NFL Week 9: Broncos 18, Texans 15

Well, the Houston Texans’ 2025 season was officially pushed to the brink on Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium, in a costly 18-15 loss to the Denver Broncos. Sure, there was the loss itself, which pushed the Texans precariously close to the mathematical abyss at 3-5. But there was so much more.

First and foremost, the Texans lost their quarterback C.J. Stroud, for the second time in three seasons, to a concussion, on a nasty open field hit in which Stroud had given himself up on a slide. However, the Texans also lost their best offensive lineman, Tytus Howard, to a concussion. 

On top of that, the Texans not only lost the game, but performed embarrassingly poorly across the board on offense, particularly in the red zone, squandering two 1st-and-goal situations inside the Broncos’ two yard line. Put simply, this offense is a joke. It’s an abomination, and there is no help on the way. We will discuss that below. 

For now, on yet another infuriating Sunday, here are the winners and losers: 

WINNERS

4. Texans special teams 

In what we knew would be a low scoring game, between two sensational defenses, big plays on special teams could look large. The Texans’ special teams are what essentially staked them to the 15-7 lead that they held into the fourth quarter. A recovery of a buffed punt right before halftime handed the Texans a field goal, and a 12-7 lead. Jaylin Noel’s 45 yard punt return set up the Texans’ final field goal. Another Noel punt return and a Bronco face mask penalty gave the Texans the ball at their own 44 yard line. Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked five field goals. Tommy Townsend punted frequently and very well. Frank Ross had his guys ready to go. 

3. Kamari Lassiter

The Texans’ defense, as a whole, performed well enough to win this game. 18 points allowed is above their season average, but their season average is the best in the NFL. Considering the Texans’ offense had five straight second half series end in punts, on a total of 18 plays, there was no rest for the weary. Lassiter probably best embodied the day for the Texans’ defense, as he lead the team in tackles and was largely excellent in pass coverage. The second year corner is really coming into his own.

2. Janice McNair 

Aside from the effect on the standings, the most disappointing thing about Sunday’s loss is that it occurred on the day in which the franchise’s co-founder and matriarch, Janice McNair, was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor. An active philanthropist and outstanding human being, she deserved a better outcome in this game. By the way, this is the first loss for the Texans on the day of a Ring of Honor enshrinement. The days celebrating Andre Johnson, J.J. Watt, and Bob McNair all ended in victory on the field.

1. Sean Payton

Back in the 2023 coaching carousel season, Payton and DeMeco Ryans were arguably the two biggest names. Every team in the market for a head coach wanted to talk to Ryans, and the Texans actually talked to Payton in a first interview, before eventually hiring Ryans. While Ryans’ defense dominated Payton’s offense throughout the afternoon, it was eventually Payton’s offense that was able to make enough plays, and take advantage of questionable Ryans decision making (more on that in a moment) to get the win.

LOSERS

4. C.J. Stroud

Stroud was off to a decent enough start, 6 of 10 for 79 yards, until the second quarter, when Broncos defensive back Kris Abrams-Draine splattered Stroud’s brains with a heavy hit on a Stroud scramble. Stroud gave a thumbs up as he was leaving the field, after being down on his back for several minutes, but he is now in concussion protocol, and will likely miss some time. 

3. Davis Mills

This means that it’s onto the Texans’ backup quarterback, Davis MIlls, who is now in his fifth year with the team. Like Stroud, Mills is in his first season in Nick Carey’s system, and on Sunday, Mills looked like he was in his first DAY in the system. The team was 1-12 on third downs with Mills under center, and on the final six drives of the game, Mills was the steward of 21 plays for 48 yards, including four 3-and-outs, and six punts. Mills was dreadful.

2. Nick Caley

Of course, it doesn’t help that he is in an offense where the plays all look designed to add an insurmountable degree of difficulty to generate just a few yards. Whatever Caley has architected here is not working, and his play calling in two goal-to-go situations inside the Broncos’ two yard line was comical. On the first one, Caley called three run plays into the teeth of the Broncos’ strength, their defensive line, before a false start negated what would have been a failed QB sneak by Stroud, allowing the Texans to kick a field goal. On the second series, Mills was at quarterback, and Caley called a QB sneak from the two yard line (here is where the crying emoji goes), and a penalty and sack eventually had them kicking a 41 yard field goal. Again, this offense is a joke. Nick Caley is a joke.

1. DeMeco Ryans 

And here we are again. Eventually, this all falls back on Ryans. Sure, his defense is incredible, and he is to be commended for establishing a culture and a vibe on that side of the ball. Ultimately, though, he is responsible for the offense, too. Hell, if nothing else, he is responsible for hiring Nick Caley. The most frustrating thing about this team, aside from the complete futility of the offense, is the inability to self scout certain elements of the team. How does Jaylin Noel go from clear impact guy the last two games to an afterthought behind Christian Kirk? How does Dare Ogunbowale see the field on offense? Most importantly, in THIS game, how does Ryans think the Texans are going to get into field goal range with 1:09 left in the game when they’ve punted on five straight drives? The Texans could have taken this game to overtime, and instead they ran three clock-stopping plays and gave the ball back to Denver with 50 seconds left and two timeouts left at their own 36 yard line. One big Bo Nix scramble later, it was essentially over. Ryans has had a bad third season. 

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