In DeMeco Ryans’ three seasons as Houston Texans head coach, this one started different. Sure, they started 0-3, something Ryans had not done in his three seasons, and a start that has been a virtual death blow this century, with (ironically) Bill O’Brien being the only head coach in the NFL in the 2000’s to pull out of an 0-3 nosedive and make the playoffs. The 2018 Texans, in case you don’t remember. 

However, with Ryans, there was more chaos than just the 0-3 (and then 2-4, and then 3-5) record. There was contentiousness with the media, first over opaque reporting of injuries (specifically, Joe Mixon), and then over what he perceived as negative reporting from the Texans’ media horde. Ryans seat was not hot, but certainly there were people calling for Nick Caserio’s and Nick Caley’s heads. 

Then, a funny thing happened. The team began winning. Ironically, they picked up their three biggest wins with their backup quarterback starting. On Sunday, their starting quarterback returned from a concussion, and played well. Well enough to beat the division leading Indianapolis Colts.

Now, the Texans sit at 7-5. You wanna guess what their record through 12 games was in Ryans’ first two seasons? You guessed it. They were 7-5. All of those feelings in the first eight weeks no longer matter. The Texans have recalibrated their season. They’re still on the outside looking in at the playoff race and division crown, but capturing either one is well within reach. 

The playoff hunt deserves its own article. For now, let’s lay out the winners and losers from yesterday’s pivotal win in Indy: 

WINNERS

4. C.J. Stroud

Stroud last played football in the first quarter of Week 9, back on November 9. So he’s been on ice for nearly a month. There was some definite rust, most notably on a horrific interception that handed momentum right back to the Colts after the Texans’ defense had stopped them on downs. However, for the day, Stroud was a solid 22 of 35 for 276 yards, which is nearly eight yards per attempt. He managed the offense pretty well, only took a couple sacks, and made at least a few throws that Davis Mills definitely would not have made. Put simply, I have very little concern about Stroud long term.

3. Derek Stingley

You may be saying “Hey Sean, I barely saw Stingley out there on Sunday, how can he be a winner?” Well, at cornerback, when you are as good as Stingley is at his job, the other team doesn’t bother throwing the ball in your direction, especially when you’re as turnover prone as Daniel Jones can be, at times. On Sunday, Stingley was targeted just once on 28 coverage snaps, and the target was incomplete. It was the fourth game Stingley has allowed less than 10 yards, the only corner in the league to hit that mark. 

2. Woody Marks 

It took half the season, but the Texans have figured out that the offense can only operate at decent level if Marks is getting a majority of the carries out of the backfield. On Sunday, once again, Marks (19 carries) doubled Nick Chubb’s usage (nine carries), and the running game was serviceable enough to get the win. Marks’ run on the final drive to pick up a first down essentially ended the game. Based on the depth behind him, or lack thereof, you could argue Marks is one of the four or five most valuable players on the team.

1. Nico Collins

Let’s just go ahead and call Lucas Oil Stadium “The House That Nico Built,” shall we? In particular, since C.J. Stroud arrived, Nico Collins routinely does to the Colts what Colts legend T.Y. Hilton would do to the Texans. On Sunday, Collins’ total of 95 yards on six catches was actually somewhat modest compared to the visits to Indy in 2023 (195 yards) and 2024 (117 yards). He did score a touchdown on an end around, but the one disappointing thing is we didn’t get to see Collins versus All Pro, and new Colt, Sauce Gardner, after Gardner left the game early with a calf injury. 

LOSERS 

4. Penalties 

The Texans won the game, and for that we are thankful. However, there is plenty to clean up from this game. The big thing would be penalties, of which the Texans had nine for a total of 85 yards. There was at least one questionable call, a pass interference on Calen Bullock on a 3rd and 19. However, most of them were just sloppy mistakes by the Texans, particularly two illegal formation calls in the first quarter, one negating a 21 yard gain. Heading into the den of officiating inequity this coming Sunday, Kansas City, the Texans need to play much cleaner.

3. “Stover Shove” over-use

I’m not sure how much longer the “Tush Push” play, popularized by the Eagles’ hind quarters shoving of their QB Jalen Hurts on short yardage plays, will be around. There appears to be vast sentiment to trash it, more so now than ever. That said, it was interesting seeing the Texans come up with their own version, one that subbed tight end Cade Stover in the Hurts role. It worked the first two times, and then, in the fourth quarter, the Texans used it on back to back plays, on 3rd and 1 and 4th and 1, and got stuffed. Keep it in the playbook, Nick Caley, but just use it smarter, i.e. NOT on consecutive plays.

2. End of half game management

Leading 10-6, the Texans were able to force a punt late in the second quarter, getting the ball back at their own 20 yard line with 1:51 left in the half, and two timeouts in their pocket. What then happened was an atrocity, a complete lack of urgency offensively, as the offense burned over a minute of the clock to the ground in order to advance the ball to their own 45 yard line. Zero aggressiveness, complete waste of a possession, which ended with one of the worst Hail Mary attempts in Texans history. DeMeco Ryans is mostly good at his job. His rationale and approach to the end of halves is infuriating. In the interview on the way to the locker room, Ryans cited the Texans’ getting the ball to start the third quarter as a reason why he went so conservative. Woof. 

1. Sauce Gardner

Of all the matchups in a matchup-rich game, the one I was most excited for was Nico Collins against former All Pro corner Sauce Gardner. Unfortunately, much the same way Collins had to leave the game three plays into the first matchup between the two, back in 2023 when Gardner was a Colt, Gardner limped off the field in the first series of the game with a calf strain, and did not return. It sounds like Gardner avoided an Achilles injury, but the Colts are now 1-2 since the trade. We’ll see if Gardner returns in time for Week 18 at NRG Stadium. 

This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

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