Battle Red Blog
Well, they tried!
Try and try they might, the Houston Texans just couldn’t claw their way to victory in an ugly match against the Seattle Seahawks. They might have picked Sam Darnold off, they might have blocked a field goal, they might have even scored a defensive touchdown thanks to Will Anderson Jr., but this Texans team just couldn’t get it done because their offense (or lack there of) was completely exposed by the Seahawks. Three quarters into the game, the Texans offense had amassed just 127 total yards, 10 first downs (3 coming from penalties), and averaged just 3.1 yards per play. After the game had mercifully ended, Houston had compiled 254 total yards, 18 first downs, a slightly improved 3.7 yards per play, and 2-15 on third down, polishing this turd of a game in garbage time to look every so slightly less terrible.
These may appear as just ugly stats, vapid and meaningless, but experiencing these Texans in action past midnight on a Monday created a unique form of suffering that thrived on suspense. Each yard felt like a mile when the Texans offense was on the field, each first down coming like a drop of water landing on your forehead. That sudden pat of water on your head was nothing special at first, but then you start waiting for the next drop…knowing that it will arrive, but when? When, oh when, will that next first down drop? That dreaded anticipation for the next first down, for the next drive not ruined by a mistake, for the next scoring drive…it will end you. Each offensive possession played out like a slow motion train wreck, as Houston dragged itself like a coffin up a hill, preordained to slide back at every third down.
Besides their momentary burst of life in the fourth quarter, the Texans were an empty husk of an offense all game long. In hundreds and hundreds of NFL games, four turnovers was enough for a team to win, even handily so. But, for the Texans and unfortunately for their adoring fans, that only means 12 points, and oh yeah, a loss. Similar in timbre to Houston’s heartbreaking loss to the Detroit Lions in 2024, this game was full of highlights on the defense countered by lowlight on the offense. But, this loss to the Seahawks somehow feels worse because of what was done between that Detroit game and last night in order to get the offense back on track. All of the 2025 offseason was built around ensuring the offense could never turtle up like it did in 2024 again, and what do they have to show for it? Seven punts, three turnovers on downs, and an interception on 11 of their 14 possessions – maybe the antithesis of what the Texans were hoping this offense would look like.
But, despite it all, they were still in a one possession game for much of the second half, nabbing their first touchdown with 2:04 left in...
