Considering just how much turnover there was on the offensive side of the ball in Houston this offseason, it's not unreasonable or even surprising that there have been some struggles and growing pains across the Texans' first six games of the 2025 season. But with a month and a half of the season already gone, any team would hope to have established an identity, and with each passing week, it's becoming more and more clear that the Texans have yet to do that.
To make matters worse, it's not as if the Texans have been unable to establish an offensive identity this season simply because of subpar personnel, a long list of injuries or a steep learning curve playing under new offensive coordinator Nick Caley. Far more problematic seems to be the fundamental divide that Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans and quarterback CJ Stroud have in terms of defining what the team's philosophy is.
“The identity of our offense is at the end of the day to me, is move the ball. It doesn’t matter,” DeMeco Ryans said this week. People want, oh, we’ll run first, pass for it doesn’t matter. Like if you get four yards, you get four yards is throwing the ball, passing the ball, and offense just has to be efficient."
This statement doesn't provide much clarity as to what the Texans game plan is on a week to week basis. And it would be one thing if Houston could 'roll the balls out' so to speak and bank on 400 yards of total offense and 27 points per game. At that point, who gives a damn if you don't have an 'identity.' But the Texans have proven to be unable to do that unless it's against a Baltimore Ravens defense that was hemorrhaging yards and points even before they lost a handful of starters.
CJ Stroud 'still getting used to' Texans offensive approach
When CJ Stroud was at his best during his rookie season, the Houston Texans offense could be counted on for big plays in the passing game. Right out of the gate, Stroud developed a rapport with both Nico Collins and Tank Dell, and as a result, Stroud led the NFL in passing yards per game in his very first professional season.
But now the Texans offense isn't banking on big plays. They haven't really even prioritized taking those chances. To paraphrase DeMeco Ryans, the Texans seem to be focused more on an efficient offense, even if it means only reliably picking up four yards per play, and that remains an adjustment for Stroud.
“There’s a lot of different ways you can say our identity is. I would say as a mindset thing, it’s more physical... but I think we’re still finding that as time goes on. And I think it could always adjust, but I think we’re finding as as weeks go on,” Stroud said. “And that’s the thing in this offense is like every play just doing your job even if it means gain a two, it’s like that’s what we’re being asked to do. That’s what we’re asked of. That’s something I’m still getting used to.”
Unfortunately, the Texans are running out of time to continue getting acclimated. At 2-4, Houston will need to go at least 7-4 the rest of the way to even have a remote chance of making the Playoffs for a third straight year, and to be fair, a 9-8 record might not even cut it. But until the Texans establish an identity and philosophy that everyone is on board with, the Playoffs should be the furthest thing from their mind.