Offensive struggles have been nothing new for the Houston Texans in 2025. In fact, it's been the story that has defined a mostly disappointing season for the two-time defending AFC South champions. While there have been occasional glimpses of competency and cohesion, for the most part, the Texans offense has been mediocre across the board over their first eight games of the year.
Mediocrity on one side of the ball can be palatable if on the opposite side of the ball there is dominance, and thus far this season, the Texans defense has been dominant. But there's one area offensively where Houston is far below mediocre.
Through nine weeks, the Texans rank 32nd in the NFL in red zone percentage this year. Only 36 percent of their red zone trips have ended with a touchdown, the lowest mark in the league by a significant margin, even worse than the 1-win Tennessee Titans, the 1-win New Orleans Saints, or the 2-win Las Vegas Raiders, all of whom round out the bottom 4 in the ranking.
This issue was on full display in Sunday's loss to the Denver Broncos. Not only did the Texans go the entire game without being able to punch it into the end zone once, they had numerous opportunities inside of the Broncos 20-yard-line, and came away with either 3 points or no points on each of these chances.
"We get down to the one yard line like twice, red zone four or five times, and got to come out of those drives with touchdowns rather than field goals," backup quarterback Davis Mills said after the loss. "I mean, that's the biggest difference in the game."
The 18-15 loss was quite literally a game of inches. The Texans were outgained by 3 yards, and outscored by 3 points. If Houston came away with a touchdown on just one of those goal-to-go opportunities, there would still be the lingering concerns of an ineffective offense, but at least Houston would be 4-4 and right in the mix for the final wild card berth in the AFC.
Depending on who you ask what the source of Houston's red zone struggles have been, you might get a different answer. Frustrated fans will likely point the finger of blame at offensive coordinator Nick Caley, who hasn't yet proven to be the ballyhooed addition he was made out to be after spending years coaching under Bill Belichick and Sean McVay.
But Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans sees things a little differently. In his mind, Houston's inability to put 6 points on the board in goal-to-go situations has been due to a lack of willpower that his team possesses.
"We were in the red zone multiple times as an offense there at the one yard line, had multiple opportunities to get it in," Ryans said. "That's just about, it's sheer willpower to me at the one yard line. We gotta find a way to displace guys at the line of scrimmage and punch the football in. That's what it takes in that situation. We didn't get it done."
No they did not, and unfortunately, the Texans don't have much more room for error before 'getting it done' means nothing for the sake of the 2025 season. With five losses already, the collective back of the Texans is up against the wall. And with injuries piling up and the pressure building, sheer willpower might be all that Houston can rely upon to get out of this hole.