Battle Red Blog
The first two weeks of the 2025 NFL Season have not been kind to Houston Texans, who have fallen into the dreaded 0-2 trap after losing in the final seconds to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A start like this is a far cry from the lofty prognostications many of Houston’s faithful made (including myself) on the eve of the regular season, putting significant doubt into our championship aspirations. Personally, the positive development of new starting offensive guards Laken Tomlinson, Ed Ingram and rookie left tackle Aireontae Ersery during training camp and throughout the preseason stoked a sort of optimism within me that was very bullish on the offense as a whole. Maybe it was naivety (it was), but the good news surrounding the new linemen in August had convinced me that the big dilemma of 2024 had been fixed.
Oh, how wrong I was.
Quarterback CJ Stroud was still pressured, struggled mightily both in and outside of the pocket, and ultimately was not able to connect with any of his favorite receivers with consistency. The offensive line seemed to improve as a whole with the return of RG Ed Ingram from injury, but critical failures in the second half forced the Texans to repeatedly punt and resulted in a failed attempt to score on fourth-and-goal at the Tampa Bay one-yard line. Oddly enough, though, the onus of defeat also resides on Houston’s defense due to a complete inability to contain the Bucs’ tailback Bucky Irving and quarterback Baker Mayfield. These two players were too hot to handle for linebackers Azeez Al-Shamir and Henry To’oTo’o, which could be a foreboding sign when looking onward to the rest of the Texans’ regular season schedule.
So, what could all of this mean for the Texans’ position in the power rankings? Well, buckle up, because this ride down the list is going to be bumpy. Here’s where the Houston Texans are ranked entering Week 3 of the 2025 NFL Season:
17**. Houston Texans (0-2)** (Last Week: 14)
The Texans entered Monday night’s game against the Buccaneers with questions about their offensive identity, and they didn’t do much to answer them. Houston is 0-2, yet it had chances to win both games against quality teams. The offense landed some explosive plays early, as the Texans came out with some fire on both sides of the ball. But then the attack just fell flat, with C.J. Stroud routinely running for his life. The pass protection was leaky up and down the offensive line, which clearly is still trying to find some cohesion. Houston got back into the game via special teams with a blocked punt and a long punt return, setting up Nick Chubb’s late go-ahead score. But there was too much time left, and a beat-up defense that had been on the field most of the game couldn’t get one final stop. Frustrating, not demoralizing, but the Texans are suddenly two games back in the division.
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