After the Texans started 0-3, we talked about previous seasons in which they recovered. Everyone harkened back to 2018, and rightfully so. That campaign saw a franchise best nine game winning streak after the rough beginning.
I also could bring up 2015, in which the Texans were 2-5 and somehow won the division, going 9-7. Or 2008, when Houston started 3-7 and had a terrific opportunity to go 9-7 but settled for 8-8, still a good finish despite a tumultuous first 10 games.
But in order to turn anything around, you need a transformation, and that has yet to occur, as we watched the Texans slip to 2-4 on a frustrating night in Seattle.
The offense didn't get their first touchdown until late in the game, which hurt, after watching them make progress and catch fire in the previous two games. In their four losses, Houston has scored three offensive TDs. The defense is doing everything they can to keep games close, but it's not easy against this schedule.
The four teams that have beaten the Texans all have winning records. That's not going to make you feel any better, considering their next three games are all against winning teams.
In Seattle, the defense forced four takeaways, scoring directly off one of them on Will Anderson Jr.'s strip sack and fumble recovery in the end zone. Houston also blocked a field goal. If you have all those things happen, you feel like you should win the game.
But they didn't. And now they have a confident San Francisco team coming into NRG Stadium.
I've lived through all the comeback seasons and the common thread is that something clicked. Everything started working better and more efficiently.
The secret sauce is different every time.
The personnel is there to make this happen. So is the coaching. But it has to happen soon. The division is way harder than most originally thought. The good news is you have seven home games out of your last 11. You have a defense that will keep you in every game and enough talent on offense to improve and make things a lot more difficult on solid teams.
It's going to be a super short week of prep and the game plan will have to be constructed without assurances that your top two receivers will be available.
The NFL season stops for no one and by the time the Texans sleep off the Seattle game, they'll have four days to get ready for the 49ers.
Go Texans!
