For DeMeco Ryans, year three was supposed to be about building momentum. Instead, it feels like a desperate scramble to survive. The Texans have opened 0-3, and that skid stretches back to last October’s visit to Lambeau Field. Since that game, the Texans have managed only six wins in 16 tries. Now, the calls for change are getting louder.

Analysts aren’t holding back, pointing the finger directly at Ryans. “DeMeco Ryans gets out-coached by anybody that’s any good in the NFL. He’s not better than Sean McVay, he’s not better than Andy Reid, he’s not better than Harbaugh. When you get out-coached by Liam Coen in his 3rd game, it’s a problem,” Houston Sports Talk Podcast host Robert Land said on Monday. That’s a warning to ownership about where this team is heading.

And the numbers back it up. The Texans’ offense is dead last in points scored, and it’s not even close. Even worse, they’ve only reached the red zone four times all year. Four trips in three games. Zero scores on any of them. Fans in H-Town don’t know what’s more humiliating — failing every time in the red zone, or barely getting there. Either way, it screams dysfunction.

Furthermore, the red zone is literally the area where points are supposed to happen. It’s inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, steps away from the end zone. Yet Houston looks like it couldn’t be far away from crossing the goal line. Whatever vision Ryans had for this offense, it’s not showing up when the field gets short. But what does Ryans think of this situation?

DeMeco Ryans addresses Texans’ 0-3 start

While the scorelines show tight games, the reality is that Houston is one of six winless teams left. DeMeco Ryans admitted as much after Monday’s presser. “It’s not encouraging to be in close. We want to win games,” he said. The frustration was clear because being close is not the standard in Space City. Battle Red fans don’t want moral victories.

And the heartbreak has piled up fast. In Week 1, Houston managed just nine points in a second-half collapse to the Rams. Then came Tampa Bay, where they gave up a touchdown with six seconds left in a 20-19 loss. On Sunday in Jacksonville, it was a tie game until the Jags scored with under two minutes left. “We were close in our three games. We were there in the fourth quarter,” Ryans said. But being there doesn’t mean closing.

Ryans stressed that point again. “I’m not talking about close as a team, I’m talking about winning the football game,” he said. He doubled down that this team has had chances late but has failed to make the key plays. For him, the issue isn’t effort—it’s execution. He believes the Texans have battled, but fourth quarters have defined the 0-3 hole. Until they flip that script, nothing changes.

Now the urgency spikes. Houston hosts Tennessee next, with the loser sinking to 0-4 and the AFC South basement. Even worse, a trip to Baltimore looms in Week 5. For Ryans and the Texans, Sunday feels like a must-win before the season spirals out of reach.