It’s week 3 of the NFL 2025 season, and the Houston Texans are still scrambling for their first victory. With a 0-3 score, they have repeated their worst start of the season since 2020. Whom to blame for the Texans’ NFL 2025 season struggle? It’s obviously the offense that has hit rock bottom. In three games, the team has managed only 38 points and has completed 59 attempts out of 89. This paints a dull picture of the new OC, Nick Caley, who’s failed to set up his offensive line to protect CJ Stroud.

The Texans didn’t like their offense last year, as they ranked 22 in total yards, averaging 319.7 yards per game. So they underwent some changes, including doing away with their best lineman last season, Laremy Tunsil. But the changes weren’t confined to just players, as OC Bobby Slowik was replaced by Nick Caley. But for the second straight season, CJ Stroud is not getting much help.

Nick Caley’s appointment was meant to breathe new life into this offense. But one look at the stats shows that not much improvement has been made. No receiver, including Stroud’s lone ally, Nico Collins, has more than 77 yards this season. Nick Chubb hasn’t been bad, but the Texans have just 139 rushing yards, not counting Stroud’s scrambles. 

After a 10-17 loss to a divisional rival Jaguars, the Texans are currently 12.7 points per game. C.J Stroud completed the match without a touchdown and was 25-for-38 for 204 yards. He even had two interceptions against the Jaguars. Although Stroud brought back the team from 10-3 to a tied game with a 50-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter, the final two Houston drives ended with a Collins fumble and a Stroud interception. In the last three games, Stroud has three interceptions, two TDs, and 599 yards.

These holes in the DeMaco Ryan’s teams’ game clearly mirror ones they had last season as well.

CJ Stroud’s Texans are replaying their 2024 missteps

Last year, the Texans failed massively to protect their QB, as evidenced by their stats. Stroud was pressured on 39.4% of his dropbacks, which was the 31st-highest dropback percentage in the NFL in 2024. He was sacked 52 times, and the average total sacks per game of the Texans was 3.18. The team’s guards and center also performed poorly, as evidenced by the team’s 27th ranking in pass-blocking grade and 31st in pressure rate. And now, it looks like the Texans are repeating the same mistakes. 

Stroud has already been sacked 8 times this season, and 3 of those sacks came in the last match. Other than Nico Collins, no receiver has more than 77 yards this season, but it was Collins in the last game who had a fumble. Stroud has also faced pressures on 37.7% of his dropbacks, which is almost similar to his last year’s average. 

It’s just week 3, but the Texans are already finding themselves sinking fast into offensive issues. If they wish to keep the hopes high, a win against the Tennessee Titans in their next match becomes crucial.