There are certain Houston Texans related traditions that feel good, that exhilarate, that are fun and add to game day. Screaming “FIRST DOWN” after the Texans move the chains on offense, pointing to the sky balling with Will Anderson after he sacks another quarterback, and enjoying the smooth stylings of the team’s mariachi band during stoppages are a few of the more pleasant elements to a Sunday at Reliant Stadium.
Here’s one tradition that I could do without — the Texans’ starting the season with an 0-2 record under DeMeco Ryans. To be completely fair, it hasn’t been all four seasons with Ryans as head coach, just three of the four. However, it’s now been two seasons in a row in which the Texans entered with Super Bowl hopes, and all of a sudden, they are paddling upstream before October even hits.
Now, if this us just how it’s going to be, though, we may as well lean into it, embrace it, and provide the best damn 0-2 content that we possibly can. In other words, I’d rather inform and entertain regarding an 0-2 start than sit and complain about it, with no real purpose. With that in mind, here are a few thoughts and tidbits to help guide you during this tumultuous 0-2 time:
**So, at 0-2, how badly have the Texans torpedoed their playoff hopes?**
Like many topics for the fans of the early season, winless squad, we should be able to recite some of these statistics, chapter and verse. In case you cannot, here you go — since 2020, which was the COVID season, when the league expanded the playoffs to 14 teams, seven per conference, 16 percent of the teams to start 0-2 have made the playoffs. It’s a jarring stat, until you realize that most of those teams probably weren’t on to finish with six or fewer wins, and were just never in a playoff conversation to begin with. For what it’s worth, with DeMeco Ryans, the Texans have made the playoffs in both of his previous 0-2 starts.
**Where do the Texans rank among the eight 0-2 teams through two weeks?**
This is a far more subjective topic, where it’s really just evaluation with our own eyes, but it is something people love to discuss, nonetheless, if for other reason than to feel better about brighter days ahead amidst an 0-2 start. Here are the eight teams that gave started this season 0-2 — Miami, Atlanta, Washington, Tennessee, the Chargers, Tampa Bay, Indy, and the Texans. The only teams where there is a debate as to whether or not they are better than the Texans are the Chargers, and maybe the Colts and Buccaneers. The Texans will settle the Colts debate on the field next week. The Chargers’ two losses are to the worst and third worst teams in the league last season (Las Vegas and Arizona), and the Bucs lost to the Browns. End of subject. The Texans are the best of the worst!
**Who’s to blame for this two week debacle?**
Certainly, with all three phases — offense, defense, special teams — failing miserably at some point during the first two games, there’s plenty of blame to go around. For what it’s worth, if we are whittling it down to individuals, here is how Texans fans voted on this topic, courtesy of Houston Stressans on Twitter:
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> — Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) [September 20, 2026](https://x.com/TexansCommenter/status/2101819874292990426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Indeed, it’s not a great time for Nick Caley right now.
**Will 0-2 become 0-3 like last season?**
We’ll find out in four days, when the Texans travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts. The Texans are 1.5 point favorites, as of Tuesday, which essentially means the game is a coin flip. The Colts are coming off a hard fought, overtime loss to the Chiefs on prime time in Kansas City last Sunday. DeMeco Ryans has won five straight games against the Colts. Even if the Texans win this game, they are not anywhere close to being out of the danger zone at 1-2, but losing this game would be an unmitigated disaster. They’re saying that same thing in Indy. For a battle of 0-2 teams, the theater should be fantastic this Sunday.