In yesterday's disappointing 20-6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Houston Texans were yet again faced with the reality that they're not anywhere close to where they want to be in within the AFC hierarchy.
While injuries to key players definitely haven't helped, Houston also fell victim to another porous display from their offensive line, a dominant Bengals run defense, their anemic special teams unit, a lack of an impactful game plan from their embattled offensive coordinator in Nick Caley, and everything in between. Yet, there were still some positive displays to also highlight on a mistake filled afternoon from Reliant Stadium (I feel like that's the case why too often).
Thus, here are the three risers and six sliders from Houston's 20-6 loss to CIncinnati on Sunday afternoon.
The Houston Texans had three risers and six sliders from their loss against the Cincinnati Bengals
Risers
C.J. Stroud, quarterback
In week two against the bengals, C.J. Stroud more than carried his weight by going 30/55 (54.5%) for 353 yards, zero interceptions and was even the team's leading rusher on the day with 29 yards. Even though he wasn't able to connect with any pass catchers for passing scores, he was one of the only reasons why the contest didn't turn into a larger blowout. He's also the third-leading passer in the NFL yards behind Tyler Shough (New Orleans Saints) and Bryce Young (Carolina Panthers) with 627.
Dalton Schultz, tight end
One of the only bright spots in an otherwise abysmal offensive performance, Dalton Schultz set career high's for production marks in an individual game with his stellar 12 catch, 140-yard outing today against the Bengals' secondary. Even though it didn't lead to any touchdowns--or a team win for that matter--Schultz still proved his worth as a vital piece to Houston's offensive puzzle.
Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, defensive ends
Houston's All-Pro pass rushing duo of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter erupted today against the Bengals after being neutralized against the Buffalo Bills last week. Yesterday, they combined for nine tackles and 2.0 sacks of Burrow on the afternoon, which spearheaded a holistic defensive revival in week two. This helped Houston's defense get off of the field in multiple key spots throughout the contest yesterday afternoon (even though there wasn't much help offered in the secondary).
Sliders
Special Teams (return game)
Across the first two weeks of the 2026 season, Houston's special teams unit has left a lot to be desired. From a kicking standpoint, both punter Kai Kroeger and kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn haven't had the worst of stretches (although Kroeger and Fairbairn didn't have the best of games yesterday respectively). Which leads us to the return game, which has been arguably one of the biggest disappointments for the team thus far.
Between wide receiver Jaylin Noel, cornerback Tremon Smith and running back Woody Marks, not a single players has truly made a difference in open field when given opportunities in the return game. Whether blocking is the problem, or they themselves just aren't navigating their assignments well enough, no one has flipped the field for Houston's offense, thus more pressure is placed on Stroud and co. to have to walk the majority of the field on almost each and every offensive possession.
Reed Blankenship, safety
After two games, the newly acquired Reed Blankenship has been one of the most problematic players in Houston's secondary. He and fellow defensive back Kamari Lassiter combined to sell the farm in week one against the Bills. He then followed that up in week two with yet another subpar performance that saw him allow yet another touchdown reception in coverage during a key moment late in the third quarter that effectively put the game out of reach for the Texans.
Unfortunately, Blankenship looks like the latest miss at safety for a Houston team that's cycled through them multiple times across the last two seasons. Even worse, Blankenship is only on the first year of a three-year, $24.75 million contract that he signed with the Texans in the offseason.
David Montgomery and Woody Marks, running backs
After combining for 102 yards and three total touchdowns last week, the running back duo of David Montgomery and Woody Marks had to follow that up by facing off against the stingy rush defense of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and the Bengals. Unfortunately, they had nowhere close to the same output, finishing with a paltry 18 yards on 14 carries (1.3 yards per carry) across four quarters of play. Without their impact, Houston's offense became painfully one-dimensional, which was instrumental in their 20-6 defeat.
Trent Brown, offensive tackle
Offensive tackle Trent Brown has one of his worst games as a Texan yesterday afternoon. Not only was the 12-year veteran beat multiple times by Bengals pass rushers, he also was responsble for multiple false starts that doomed offensive possessions throughout the contest. For an offense that already has enough problems as it is, Brown simply was a liability on Sunday afternoon.
Nick Caley, offensive coordinator
For me, this was one of the worst playcalling displays I've witnessed by Nick Caley during his short stay in Houston thus far. Sure, he didn't have the services of wide receivers like Nico Collins (hamstring), Jayden Higgins (torn acl) or even Tank Dell (recovery) yesterday. However, his constant forcing of ill-advised runs against a stout Bengals rushing defense left many scratching their heads.
This was especially on the now infamous 4th &1 call from Cincinnati's 18 yard line halfway through the second quarter, where Caley opted to try and jam Montgomery through a clogged line of scrimmage to only watch as the Bengals devoured the play and booted Houston off of the field with no points to speak of. This is the latest is a long line of questionable outings for Caley, as his reputation among fans and local media continues to nose dive along with his play calling abilities under pressure.
Without much imagination or creativity to speak of from Houston's play caller, the prospect of trying to win the day while also having a depleted pass catching unit was far-fetched at best.
DeMeco Ryans, head coach
Ultimately, Houston's head coach in DeMeco Ryans has to take some responsibility for what is yet another 0-2 start under his leadership. This is now the third time in his four seasons that the team has floundered out of the gate, which begs the question of why it is that his squads struggle with early season matchups at an alarmingly high rate of 75% of the time.
He also has to look in the mirror when it has come to his hiring decisions for his coaching staff, as Caley's missteps as a playcaller will be placed at Ryans' feet as the head man.
While Ryans has brought positivity, enthusiasm, intensity and an elite defensive philosophy with him to the Texans, we're also starting to see a troubling pattern with his teams that are starting to slowly erode the good will and confidence that he's earned from the fan base over these four years.
In a Super Bowl window like this, every decision that Ryans makes (or doesn't) most likely will be under a microscope for many from here and out.
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