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DJ Bien-Aime
HOUSTON — A somber mood lingered in the visiting locker room at EverBank Stadium on Sept. 21.
The Houston Texans had fallen to 0-3 for the first time under third-year coach DeMeco Ryans after a 17-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. A season filled with lofty expectations was teetering toward disappointment.
Ryans stated throughout the offseason that the season was about getting over the hump to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in the franchise’s 25-year existence.
Texans owners Cal and Hannah McNair even admitted they wanted to «do better» than the 2024 season, which meant reaching at least the AFC Championship Game — with the youngest franchise in the NFL standing as the only team never to reach a conference championship game.
C.J. Stroud relayed that sentiment as he recalled a discussion during preparation for Houston’s Week 4 matchup against the Tennessee Titans, whom the Texans defeated 26-0.
«I never thought we were going to just keep losing,» Stroud told ESPN. «We weren’t getting blown out. It was by one score every time.
«I really thought we were going to go 14-3. I was talking to [center] Jake Andrews after practice, and he was like, ‘We are going to win out.’ I told him, ‘I know we’re super close.’ But I didn’t go, ‘We need to march the comeback right now,’ I was like, ‘Let’s just win this game.'»
Stroud’s words were an extension of Ryans: One play, one drive, one quarter, one half and one game at a time.
Still, Stroud and Andrews weren’t far off with their bigger-picture prediction.
Starting from Week 4, the Texans (12-5) went on a historic run — finishing 12-2, tied for the third-most wins in the league during that span, and owning the longest active win streak (nine), which tied a franchise record from 2018. Houston also became the seventh team in the Super Bowl era (1966) — and the first since it did it in 2018 — to clinch a playoff spot after an 0-3 start.
The roller-coaster season included the growing pains of installing a new offense, an early release of a major offseason acquisition and surviving Stroud’s three-game absence because of a concussion suffered during their Week 9 loss to the Denver Broncos. Along the way, the defense remained as one of the NFL’s elite units — finishing second in points allowed (17.4 per game) and yards allowed (279).
Some of the Texans believed their hot turnaround started in Week 10, when they erased a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit against the Jaguars. And the prime-time win over the Buffalo Bills two weeks later reaffirmed their confidence that they belonged in the discussion with the league’s best.
Houston will open the playoffs as the No. 5 seed on the road against the No. 4 seed Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) on Monday (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC) with two streaks on the line — the NFL’s longest active win streak by the Texans and the Steelers’ 23-game home winning streak on «Monday Night Football.»
«I’m more proud of this team because of all the adversity we’ve had to face and everything we’ve overcome,» Ryans said. «We’re a really strong group. We know we can win in any way or fashion, and that’s why I’m more excited about this team heading into the playoffs.»
C.J. Gardner-Johnson from the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles — giving up offensive guard Kenyon Green, the Texans’ 2022 first-round pick. Gardner-Johnson played in the past three NFC Championship Games and two of the past three Super Bowls, so the hope was his experience would help Houston get over the hump.
But the fit slowly proved to be incompatible, and after Gardner-Johnson made a crucial mistake in Week 3, the budding frustrations boiled over. With the score knotted 10-10 and two minutes left on the clock, cornerback Kamari Lassiter and Gardner-Johnson were side-by-side in front of Jaguars receivers Parker Washington (slot) and Brian Thomas Jr. (outside).
The call was Cover 0. The responsibilities were clear, so they thought. Gardner-Johnson was responsible for the first in-breaking route, and Lassiter had the first out route or second in-breaking route. Washington ran an out route, and Gardner-Johnson jumped on it, compromising Lassiter.
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Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence capitalized, hitting Thomas on a post for a 46-yard reception before Lassiter ran him down at Houston’s 10-yard line. The Jaguars scored the eventual winning touchdown on the next play before Stroud’s pass was intercepted on the next drive.
According to team sources, Gardner-Johnson’s mistake caused an angry Lassiter to voice his frustrations on the sidelines, which led to a mimicking response by Gardner-Johnson — who felt everyone was blaming him. The two never directly talked to each other, but the yelling was heard along the sidelines.
All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. understood Lassiter’s anger but tried to diffuse the situation for chemistry purposes. But that attempt quickly morphed into Gardner-Johnson exchanging words with Stingley, almost leading to a fight.
Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair became the peacemaker on the sidelines, but the heated discussion resumed in the locker room, even though the interaction never got physical.
But at that moment, Gardner-Johnson’s time as a Texan was unofficially over. He struggled to pick up Ryans’ scheme, and he didn’t jive with the schematic approach either, as he wanted a different role — similar to nickelback Jalen Pitre — that Gardner-Johnson had thrived in throughout his career. And he voiced it.
On the following Tuesday, Gardner-Johnson was released. He’s now playing that desired role with the No. 2-seeded Chicago Bears in the NFC. When Ryans addressed the move with the media, he kept it brief.
Jayden Higgins (second round) and Jaylin Noel (third round), and added Christian Kirk via trade.
By Week 4, Houston’s offense began to find its footing — finishing 12th in offensive points per game (23.9), even with Stroud missing Weeks 9-12. The Texans also protected the ball, with their seven turnovers being the fewest in the league in that span.
Defensively, in the first three weeks, the pass defense allowed an EPA per dropback of minus-.05, according to Next Gen Stats, the 13th fewest, and had only one interception. The scoring defense was still stout, allowing 17 points per game, tied for fifth fewest, which included holding the league’s highest-scoring team (the Los Angeles Rams at 30.5 points per game) to a season-low 14 in the opener.
The scoring defense remained steady, but the pass defense took a leap, according to Next Gen Stats. The Texans allowed a minus-.23 EPA per dropback (the lowest) and 17 touchdowns (eighth fewest), and they had 18 interceptions (second most). Houston was one of two teams with more interceptions than touchdowns allowed during that stretch.
DESPITE THE TURNAROUND, the Texans felt their season was teetering heading into the fourth quarter of Week 10.
They were 3-5 and trailing the Jaguars 29-10 in the fourth quarter, with Stroud sidelined because of the concussion he suffered in Week 9.
According to some players, they deemed this a must-win game, and with a 20-10 deficit heading into halftime, safety Calen Bullock said the defensive players challenged one another.
«Guys were looking at each other like, ‘[Is this] how we gonna go out?'» Bullock told ESPN. «We can stop them from putting points on the board. Our mindset was like, ‘Let’s go out here and let’s be the best. What are we gonna do?'»
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Houston allowed nine more points in the third quarter, but then turned up the intensity.
In the fourth quarter, the defense unlocked its best statistical performance of the year. Houston held the Jaguars’ offense to 17 yards, sacked Lawrence three times and allowed zero completions and points. Quarterback Davis Mills led the charge with two passing touchdowns in the quarter and capped the comeback with a 14-yard scoring run with 31 seconds left.
As well as the Texans played down the stretch, the comeback likely doesn’t happen without the fourth-and-2 conversion from the Jaguars’ 17-yard line with 13 minutes remaining while trailing 29-10. Mills found Noel for a first down, but the Jaguars’ gamesmanship almost thwarted the play.
«We were about to run the play, and [Jacksonville] called a timeout,» Mills told ESPN. «We kind of showed what we were about to do, so we talked about it. We decided to make the motion look different so it didn’t look [like] the exact same thing we were doing. And it happened, and he was wide open.»
The drive ended with a pass to Higgins three plays later, paired with a 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 29-18. Houston scored touchdowns on its next two drives.
The most important takeaway from that win was that Houston felt it got its «swagger» back, according to Mills. Ryans called that win the turning point in the Texans’ season.
«I think that one mattered the most,» Bullock told ESPN. «Shoot, we didn’t win that one, we wouldn’t be in this position right now.»
And even though Ryans is a tough critic in film sessions, he made it known at the end of the Monday team meeting that the fourth quarter showed what they can achieve.
«One thing is just the enthusiasm,» Ryans told ESPN. «I think once you get such a big comeback, it sparked such a massive influx of enthusiasm into our entire organization. You just felt a true buzz of joy when you came into work. … I think that joy is what has carried us on.»
That victory began the Texans’ nine-game win streak, but their 23-19 win over the Bills cemented what they knew they could become. The Texans stifled a Bills offense averaging 28.3 points (fourth), and they sacked Josh Allen eight times, a career high for the Buffalo quarterback. Bullock also created three turnovers (two interceptions and a forced fumble), including the game-sealing pick.
Now, with the Steelers looming, the Texans are seeking a third straight opening-round playoff win to remain perfect in wild-card games under Ryans.
«We can beat any team in this league,» tackle Tytus Howard told ESPN. «Us getting that win [against the Bills] set us up for the rest of the season. It let us know that we take care of what we need to take care of, and not hurt ourselves, we can beat anybody.»
