Following a disappointing 2024 season, the Houston Texans offense was expected to look a whole lot different in 2025. Personnel wise, that's proven to be true. In addition to first-year offensive coordinator Nick Caley, there are four new starters along the offensive line, three new wide receivers for CJ Stroud to throw to, two new running backs filling in for an injured Joe Mixon, and a partridge in a pear tree.
But besides the personnel -- including that partridge -- the Texans offense didn't really look all that different over the course of the first three weeks of the 2025 season. CJ Stroud still looked like he was in a funk. The offensive line still couldn't really block. And Nick Caley's play-calling was causing Texans fans to wonder if there was some sort of Freaky Friday situation going on with Caley and former Texans OC Bobby Slowik.
Then, in Weeks 4 and 5, things started to finally look different. After scoring just 38 points in Weeks 1-3, Houston exploded for 70 points Weeks 4 and 5 combined. Stroud was back to looking like the guy he was during his historic rookie season, the offensive line was protecting a little bit better, and there was a rhyme and reason for the play-calling, which allowed Texans fans to know for certain that this was Nick Caley at work.
So what was the difference? Was it the quality -- or lack thereof -- of the opponents that Houston faced in Weeks 4 and 5 that propped the offense up? Or was there something schematically and philosophically different with how Houston's offense was operating?
Head coach DeMeco Ryans weighs in on Texans turnaround
"The things that have worked the past couple of weeks offensively is just us being able to stay committed to the run game, and run the football," Ryans told members of the media on Wednesday, per Jared Koch of Sports Illustrated. "When you can run the ball, you can sustain drives, that's the key. And that'll be the key for us moving forward."
Ryans' assessment is spot on. Against the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens, Houston's rushing attack finally got going. After mustering just 95 yards per game on the ground in their three losses, Houston gashed Tennessee and Baltimore for an average of 148 yards per game in those two wins, leaning on the Nick Chubb/Woody Marks combo to wear each of these defenses down.
"If we can do that, we can control the line of scrimmage, get positive plays in the running game. That allows Caley to open up the playbook and call whatever he wants," Ryans added. "Whatever he's installed that particular week, everything is at his disposal when you can stay on schedule. And that's what it's been the past two weeks."
Staying on schedule will be much easier said than done this Monday night in Seattle against a Seahawks defense has been just as good as advertised heading into the season.