After the Houston Texans were ousted from last year’s NFL playoffs, in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City, head coach DeMeco Ryans made it very clear as to what the mission for this franchise would be in 2025 — they must ascend to “new heights,” his own words.
This meant finally, quite simply, at least getting to the conference title game, an achievement the Texans had failed to convert on in six attempts, oftentimes in very lopsided fashion. With a world class, generational defense, this looked like the season where the Texans could finally break through. Add in the Denver Broncos hosting the conference title game with a backup quarterback next weekend, and the Super Bowl felt very much in play.
Well, if you’re a Texans fan, you know by now, it didn’t happen. C.J. Stroud made sure of it, tossing four interceptions in the first half of a devastating 28-16 loss to the New England Patriots. This sends the Texans into a potentially awkward, uncomfortable (but yes, completely intriguing) offseason, where for the first time., Stroud’s legitimacy as the future franchise quarterback is not just in question, but under siege from the fan base.
With that in mind, here are winners and losers from Sunday’s offensive catastrophe at Gillette Stadium:
WINNERS
4. Will Anderson
Back in 2023, with back to back picks near the top of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Texans drafted C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson, second and third overall, respectively. The thought was that these two would reset the team’s culture on both sides of the football for years to come. Right now, Anderson is the only one holding up his end of the bargain. On Sunday, Anderson and the defense did everything they could to keep the Texans moving in the right direction. Anderson had three sacks and two tackles for loss on Sunday, and was a monster all game long.
3. Azeez Al-Shaair
The Texans were able to force four fumbles by Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, harassing him all day long. The Texans turned two of them into turnovers, with Al-Shaair making the recoveries of both fumbles. Al-Shaair was the Texans’ leading tackler on the afternoon, and continued to ascend the list of inside linebackers around the league, making his first Pro Bowl.
2. Stefon Diggs
This was the first time Diggs was facing off against his teammates of eight games a season ago. Diggs got a sizable contract from the Patriots to become the tone setter for their wide receiver room, and he did not disappoint. On Sunday, like most of the Patriots’ offense, the production was modest (3 catches, 40 yards), but his touchdown late in the second quarter, a strong “hands catch” against rookie safety Jaylen Reed, gave the Patriots their first two score lead of the day.
1. Mike Vrabel
Typically, in big games like this, the team with the better head coach and the better quarterback win the game. The Patriots swept the board in these departments. Vrabel had his team ready to play from the outset, and on defense, they did enough things to confuse C.J. Stroud to force a ton of mistakes. It’s not like Vrabel put on a masterclass, but Ryans’ outfit offensively was doing some of the sale old stuff pre-snap. We will touch on Ryans’ most deplorable decision shortly.
LOSERS
4. Injuries
The Texans have no excuses. When your quarterback throws four interceptions, you deserve to lose the game. However, it would have been interesting to see how the Texans would have fared with a healthy Nico Collins and a healthy Dalton Schultz, who left the game with a calf injury in the first quarter. Backup tight end Cade Stover suffered some sort of knee injury on a poor throw from Stroud in the second half. The Texans certainly missed Trent Brown, as well. He had to sit due to an ankle injury.
3. Woody Marks
The Texans ran the football so well on Monday night against the Steelers, that the hope was they finally figured some things out. Marks, in particular, had 19 carries for 112 yards with no negative yardage carries. On Sunday, though, Marks had six runs in the first half alone for zero or negative yardage. The team ran for 48 yards on 22 carries. If you’re an NFL team that misses ancient Trent Brown this much in your run game, you’re not a serious offensive team.
2. DeMeco Ryans
It’s already been established that Vrabel earned the coaching duke in this game, so am I piling on by making Ryans a loser? I don’t think so, because Ryans needs to be called out for an inexcusable decision late in the game. With 4:17 left in the game, and the Texans facing a 4th and long form their own 21 yard line, trailing by 12, Ryans chose to punt. Yes, down two scores with about four minutes left, he chose to punt. Oh, did I mention the Texans only had one timeout left, so they couldn’t even really stop the clock? Yes, I realize converting the 4th down was a long shot, but punting was essentially conceding the game. Ryans chose the far worse of two bad choices. Embarrassing and shameful.
- C.J. Stroud
I can’t believe this is where we are with C.J. Stroud. I can’t believe the rookie that took the league by storm in 2023, that Houston embraced, is now the scourge of the fan base. The question coming into the season was “How much would C.J. Stroud’s contract extension be, in the 2026 offseason?” Now, there are legitimate questions as to whether this team can ever make it past the divisional round with Stroud as their quarterback. He’s gone backwards at about 100 miles per hour these last two weeks, and the worst part is that he is playing scared, unintelligent football. There is nothing tough nor inspiring about anything he is doing.