There are three phases of football to be played in every NFL match up, those obviously being offense, defense and special teams. However, one can make the argument that penalties can be looked at as an unofficial fourth phase that can be just as impactful as the previous three.
A penalty can be the difference between a 50-yard gain and a 10-yard loss. It can also determine whether or not a game was either won via a 35-yard field goal, or prolonged for a riskier second attempt due to a false start by the center whose job was to not lift his head too fast. Those extra 5-10 yards of play can be the difference between a Lombardi trophy being added to the collection, or watching helplessly while confetti in another team's colors rain down upon you and the entire stadium after a stunning defeat. An NFL penalty is truly one of the most punitive in all of professional sports.
The Houston Texans know this fact all too well, as they have been one of the most penalized teams in the sport over the last three years. As a result, drives have been halted, points have been wiped off the board, chunk plays have been erased and game endings were causing heart palpitations when there was entirely no need for such a conclusion. The statistics paint an even uglier picture than any words could.
[Note: all following all stats according to ESPN.com, NFLPenalties.com and TeamRankings.com]
The Texans have had a glaring penalty issue for years now
Since 2023, the Texans have finished every season as one of the 10 most whistled groups in the NFL. From 2023-2024, they actually landed within the top-five. For reference, here's a chart that details their on-field transgressions in that time span:
Year | Total Flags | Decline/Offset | Enforced | Rank (by enforced) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | 131 | 17 | 114 | 4th-most |
2024 | 135 | 16 | 119 | Tied for 5th-most |
2025 | 141 | 23 | 118 | Tied for 8th-most |
By yardage cost, they lost themselves the fifth-most in 2023 (937), the seventh-most in 2024 (981) and the seventh-most again in 2025 (989). They've lost an increasing amount of yards in penalties in every season of this new era of Texans football, and it's one of the most undersold reasons as to why the organization hasn't taken any further steps in their of-field proficiency in high-pressure situations.
For even more clarity, here's a breakdown of the specific implications of Houston's penalties nightmares, starting with pre-snap calls:
Pre-snap penalties called
- 2023: 41 (11th-most)
- 2024: 46 (Tied for ninth-most)
- 2025: 40 (Tied for 15th)
So, even though 2025 saw their lowest pre-snap penalty count in the DeMeco Ryans era, they still finished worse than 14 other NFL teams. As a whole, the last time Houston finished with less than 40 was back in 2022, when they had 38 whistles before the play (still tied for ninth-most).
Then, here are the penalty categories that the Texans were primary culprits of in 2025 (meaning being in the top-10 of):
Offensive penalties:
- Offensive Holding: 19 (tied for third-most)
- Offensive Pass Interference: 3 (tied for eighth-most)
Defensive penalties:
- Offsides: 9 (second-most)
- Illegal Contact: 5 (tied for the most)
- Defensive Pass Interference: 9 (tied for ninth-most)
- Unnecessary Roughness: 7 (tied for seventh-most)
Other/Miscellaneous penalties:
- Other: 38 (second-most) [think of special teams, random and/or penalties, etc.]
With this in mind, one can see how devastating it's been at multiple high-leverage points throughout these three "golden years" that the Texans have experienced. There have been several would-be iconic moments that have been erased from the franchise's record books due to these on-field mishaps. Drives were extended, touchdowns turned to field goals and field goals turned into disheartening punts.
By comparison, the best teams in the NFL haven't been anywhere close to these levels of self-inflicted wounding. Playoff contenders like the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots and even the Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks finished their respective 2025 seasons within the top-eight for fewest total penalties enforced against them. The best teams fielded the best habits, and the best habits helped produce the best teams.
The best teams have some of the best habits
That type of discipline leads to faster offensive operations, more explosive point totals, less time with their defenses on the field, less wasted possessions, less dependance field goals and a situational awareness that leads to clutch victories over opponents who lack self-control/execution on the biggest of stages.
Penalties are momentum killers for the team, and comeback generators for the opposition. This is why penalties in particular have to be more of a focus heading into year four of Ryans' tenure as the head man in Houston. Thankfully, with reports circulating that an emphasis on getting "smarter" as a unit exists, as well as Houston's offense becoming more efficient with its pre-snap mechanics and technique, maybe they'll finally shake the narrative of being an undisciplined team.
If their overall football IQ and self-restraint can improve to match up with the upper echelon teams in the NFL, Houston becomes that much more dangerous as a Super Bowl threat. Coupling supreme intelligence with overwhelming physicality can make for vast improvement without a ball ever being snapped.
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