Texans most to blame for brutal Divisional Round loss to Patriots

The Houston Texans have reached the Divisional Round of the playoffs for a seventh time in franchise history, and for a third straight season. For a third straight season, and seventh time overall, the team lost in the Divisional Round. It was a complete disaster for the Texans against the Patriots, as they lost 28-16. As their 2025-26 campaign has come to an end, there is plenty of blame to go around for the loss.

The Texans had their chances to win this game. After giving up a touchdown to the Patriots on their second drive of the game, Houston answered with a field goal. CJ Stroud would throw an interception on their next drive, but after forcing a fumble on the ensuing Patriots drive, Houston scored a touchdown. From there, the game began to get away from them. The Texans would be down 21-10 going into the halftime break. They did make it a five-point game in the third quarter, but could not make the comeback.

The defense did its job in this game. They held the Patriots to just 248 yards of offense, while forcing three turnovers. Regardless, the season ends without a berth in the AFC Championship for a third straight season.

The offensive line was dreadful

The offensive line was horrible for the Texans. Injuries were an issue. Tytus Howard had to play right tackle, even though he is traditionally a guard. That was due to Trent Brown being inactive in the game because of injury. Howard also missed time during the game with an injury. Further, the injury to tight end Dalton Schultz also hurt the offensive line. Regardless of the injuries, the line was horrid.

In the running game, backs were consistently met in the backfield with pressure from the Patriots. Woody Marks ran the ball 14 times, but managed just 17 yards, good for only 1.2 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Nick Chubb ran for just 14 yards on four carries. The most success in the running game came from Stroud, who ran for 11 yards on two carries, but this was also because he needed to scramble. Overall, the Texans managed to run for just 48 yards on 22 carries, good for only 2.2 yards per carry. Without the running of Stroud, that drops to 1.85 yards per carry.

Meanwhile, Stroud was under constant pressure when passing. He was pressured on 21 drop-backs in the game. On two of the drop-backs, he was able to scramble for positive yards. He was sacked three times in the game. He got the pass off on the other 16 attempts. Stroud was just 2-16 with three interceptions when passing under pressure. The offensive line was a major issue for the team, and something that needs to be addressed for the future.

CJ Stroud had an ugly game

While the Texans quarterback was under pressure in the game, he played poorly as well. Stroud threw four interceptions in the first half alone. This was not just a product of pressure. Stroud often held onto the ball too long, missed wide-open targets, and, when pressured, decided to force the ball into tight windows. Included in the four interceptions was a pick-six to Marcus Jones, which flipped the game. Yes, he was missing Nico Collins and Shultz, but the Texans still have weapons to hit. This does not mean forcing the ball to Christian Kirk and leading to a turnover.

He finished the game completing just 20 of 47 passes for 212 yards, a touchdown, and four interceptions. This led to him having just a 28.0 quarterback rating. This could be a situation of the pressure and expectations just being too much. He finished the playoffs completing just 42 of 79 passes, for 462 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions. He also lost two fumbles.

In his career, he has now thrown six touchdowns and six interceptions in the playoffs over three seasons. Further, in the Divisional Round, he has just one touchdown pass over three seasons. Stroud has shown he is a quality quarterback who can get the Texans to this point, but he may not be the man to get them over the hump and make a run at a Super Bowl.

DeMeco Ryans gets some blame

Stroud clearly was in over his head. He had already struggled in the first round of the playoffs against the Steelers, and in 10 quarters of football in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs, he had thrown as many touchdowns to the other team as he had his own. Still, DeMeco Ryans did not think about making a change.

“This team has his back. The first half is over,” Ryans told ESPN as the team returned to the field for the second half.

The game was still within reach, and while a change to Davis Mills may not have been the best solution, the lack of consideration shows the stubbornness that aided the loss for the Texans. The offense did not change much from the first half to the second. As Stroud was under constant pressure and the running game was going nowhere, there was no change to the scheme or playcalling. That falls squarely on Ryans and is a major reason the Texans couldn’t make a comeback.

Meanwhile, with 4:17 left in the game, the Texans had just seen Stroud sacked for a third time. This led to a 4th and 18 from their own 21-yard line. The Texans were down 11 points. The likelihood of converting a 4th and 18 is slim. Regardless, the Texans had just one timeout left, and the Patriots were going to be able to drain the clock some. There was no reason not to go for it. If they miss, the game is likely over. Still, if they punt, there is not going to be enough time to overcome an 11-point deficit without some major plays. While Ryans said he believed in Stroud, he did not believe in him enough there, choosing to punt the ball.

The Patritos were able to drain 2:18 off the clock, meaning the Texans were left with 1:45 and no timeouts to try to come back from 11 points down. It was multiple horrible decisions from Ryans that cost him a third straight Divisional Round game.

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