Through three weeks of NFL play in 2026, Houston Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley has some adjusting to do if he hopes to field a competent offensive unit anytime before the week eight bye. It seems like regardless of what he's tried since Houston's opening shootout with the Buffalo Bills in game one, his unit has done nothing but produce some of the worst offensive production this franchise has seen since they're 0-3 starting record that occured last season.
While there are many reasons for why the current product looks as mangled as it does, there's also been just as many excuses given to justify maintaining what's objectively been ineffective game designing by Caley to open the campaign.
With that said, here are two instant fixes that--if Caley were to implement them ahead of Houston's week four match up with the Dallas Cowboys--should allow the offense to show immediate growth while awaiting long term fixes down the line.
There are two fixes for the Houston Texans offense that Nick Caley can implement ahead of Dallas Cowboys match up
Stop forcing runs against prepared defenses
As of today, Caley's rushing offense is responsible for sporting the league's highest runs stuffed rate at 25.4%, which clears the next-worst team by a whole 4.1%. In other words, one out of every four runs by either David Montgomery or Woody Marks will be crushed at the line of scrimmage (or a TFL). Houston's unstable offensive line has a lot to do with those results.
Another large portion of that is due to Caley's stubbornness with attempting to force runs through the teeth of waiting defensive tackles and linebackers in obvious running situations, as opposed to utilizing creative play designs and/or timely outside runs to stretch out defenders' running paths to the length of the entire field.
Along with that, Caley's rushing game planning (along with injuries to receivers) has led to other porous rankings of: (per NFL Next Gen Stats)
- -7.7 rushing EPA (22nd)
- 36.6% rushing success rate (25th)
- -18 rushing yards over expected (22nd)
- 1.07 rushing yards before contact per carry (20th)
- 31% stacked box rate (fifth-highest)
Instead of forcing runs, Houston needs to start weaponizing the passing game a lot more against opposing defenses. At the very least, use an aerial assault to set up future runs.
Utilize a wider range of pass catchers
After three games, the Texans' passing-catching group as a whole has divvied up target shares of:
- Dalton Schultz (tight end): 25
- Xavier Hutchinson (wide receiver): 21
- Jared Wayne (wide receiver): 12
- Kayshon Boutte (wide receiver): 10
- Jaylin Noel (wide receiver): 9
Even though Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins' absence is the main reason for why certain options have gotten more attention than normal, the reality is that there are still problems with the division of opportunties through three weeks.
For example, why is Houston's "prized trade acquisition" in Boutte two targets behind Wayne? And while we're at it, why is Houston's downfield dynamo in Noel 12 targets behind the leading target-getter in Hutchinson when he's arguably the most explosive offensive weapon the Texans have in the group at the moment?
Even with major injuries to key skill players, Caley's current prioritization of players has confounded many analysts and fans who've watched their disastrous opening three-game stretch. Changes must be made to those getting the most shots in the passing game if the Texans want even the slightest chance of having a more dynamic offense while waiting on reinforcements to arrive soon (Collins, Dell?)
That means featuring players like rookie tight end Marlin Klein, Marks, Montgomery and even tight end Brevin Jordan if he's healthy enough (just saying). Caley needs to diversify, and that starts with not overly depending on one player over the other based on subjective design preferences or "veteran trustworhtiness".
Add us as a preferred source on Google