The team may be 1-4 but C.J. Stroud is having a good season so far this year. Credit: Cody Barclay
For the second straight Houston Texans season, 0-2 became 0-3, and then in soul-crushing fashion, 0-3 became 0-4, and one thing became quite evident — the Texans just needed a win. It didn’t matter what the final score was. Style points didn’t matter. The Texans just needed a game where they finished with more points then their opponent.
Nashville was largely kind to the Texans, save for a few new bumps and bruises, as C.J. Stroud continued his outstanding play, leading the team to its first win of the 2026 campaign, as they smothered the Tennessee Titans by a score of 26-3.
WINNERS
4. DeMeco Ryans
Between the botched clock management at the end of the Week 3 loss to the Colts and the general malaise over the defense, through four games, the first month of this season has easily been the most tumultuous month of Ryans’ tenure in Houston as head coach. His response this week was to take play calling duties back from defensive coordinator Matt Burke. One game in, it looks like an excellent decision. Granted, Ryans had the benefit of playing chess against arguably the worst offense in football, but they locked the Titans down. Other than a field goal on the Titans’ first drive, while this was still a game, the Titans could muster nothing offensively. Through three quarters, Cam Ward had 80 yards passing. The weight class of the opponent goes way up next weekend in London against the Jaguars.
3. Ka’imi Fairbairn
In a season where the Texans’ special teams have been as big a negative contributor to their 0-4 (now 1-4) record as any part of the team, Fairbairn has been a bright spot. On Sunday, when the team was moving the ball between the 20 yard lines, but couldn’t punch it in the end zone, Fairbairn provided all the scoring in the first half for the Texans with field goals from 45, 35, 26, and 53 yards, staking the Texans to a 12-3 lead at halftime. Fairbairn made both of his extra points, as well.
2. Marvin Harrison, Jr.
The biggest Texans news nationally from the weekend had nothing to do with the win over the Titans. Late Saturday morning, rumors began to circulate that Arizona would be trading disappointing wide receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr. The rumors led to reports that a trade of Harrison had been agreed to, but would not be announced until after the games on Sunday. The Texans were the team most of the insiders pointed to for Harrison’s landing spot. Harrison, who entered the league in 2024 with “generational talent” level buzz, has been veering rapidly into bust territory, with just five catches this season. I’ll write more about Harrison this week, as the trade was confirmed right after the game ended on Sunday, but right now, just getting out of Arizona makes Harrison a winner.
1. C.J. Stroud
If Harrison does land in Houston, he will be reunited with C.J. Stroud, as the two were teammates at Ohio State earlier in the decade. I’m guessing that reunion is a big part of any calculus that says a Harrison trade to the Texans makes sense. As for Sunday, Stroud was once again excellent, coming away turnover free, making a bunch of tough throws that very few other humans can make, including his touchdown pass to Jaylin Noel to make the score 26-3. Stroud even got into the end zone on a designed run. This team is 1-4 right now, but Stroud has played “4-1 level” football.
LOSERS
4. Injured and ineffective David Montgomery
In Week 1, Montgomery scored three touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills, and it looked like the trade to bring him in here was a marriage made in heaven. Since then, it’s been a disaster. Montgomery has to be wishing he was still in Detroit right now, running behind their offensive line. Since that Week 1 opener, Montgomery has carried 32 times for a paltry 78 yards, and on Sunday, he left the win over Tennessee with a groin injury. In the short term, this probably works out better for the Texans who can lean more into Woody Marks at running back. Marks has been the more vibrant runner all season long.
3. Nick Caley
Last week, DeMeco Ryans did not want to address any criticism towards Caley, as the 30 points generated by the offense was deemed good enough by the head coach. I suppose 26 points, especially in a lopsided win was fine, too. Still, Caley’s predictability in the first half was a big reason why the Texans couldn’t finish drives in the end zone. When I’m watching the games with my colleagues, we are literally calling many of the run plays that Caley dials up before the Texans snap the ball. In the fourth quarter, with the Texans up 26-3, Caley dropped Stroud back to throw and the quarterback got sacked by two Titans. Putting your best player in harm’s way up 23 points is inexcusable. Caley’s improved, but he is still a liability, and I’m not sure he’s the guy I trust to integrate Harrison into the offense. It’s going to be an interesting next few weeks.
2. Titans fans
I’m not saying that Titans fans are losers in the typical way that people make fun of Tennessee, calling them “toothless hillbillies” or other such insults. Most of them actually have a full set of teeth, which is rare for a bunch of hillbillies. I’m not saying they are losers because their team loses. A LOT. I am saying that they are victims in a losing situation, where their catty owner has flushed the color scheme and logo that essentially represented the Tennessee history of the franchise — you know, the place where all of their fans ACTUALLY LIVE — and swapped it out for her cosplay fantasy of having the color scheme from her daddy’s old team. You know, the one in HOUSTON. These poor hillbillies, man. I feel for them.
1. Cam Ward
His sophomore season in the NFl has not gone even close to how Ward may have planned it, with the Titans, five weeks in, one of just five winless teams still remaining. Ward himself has been awful, and now he’s getting asked questions after games like “Are you getting used to losing?”
Cam Ward has not and will not get used to losing pic.twitter.com/m9FHhd1EDG
— PFF (@PFF) October 11, 2026
In the grand scheme of the hundreds of millions of humans on the planet, Ward is not a loser. He’s a millionaire who has one of just 32 jobs that exist in his chosen field. However, for purposes of the NFL in Week 5? BIG TIME loser.