The Houston Texans had high expectations heading into this season. After all, this is a team that made the playoffs every year since C.J. Stroud took over at quarterback in 2023. Instead, the team is struggling mightily in what was supposed to be a winnable division.
After starting 0-2 on the year, the Texans had a winnable game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars gave the Texans every opportunity imaginable, including the offense having five dropped passes and Trevor Lawrence having a rough game. The problem was that Houston's offense was bland and downright awful on Sunday, resulting in a 17-10 loss to fall to 0-3 on the season.
It may only be three games into the 2025 campaign with plenty of time to turn things around. But, the fanbase has become sick and tired of offensive coordinator Nick Caley calling plays.
Texans fans have seen enough of Nick Caley as offensive coordinator after team falls to 0-3
Let's take a look at some of the reactions from Texans fans, Houston reporters, and football fans in general after the gut-wrenching loss on Sunday.
The Texans going from Bobby Slowik to Nick Caley pic.twitter.com/DmvRCBZU6a
— ᵂᴵᴸᴸ (@BiasedHouston) September 21, 2025
Nick Caley tomorrow pic.twitter.com/fooS6Uh3mw
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) September 21, 2025
Texans call a timeout on 3rd and 12
— DJ Bien-Aime (@Djbienaime) September 21, 2025
Play call. Nick Chubb run during the 2 min drill.
Nick Caley ? pic.twitter.com/TpMJnXys9J
You gotta fire Nick Caley before he get you fired Demeco
— Dr. Barrett (@TheCoreyBarrett) September 21, 2025
Bro, I’m ready to cut bait with Nick Caley right now.
— Bonda (@BenOndaTop) September 21, 2025
Nick Caley 3rd & 12 screen well in field goal range pic.twitter.com/S1IO1Z7dX4
— Nico (@elitetakes_) September 21, 2025
After the Texans lost in the Divisional Round to the Kansas City Chiefs, the team parted ways with then-offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik as the offensive production took a dip. So, head coach DeMeco Ryans looked towards the Los Angeles Rams and poached tight ends coach Nick Caley away from Sean McVay. The hope was that the Texans offense would take a significant leap forward with some of the Rams' offensive philosphy heading over to Houston.
So far, the offense is actually worse than before. Let's take a look at the team's numbers through the first two weeks of the season.
Week # (opponent) | Total Plays | Total Yards | 3rd Down Conversion | 4th Down Conversion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 (at Los Angeles Rams) | 57 | 265 | 2-for-9 | 1-for-1 |
2 (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers) | 46 | 266 | 2-for-9 | 0-for-1 |
Eerily similar numbers for the offense as a whole in each of the first two games of the season. But what about on Sunday in Jacksonville?
The Texans gained 271 yards of offense on 59 plays, while converting on just 4-of-15 third down plays. That third down efficiency rate is downright abysmal, but look at some of the situations they had to convert on, courtesy of ESPN's Bill Barnwell.
More of the same for the Texans. On different drives today they've faced:
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) September 21, 2025
- Third-and-12
- Third-and-22
- Third-and-14
- Third-and-12
- Third-and-13
That is an obvious reason why the team couldn't win a game that the Jaguars tried handing to them repeatedly. As fans pointed out, the play-calling by Caley was dumbfounding, to say the least. Some of those play-calls, they were either runs up the middle or screen passes.
Even though Texans fans wanted Caley gone, Ryans isn't giving up on him yet, as evidenced by his comments of support after the game.
"Of course, we want to play better, offensively. We just got to all stick together. We've all got to make sure we figure it out, and we will. Because I know we have the right people. We got the right staff, we got the right players. We just got to figure it all out, and we got to go show it," said Ryans.
The Texans will look to get in the win column for the first time next week when they take on the San Francisco 49ers. Maybe, just maybe, the offense under Caley wakes up?