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Why Texans can bounce back from 0-3 start for second straight year, return to playoffs in 2026
Confirmed
In Short: The Houston Texans need to reverse their fortunes to return to the playoffs after a poor start.
The Houston Texans find themselves in a familiar position, starting the season 0-3 for the second consecutive year.
According to CBS Sports, the Texans' struggles are largely due to bad luck and poor offensive performance.
In last week's game against the Buffalo Bills, the Texans were just a botched interception away from a different outcome.
The Texans' defense, despite allowing the Bills to score 36 points, showed resilience, with linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair drawing national attention for his activism.
The Texans' luck, according to win probability data, ranks among the worst in the NFL, with the 53-yard field goal by Spencer Shrader in the Colts' win being the second-most impactful play from a luck perspective.
Despite these challenges, there is still hope for the Texans to make the playoffs, as evidenced by last year's 0-2 start that led to a postseason berth.
In 2025, three teams that started 0-2 made the playoffs, including the Texans, Bears, and Panthers.
The Texans' quarterback, Case Mayfield, needs to step up his game, playing like a $55 million quarterback to lead the team back to the playoffs.
The team faces a tough schedule ahead, with the Cincinnati Bengals preparing for their upcoming game against the Texans.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who was limited in practice due to back tightness, returned to full throwing practice on Thursday.
What this adds
The Texans' situation is part of a broader trend, with multiple teams struggling to get on track after a poor start.
The team's defensive performance against the Bills, despite the loss, suggests there is potential for improvement.
Background
Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton could return for the playoffs after a 5 1/2-month absence due to calf strains.
What's confirmed
- The Houston Texans find themselves in a familiar position, starting the season 0-3 for the second consecutive year.
- According to CBS Sports, the Texans' struggles are largely due to bad luck and poor offensive performance.
- In last week's game against the Buffalo Bills, the Texans were just a botched interception away from a different outcome.
- The Texans' defense, despite allowing the Bills to score 36 points, showed resilience, with linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair drawing national attention for his activism.
- The Texans' luck, according to win probability data, ranks among the worst in the NFL, with the 53-yard field goal by Spencer Shrader in the Colts' win being the second-most impactful play from a luck perspective.
- Despite these challenges, there is still hope for the Texans to make the playoffs, as evidenced by last year's 0-2 start that led to a postseason berth.
- In 2025, three teams that started 0-2 made the playoffs, including the Texans, Bears, and Panthers.
- The Texans' quarterback, Case Mayfield, needs to step up his game, playing like a $55 million quarterback to lead the team back to the playoffs.
- The team faces a tough schedule ahead, with the Cincinnati Bengals preparing for their upcoming game against the Texans.
- Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who was limited in practice due to back tightness, returned to full throwing practice on Thursday.
What's still developing
- Still, there is room to believe they will reverse their fortunes and get back on the road to the playoffs.
- The Texans stand in a tie with the Los Angeles Chargers for the worst luck rating in the NFL, per TeamRankings, and it is not hard to see why.
- That's brutal." "There's no denying that Josh Allen is once again going to be an MVP candidate, but let's not overlook the fact that their defense allowed the Texans to rack up yards and points against them last week.
- NBA star Kyrie Irving said he would cover an $11,941 fine that the NFL imposed on Houston Texans Pro Bowl linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair for writing Hind Rajab, the name of a Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces, on his eyeblack during Sunday’s game.
- By submitting the above I agree to the privacy policy and terms of use of JTA.org Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was also fined in January for wearing “STOP THE GENOCIDE” on his eyeblack during the NFL playoffs.
- Detroit is coming off a 31-30 overtime win over the New Orleans Saints, while Buffalo held off the Houston Texans 36-31 on Sunday.
- The Texans find themselves on this list for the second straight season, needing to dig themselves out of an early-season hole that provides little room for further missteps.
- The Texans D got beat up by Allen in the opener, yet were a Kamari Lassiter botched INT from this being a very different conversation.
- At the same time, the 0-3 Texans, Chargers, and Buccaneers are all struggling to get on track.
- The Chargers have made the playoffs in each of Harbaugh’s first two seasons, but have failed to get out of the wild card round, losing to the Houston Texans in 2024 and the New England Patriots in 2025.
- The Bengals' official injury report listed Burrow as a limited participant for the second straight day.