Texans look for continued improvement after winning two straight following 0-3 start

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HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Texans have won consecutive games entering their bye week following a surprising 0-3 start.

They know they have much more work to do if they hope to reach the playoffs for a third straight season but are encouraged by the improvements they’ve made since the winless start.

“We can’t go back and change what happened the first three weeks,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We can learn from it. We can improve on the miscues that we’ve had, and we can be better because of the things that happened. I think that’s what our guys are doing a really good job of.”

A key area in which the Texans have improved is ball security. They haven’t had a turnover in their last two games after combining for five through the first three weeks.

“That’s been the biggest game changer for us these past two weeks,” Ryans said. “If we continue ... to do that, we’re going to have an opportunity to win the game.”

After losing three close games to start the season, the Texans have had two blowout wins. Houston got its first shutout since 2010 in a 26-0 win over Tennessee two weeks ago before setting a franchise record for points on the road in a 44-10 rout at Baltimore.

C.J. Stroud has been great in the last two weeks after getting off to a slow start in his first year under offensive coordinator Nick Caley. He has thrown six touchdown passes with no interceptions combined in the two wins after combining for only two touchdowns with three interceptions in the first three games.

Caley, who is an offensive coordinator for the first time this season, was criticized during Houston’s winless start when it appeared that Stroud and the offense had taken a step back. General manager Nick Caserio was asked to evaluate Caley’s performance so far.

“I think it’s evolved,” he said. “Anytime any of us are put in the position for the first time, you’re going to have to deal with some ups and downs. It’s a learning process. We’ve all been there.”

Stroud was 23 of 27 for 244 yards and two touchdowns against Baltimore to win AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. It was the third time he’s received the award and first since his rookie season in 2023.

Stroud is happy with the recent progress they’ve made and is looking for everyone to focus on continued improvement after the break.

“We can be really good when we clean up mistakes, don’t have a bunch of penalties and play complementary football,” he said. “We’re really close; we’ve always been close but, in this league, it doesn’t matter when you’re close. You want to see production. You want to see wins, so I think we’ll be able to flip the script in these next couple weeks and try to finish October really well.”

Along with the turnovers, some of Houston’s early struggles on offense came from the poor performance of a retooled line. The group returned just one starter from last season in right tackle Tytus Howard and has rookie second-round Aireontae Ersery at left tackle after five-time Pro Bowler Laremy Tunsil was traded to Washington this offseason.

Stroud was sacked eight times in the first three games but has been sacked just two times in each of the last two games as the group has improved.

“The more that (Ersery) has played, the better he’s played,” Caserio said. “He’s made some, call it younger player mistakes, which that comes with the territory. Good kid, good attitude. Builds on some of the things that he continues to do well. Overall, that group has worked well together, making progress.”

Adding to Houston's problems on offense was the absence of star running back Joe Mixon, who hasn’t played this year because of a foot injury he sustained in the offseason. The Texans don’t expect him back any time soon, so they’ll look to Nick Chubb and Woody Marks to build on their performances in the last two weeks when they helped Houston to its two best rushing outputs of the season.

While Houston’s offense has had some growing pains early this season, the defense has been solid all year. The unit, led by defensive end Will Anderson Jr. and cornerback Derek Stingley, ranks first in the NFL by allowing just 12.2 points a game and is third by limiting teams to 265.8 yards a game.

Anderson was thrilled to see how well the entire team played against the Ravens and hopes to see more of it after the break as Houston tries to overcome its poor start.

“Going into the bye week, it’s something we can definitely build off of, and this is how it looks when we do it that way,” he said. “This is how it looks when everyone is on the same page. Everybody’s rolling, offense staying in charge, defense taking the ball (and) giving it back to the offense. We just have to keep this thing rolling ... that’s what this team has to be built on.”

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