The Houston Texans’ season feels over and it’s only Nov. 2.
With C.J. Stroud leaving in the second quarter, Houston’s offense was underwhelming and failed to find the end zone while Bo Nix scored two touchdown passes en route to a Denver Broncos 18-15 victory over the Texans at NRG Stadium.
Stroud, Houston’s Pro Bowl passer, suffered a concussion when he was hit at the end of a slide early with 14 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Davis Mills took over at quarterback after Stroud’s injury, leading to a career-high five goals from Ka’imi Fairbairn, but the Texans’ inability to score in the red zone led to Denver’s eventual comeback.
In the final 18 minutes, Houston punted six consecutive times, with four drives leading to a three-and-out. Mills, who previously started in Houston in 2021 and 2022, completed 17-of-30 passes for 137 yards. The Texans were 0 of 3 in the red zone and converted just 18 percent of third-down conversions.
“We get down to the one-yard line twice and the red zone four or five times. We got to come out of those drives with touchdowns rather than field goals. That’s the biggest difference in the game.”
Here’s a look at the Texans‘ team snap count from Sunday’s loss at NRG Stadium.
The Texans, who now sit at 3-5 and three games back in the AFC South, close out their three-game homestand with a showdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars before closing out their AFC South battle against the Tennessee Titans. Should the Texans win both games, with or without Stroud, they would be at .500 entering Thursday Night Football’s battle against the Buffalo Bills.