Earning the title of the most disappointing team, the Houston Texans dropped to 0-3. The general narrative around the league? CJ Stroud’s slump is becoming an issue. In the last three losses, the quarterback racked up only 599 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 76.9. But is it really Stroud failing to meet expectations, or is the offense around him not doing its job? Analyst Greg Cosell picked the latter. 

If Week 3 did anything, it put the Texans’ patchwork offense in the spotlight. Not the kind they wanted. Stroud appeared overwhelmed as he finished the game with two interceptions and a mere 204 yards. The run game is literally crawling on the gridiron and managed to log just 139 yards (outside the QB’s scrambles). Turnovers are becoming a concern. Stroud has been stacked numerous times with no offense to rely upon and protect the starting quarterback. At this point, Cosell claimed that Stroud may have lost faith in his team’s offense.  

“Stroud has not been a confident thrower,” asserted analyst Cosell. Going back to his rookie season, Stroud’s “timing and anticipation” while making big throws was a big win for the Texans. That’s how he completed his rookie campaign with 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, and a passer rating of 100.8. Now? “He too often does not see those throws as viable, and he’s not turning them loose, and he’s getting stuck in the pocket,” he added. 

Cosell emphasized that the former Offensive Player of the Year isn’t a playmaker. But a pocket quarterback. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t get out of the pocket to make big plays, but the bottom line is, “He has to win from the pocket. Right now, they’re not really winning from the pocket consistently enough.”

On top of that, they are the worst third-down conversion offense as they’ve only converted 24.24% of their third downs. It’s been the same since 2022. “It’s been a little bit of an uncomfortable watch because Stroud is not a comfortable player right now,” the analyst concluded. 

The offense alone isn’t falling apart in Houston. The air smelled bitter on Sunday afternoon as cameras zoomed in on head coach DeMeco Ryans and offensive coordinator Nick Caley on the sideline. From the looks of it, Ryans appeared to be berating Caley. But he denied any such thing.

“I was talking to the official. No, I was not yelling at anybody on our sideline, any coaches, any players. I’m too cool for that,” he explained. If we take Ryans’ word for it, he may not have yelled at Caley so far, but if the offense continues to feel patchwork, that day might come soon. 

DeMeco Ryans won’t panic over Texans’ offensive failures

Despite the experts’ take on how poor the Texans’ offense has been and the 0-3 season standing, head coach Ryans has decided to keep his cool. His Sunday sideline reaction was against a referee, who didn’t allow his team to run their tempo offense. But what about the other parts where the offense failed? He has confidence that they’ll get better. 

“Of course, we want to play better offensively, right?” he told the reporters. “He just got it. We’re all sticking together. We got to find a way to make sure we figure it out, and we will, because I know we have the right people.” Stroud felt the same when the season began, claiming, “I’m really proud of is that they’re dogs from left to right.” Ask him today, and his response might not be the same. 

According to the head coach, the team needs to “figure things out,” rather than deciding who’s going to get fired. It might have worked if the offensive line under Caley had shown some hope. There’s little room for patience, since history shows that even with a reliable quarterback, an inconsistent offense can bring the whole team down.