running play is a very risky decision. That failure on fourth down took three points off the board, which could have decided this game.
There were two other huge problems that occurred during the final minutes of the game.
First, Ryans failed to call a timeout promptly enough during Indy's final drive. He could have stopped the clock with about a minute left, but let 40 seconds tick away instead. That decision came back to haunt Houston, as that extra time could have given them a chance to respond at the very end of the game.
But before that was the actual kickoff that started the drive. Ka'imi Fairbairn sailed the ball through the end zone on the kickoff. That gave Indy the ball on their own 35-yard line, starting themselves within striking distance of field goal range. The Colts did march down the field and get just inside Spencer Shrader's range, resulting in a game-winning field goal for Indy.
The Cowboys made a similar mistake against the Ravens. In both cases, kicking the ball into the landing zone would have been the better move. If the ball bounces into the end zone, it would have only gone out to the 20-yard line instead. In the event that the receiving team returned the kick, that would drain precious seconds off the clock. Odds are it would not be as effective as automatically getting the ball at the 35-yard line either.
Some of these errors can be learning experiences for Ryans and his staff. Even so, it is concerning how often coaching has been the problem early in the season.