For the second consecutive year, the Houston Texans have begun their season 0-2 after their latest loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at home.
While defense was the issue in the first week, offense was the issue this past week – issues that looked similar to the ones in 2025.
Welcome to JMA’s Texans mailbag. There are several ways you can ask a question. Mention me on X, send me an email or fill out the form below.
Let’s get to your questions, which may be lightly edited for brevity and/or clarity:
Q: Schematically, what realistic adjustments can Nick Caley and the offense make in the interim while waiting on the returns of players like Nico Collins and/or Tank Dell? Against the Colts in particular?
JMA: Let’s start with the Colts. Their defense has struggled against the run this season, having allowed the second-most rushing yards (354) and rushing touchdowns (four) in the league through two games this season.
I’d expect the Texans could use a lot more 12 personnel (two tight ends, two receivers) and 13 personnel groupings (three tight ends, one receiver) than they did last week, and better establish the run.
Last week, they rarely used those groupings because they fell behind so early and needed to pass the ball.
But I think this game presents an opportunity to do that.
The hope for the Texans is that if Collins doesn’t return this week, then he could at least return in time for the Cowboys in Week 4.
Q: So far the Texans look like the Texans of last year. Eventually things got better over the course of last season, so what will it take for that to happen this year?
JMA: It starts by getting their first win, and developing some confidence. This is a must-win game for the Texans, not only because they don’t want to start 0-3, but also because an 0-3 start would also mean they would have lost their first three AFC games, which are needed for end-of-season tiebreakers.
The Texans have to get better with their run blocking. I don’t know if this is the right starting group on their offensive line. At some point, the Texans may have to give Keylan Rutledge a look at center and take a chance with Wyatt Teller at left guard. Evan Brown hasn’t played well at center.
And they also have to get healthy. The Texans aren’t going to win many games without Nico Collins, who is their most explosive playmaker on offense.
Q: What are the odds (Nick) Caserio bites the bullet and tries to trade for a (Stefon) Diggs/(Marvin Harrison Jr.) type, teams who are not going or trying to win this year and have players who might want to play for a contender or need a change of scenery –
JMA: I would never say never but at this point, the odds are low. The Texans will get Collins back soon, and expect to get Tank Dell back at some point this year, too.
Those additions alone would be better options than getting Diggs or Harrison midseason.
It’s not impossible, but it’s difficult for receivers to get involved with a new team halfway through a season. The Texans will first want to see how Dell looks before making a decision like that. Also, the film on Harrison isn’t good. He’s talented, but he’s running his routes at half-speed and giving little effort on some of his blocks.
Mind you, we could be having a totally different conversation at the deadline. But for now, the odds are low.
Q: Who will end up having to pull the plug on (Nick) Caley?– Ozzy
JMA:
Against the Bengals, there’s only but so much you can put on Caley in this situation. Sure, he didn’t call his best game.
But one bad loss, when you were missing your best and most important weapon isn’t a cause for firing someone. The Texans are one game behind in the division with 15 games remaining.
Q: When will the Texans’ defensive coordinator start taking some heat for allowing other teams’ wide receivers to be wide-open, resulting in points for the other team? When will there be any changes made in the secondary to mitigate this obvious problem?
JMA: That’s not on the defensive coordinator as much as it is on the player, Reed Blankenship, for taking the wrong angles on explosive plays.
If there is an area for criticism for Matt Burke or DeMeco Ryans, it’s that the Texans’ defensive staff ought look to put Blankenship in better positions that suit his strengths and not his weaknesses.
He’s been terrible in coverage so far. I’d expect his leash will be even shorter when veteran safety M.J. Stewart returns. Right now, the only player behind him is rookie Kamari Ramsey.
Q: Given how effective the tush push has been around the league, what’s the reason for not having Cade Stover involved in that package as it was last year for short-yardage situations? Is it personnel, execution, or simply a schematic decision? – King Koopa
JMA: They used the quarterback sneak with Stover out of necessity last year to avoid any unnecessary collisions with C.J. Stroud, who had suffered one earlier in the year. I’d expect that they were more confident in David Montgomery’s ability to get a couple of inches.
As for whether they could use Stover again in that scenario? Possibly. Ryans was asked about it, and didn’t care to reveal it. It’s not something they’re be willing to talk about considering other teams are watching.
Q: What are the odds of Braden Smith starting when he comes back? –
JMA: I’d think the odds are great, especially considering how poorly Trent Brown played last week. You can’t give up 12 pressures in a game and expect to keep your job for long. Now obviously some of those pressures are skewed because the Texans passed so often in the second half.
But still, 12 is too much. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Blake Fisher getting an opportunity, if this continued.
Q: You think the offensive line can play to a higher standard? Worried the ceiling of this team just got capped –
JMA: I can’t say for certain without seeing it. But what I can is the Texans at least have options. When Ed Ingram returns, the Texans can start Keylan Rutledge at center and move Wyatt Teller to left guard.
Or they could replace Evan Brown at center with Jake Andrews, while keeping the rest of the line intact.
They could also start Braden Smith at right tackle when he returns from injury. Changes on the offensive line might be necessary to see them play at a higher level.
Q: Should the Texans re-evaluate preseason games? Slow starts happening annually. Last year, we won nine in a row. Cannot depend on that every year.
JMA:
It’s not an easy decision. Ryans is trying to balance keeping his starters healthy before the season and not risk them getting hurt in an exhibition.
Just by the injuries in the first two weeks alone, we can see how important for teams to stay healthy to have success. I’d think Ryans is fine with his decision to rest his defensive starters. After a slow start in the first week, they were much better in Week 2.
The starters on offense, who did play in the preseason some, struggled this past week.
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Q: Why is Woody Marks, your second-string running back, on kickoff returns?
JMA: The unofficial depth chart isn’t done by the coaching staff, so I wouldn’t pay much attention to that.
Marks returned most of the kickoffs in last week’s game, so he was the primary returner. The Texans switched it up from Jaylin Noel, who hasn’t quite been able to break one loose this year.
Q: After two games, what flaws are you seeing with this Texans team? And what, if anything, is easily fixable?
JMA: The flaws, as I’ve mentioned earlier, are along the offensive line. They haven’t been able to run block at a high level consistently. And this iteration of the offensive line will always get dominated against top defensive lines.
Another flaw is their lack of playmakers. Whenever Nico Collins is out, the Texans struggle to stretch the field.
Collins opens up things for other receivers. It is easily fixable? No. But can it be fixed? Yes. The Texans can switch up their offensive line combination and get their best weapon back.
Q: Arch Manning or Jeremiah Smith with next year’s #1 pick?
JMA:
But just to entertain this scenario, Smith would be the way to go. He has generational attributes.
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This article originally published at Mailbag: Could the Texans trade for Marvin Harrison Jr.? What happened to Cade Stover tush push?.
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