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As Houston went on the road for the first time in 2006 they travelled to Philadelphia to play the Eagles, and it would be an encounter in which the Texans' defence would really get to show how they had started to evolve under Stormberd's leadership as the franchise's new Defensive Co-Ordinator. In particular the Texans would show a perfect understanding of how to deploy the Nickel Package, when countering an opponent's passing options.
In Q1 the Texans would complete two pick 6s with Byron Jones intercepting from 43 yards out to score Houston's first points of the game. In the next possession, as the Eagles would push themselves right into Houston's red zone only for Parnell Motley to intercept a ball in the end zone and manage to sprint 101 yard down the field to score a second defensive touchdown in quick succession with Houston leading 14-0.
(Parnell Motley - Texans CB)
Despite the positive start from the Texans' defence, their offence show signs of struggling in a similar manner to the Eagles with both teams only manage to convert a field goal apiece in their offensive movements. The third quart wouldn't be much better with the Texans only manage to convert a second field goal as they would find themselves with a lead of 20-3 going into the fourth quarter, and despite having a comfortable lead it was very clear by the way in which Stoops was behaving that he was looking for a much more positive performance. Carson Wentz would throw the first offensive TD of the game as he would find Jefferson that would narrow the lead to a ten point margin at 20-10.
(Austin Hooper - Texans TE)
Austin Hooper would have an impressive final quarter though, and show a continuation in Mark Stoops really favouring Tight Ends as an effect extra wide receiver, and Hooper would end the game with a brace of receiving touchdowns from 34 yards and 14 yards respectively as the Texans would win their second game on the trot to start the season.
33 - 10
Houston Texans
14
3
3
13
33
Philadelphia Eagles
0
3
0
7
10
(Deshaun Watson - Texans QB1)
In the post-game presser starting quarterback Watson would make it clear to the media that he was in a very happy with the offensive playbook that Stoops had brought with him to Houston and that he felt that the Texans for the first time in a handful of seasons had a chance of offering the rest of their AFC South Rivals a real challenge in this season's push to the playoffs.
The Texans would return home to host the New York Jets (Week Three), and continue their positive start to the season as they would score six touchdowns at the NRG, and only concede three and one field goal in a game that the Texans looked absolutely solid. The game would see Hyder and Hooper make two receiving touchdowns, whilst Cohen, Gibson and Watson would also score rushing touchdowns of their own in what would prove to be a game where the Texans would accure positive yardage. Perd would also score an interception with Houston winning in quite impressive style.
24 - 42
New York Jets
0
7
3
14
24
Houston Texans
14
14
7
7
42
(Jadeveon Clowney - Texans Defensive End)
Clowney would be recognised by his performance against the Jets which saw him make 8 tackles and 2 sacks as he would be awarded the AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
The Texans would find themselves playing a fellow Lone Star State team (Week Four) as they would travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys in what would prove to be Houston toughest challenge of the season so far. The game would begin with Dustin Hopkins converting a first quarter and second quarter field goal for the Cowboys that would give Dallas a slim 0-6 lead. Houston though would turn themselves around in the latter portions of the first half with Hooper making a 13 yard receiving touchdown as well as 2nd String Running Back Antonio Gibson scoring a rushing touchdown to give the Texans a strong lead at the end of the half.
(Antonio Gibson - Texans RB)
The Cowboys would bridge the gap by scoring a touchdown on the first drive of the second half with the Cowboys up by just one point at 14-14, and it was starting to look as if this contest was really to a fight to the death as the Cowboys' D-Line would really start to shutdown all approaches made by the Texans. A breakthrough game by way of a trick play in which Watson would throw the ball backwards to Randall Hyder, who would catch Dallas off guard and the sixth year WR Randell Hyder would score his the first rushing touchdown of his career for a massive 45 yards, putting the Texans further ahead at 21-13. Sanborn would convert the only points in the fourth quarter with the Texans winning their fourth game in a row.
24 - 13
Houston Texans
0
14
7
3
24
Dallas Cowboys
3
3
7
0
13
AFC SOUTH
WINS
LOSSES
Houston Texans
4
0
Jacksonville Jaguars
3
1
Indianapolis Colts
2
2
Tennesse Titans
2
2
Houston were currently one of only three teams that have had a perfect start to the season with the Los Angeles Rams and the Las Vegas Raiders being the only other team to hold a 4-0 record at the start of the season. Texans' owner Cal McNair would make a public statement regarding his teams start to the season.
(Cal McNair - Houston Texans Owner)
"I am very pleased with the start to the season that the franchise has had, and I strongly believe that Mark Stoops has brought his Midas touch with him as everything he touches truly does seem to turn to gold. I am hopeful that his three years stint with this great team will prove to be what is needed to turn the Texans around the corner. We have never featured in the AFC Championship game, so for us to be able to achieve that goal in the next three years would truly show how far we have come as a family."
The Texan's perfect start to the season would continue as they hosted the Bengals (Week Five) , whose QB1 was a former second choice option of Stoops during his tenure at the Raiders Tyree Jackson. Jackson had at one point Stoops' alternate to Aaron Rodgers, but had found himself replaced by Andy Dalton and would never play under Stoops again. So it was pretty clear that Jackson wanted to prove himself to his former Head Coach, and would make a point with an interview on the Bengals' website that he had been overlooked his whole career.
(Tyree Jackson - Benglas QB1)
Unfortunately for the Bengals despite Jackson throwing two passing touchdown (1st and 3rd quarter), the Texans would have such a great second quarter that would see them score twenty points with returning kicker Dominik Eberle (Utah State) converting two field goals, Tarik Cohen scoring a 5 yard rushing touchdown but most impressively Randall Hyder scoring his first touchdown from a kick return of his career. The twenty put on the board, would prove to be more points than the Bengals would be able to achieve, but that wouldn't stop Watson throwing to Hooper and Fuller whilst Eberle would score a third field goal as the Texans streak would increase to 5-0.
14 - 38
Cincinnati Bengals
7
0
7
0
14
Houston Texans
0
20
15
3
38
During Week Six the Texans would be street an early Bye Week, although it would prove to be a very difficult week for the franchise. It would emerge that after nine years playing for Houston Deshaun Watson had grown incredibly unhappy with the contract he had been offered and had refused to sign, to make make matters worse Watson would then posted a video on a range of social media.
(Deshaun Watson - Texans QB1)
Watson would make it clear that this would be his final season as a Texans and that his agent would be very interested in what offers other teams in the league had in mind for him for 2027 onwards, and that as the man who was responsible for Houston's current run of form he was without a doubt on course to become the hottest free agent at the end of the season and claimed that he would showcase his talent for all the prospective scouts during next week's AFC South game against Jacksonville. This public outburst clearly wasn't the sort of attitude that Marks Stoops was looking from his played squad, as a few hours after Watson post an announcement would emerge on houstontexans.com.
It would be announced that until further notice Deshaun Watson had been demoted and that 2nd String QB Morgan Gifford (Rating 70) (2nd year from Buffalo) would be taking on the role as the Houston's starting quarterback. This announcement caused a massive amount of noise amongst the league and it was clear that Texan fans were split into two different camps. The first that Watson should remain as the QB1 for the rest of the season and that he had been loyal for nine years, whilst the other camp felt that Watson had been disrespectful and that considering Stoops was only signed to three year deal it was optimal for the three time Head Coach of the Year to choose players who were actually interested in being part of his long-term project. One thing was for certain though, and that is that a lot of pressure now rested on Morgan Gifford's shoulders.
(Russell Wilson - Jaguars QB1)
The encounter with the Jaguars (Week Seven) would prove to be the cagiest so far for the Texans, as Jacksonville were propped by former Seahawks QB Russell Wilson as the man now calling the plays on the field and it was clear from the manner in which Wilson approached the game that over the years he had grown accustomed to the defensive schemes utilised by defensive co-ordinator Jarno Stormberd. The Texans would start the first quarter strong with Gifford throwing his first career touchdown for two yards to TE Austin Hooper, but Jacksonville would convert a field goal of their own to end Q1 3-7.
The Jaguars though would completely dominate the second and third quarter as they would completely shutout the Texans, whilst Russell Wilson would maintain 100% completion for the game continue to the end of the third that would see him throw two passing touchdown that would give the Jaguars a solid 19-7 lead and really mount the pressure on the Texans. However, Morgan Gifford would appear to hurt his wrist and have to leave the field. This would mean that despite having been dropped earlier in the week Deshaun Watson would find himself walking onto the field for the fourth quarter.
With the pressure mounting on the Texans it looked as if Wilson had hammered the final nail in the coffin only for his pass to be intercept by Justin Layne. The Michigan State man would sprint down the field for an impressive 96 yards for the pick six, with the defensive margin closing the gap between both teams to 19-15, with the the team successfully making the two point although it was unclear why the 2PAT had been attempted as a field goal was still not enough to level the game for the Texans.
The struggle was real but in the last minute of the game Watson would break through the wall and throw to Hyder for a 16 yard touchdown and with the PAT the Texans would take the lead with very little time left on the clock, and Jacksonville would be unable to progress down the field quick enough to be in field goal range as the Texans would maintain their perfect streak.
19 - 22
Jacksonville Jaguars
3
10
6
0
19
Houston Texans
7
0
0
15
22
To make the situation between Watson and Stoops even more difficult, after the game Watson would go on to make that point that the only reason that the Texans had managed to turn the game around was because of his involvement and that he was a player that was capable of turning a franchise into a dynasty and that he was looking forward to find out which teams in the league were currently actively seeking to sign him.
Mark Stoops though would not shy away from the media and make a public statement: "It is very important from my perspective that everyone who plays for me, adheres to a particular club culture within the locker-room. Irrespective of how good you are on the field or not, everyone has a job that is vital to the how the team operates and there is not one man that is bigger than the team itself. It is clear that Deshaun Watson feels that he is above the rest of his colleagues and I actually find that point of view quite troubling. It is therefore on this basis, that I will be looking to trade away Deshaun Watson as soon as possible and will listen to prospective trade offers from coaches around the league, but I will confirm that Watson will never played another game as a Houston Texan and that my number two Jarno Stormberd has already begun a conversation with a man who we intended to bring as a backup for Gifford."
It was clear that Stoops was not best pleased about the whole situation, and despite the fact that the Texans were 6-0 for the season, the only questions being asked were surrounding Watson's future.
In a strange turns of events it would emerge that John Collison, the co-founder of Stripe would reveal in an interview that he was had been a big fan of the National Football League for a number of years and had actively gone of out of his way to try and become an owner of a franchise. Collison would reveal that he was in talks with a number of different franchises and that he was hoping to gain a 51% share of a franchise as early as either the 2027 or 2028 season as he felt that owning a team within the NFL would be a lot of fun and could prove to be a real challenge for the future. Collison clearly hadn't been briefed about what he should or shouldn't be saying though, as he would let it slip that he had spoken to Houston Texans Head Coach Mark Stoops on multiple occasions and that if things would go his way Stoops would agree to take on the role of General Manager for him when it surfaced which franchise he would become the owner for. Collison would also reveal that he would wanted to have a legacy of his own, rather than carry on where someone had left off so which ever team he did eventual take control of - that a relocation would 100% take place sooner rather than later.
It would also emerge that a massive trade had taken place with Deshaun Watson QB (Rating 92) and Zack Cunningham OLB (Rating 77) had both been traded to the Raiders in exchange for Javier Soriano RT (Rating 78) and Maurice Hurst DT (Rating 85) from the Houston Texans in a move in which Mark Stoops would have two of his former player from his Las Vegas days play under him for a second time. The trade was seen as much better deal for the Raiders, although with Watson out of contract it was clear that Houston hadn't been happy with their former QB1 just leaving the franchise without any payment package involved. Defensive Co-Ordinator and second in command Jarno Stormberd would make it clear that the deal had been the best offer that the Texans had been able to secure and that it wasn't an ideal world. However, he made the point that Hurst and Soriano were both exceptionally talented individuals and would be great addition to the squad.
(Cal McNair - Texans Owner)
Cal McNair would also offer word in regards to the rumours surrounding Stoops, and make it clear that he was more than aware of Stoops situation and that Stoops would remain as the franchise's Head Coach for the next three reasons and that he was not concerned with Stoops becoming a General Manager for another team in the future, but instead made that point that Stoops had proven himself to be one of the most talented Head Coaches of all time, and that if he could he would have signed Stoops for an even longer contract.
Tarik Cohen would speak ahead of Houston home fixture against the New York Giants (Week Eight) and make it clear that despite Watson having been traded away, he felt this gave him an opportunity to showcase his talents a little bit more as there would be more opportunities for rushing plays to be selected ahead of the snap. Cohen would make the point that players like Josh Jacobs, Matt Breida and Jalen Richards had shined whilst being part of Mark Stoops' offensive schemes and that he wouldn't have been signed if there wasn't long-term plans for him as part of the Texans offence. Cohen would make it clear that he felt that Houston were on track to not only make the playoffs, but win the AFC South if they kept on their current trajectory. Cohen would make the point that Morgan Gifford was a very inexperienced quarterback though, and wasn't sure if he had the head on him to be the most reliable man on the field week in an week out for Houston.
23 - 31
New York Giants
0
7
8
8
23
Houston Texans
10
14
7
0
31
In another tough game with Morgan Gifford at the helm, the attacking style of the Houston seemed to have completely changed with Stoops clearly favouring the run ahead of the pass, playing to his clear strengths. Tarik Cohen would prove to be true to his claims at the start of the game as he would score a hat-trick of rushing touchdowns and would be joint on the score list by secondary halfback Gibson who would also pierce the Giants defence to scoring a rushing TD of his own. Eberle would also make one kick for the game and be showing that he was well and true recovered after his early season injury. Despite the Giants losing fourth year QB William Walker would throw three passing touchdown and look to be in fine form, despite the fact that the loss would put the Giant at 3-5 for the season.
Jadeveon Clowney would be given his recognition for his performance against the Giants as his 7 Tackles and 3 Sacks would result in Clowney be awarded the AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Houston would have a hard pill to swallow though as Tarik Cohen would be benched with news that he had partially torn his posterior cruciate ligament and that he would be sidelined for eight weeks, which very much would be the end of his regular season. This news obviously throws a spanner into the clear plans that Marks Stoops had to work around no longer having Watson as the Texans QB1.
Week Nine would see The Texans (7-0) travelling to Cleveland to play the Browns (5-3) and with Cohen unable to compete, Houston were now at a clear disadvantage for the first time of the season and there were some real concerns about what an absence of a star Running Back and no real star quality at QB would mean for Houston moving into the second portion of the season. And it could have come at a worse time as Freddie Kitchens who had become a Head Coach in the NFL for the first time the same year as Stoops, had proven to be a true tactician having truly turned around the fortune of the Browns since his arrival.
(Freddie Kitchens - Cleveland Browns Head Coach)
The game would truly be a game of four quarters, with each quarter very much telling a very different story. Texan Kicker Ebere would convert a field goal to score the first points of the the game only for Mayfield to throw to OBJ for the first touchdown of the game that would see the Browns take a 3-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Texans would put themselves forward as a very different team in the second quarter with Justin Reid scoring a pick six to put Houston ahead, whilst Gibson would score a second touchdown for Houston showing his running ability with the half ending with Texas having a ten point lead at 17-7 and Mark Stoops Texans looking on route to keeping their perfect season on track. The third quarter though would see the Texans struggle to put points on the board as the scores would be level with McMagnus converting a field goal and Beckham making his second receiving touchdown for the game with the score tied at 17-17 going into the final quarter.
(Odell Beckham Jr - Cleveland Brows WR)
Gibson would score his first receiving touchdown of his career, although from the pressure Gifford had been under prior to making the pass it was quite clear that Gibson hadn't been the ball intended target. Houston would maintain the lead as Baker Mayfield would pick out Griffin for the touchdown as the scores would be tied once again at 24-24 with less than five minutes left on the clock. Despite their best effort Houston would be unable to make the important yardage on their next drive, despite having used three minutes of the clock. Cleveland though were able to gain much more positive yardage and found themselves in kicking range with very little time left on the clock and McManus would be called upon for the field goal. McManus would make the kick and the ball would sail between the upright with no more time left on the board, winning the game for the Browns on the final play of the game.
(Brandon McManus - Cleveland Browns Kicker)
24 - 27
Houston Texans
3
14
0
7
24
Cleveland Browns
7
0
10
10
27
This would mean that Houston would suffer their first loss the season, although a road game in Cleveland in recent seasons has proven to be a real challenge for some of the best team in the National Football League.
(Justin Reid - Houston Texans Safety)
Justin Reid had a great performance with the Texans having a player recognised as the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week which wasn't surprising considering Reid made 5 tackles, 2 interceptions and 1 touchdown. The Texans despite the loss were in a very strong position at the halfway points of the season, although with no quarterback to really talk about and Tarik Cohen injured there were some real questions about what the second half of the regular season looked like for Houston.
AFC SOUTH
WINS
LOSSES
Houston Texans
7
1
Tennesse Titans
6
2
Indianapolis Colts
5
3
Jacksonvilla Jaguars
3
5
(Stephen A. Smith)
Stephen A. Smith despite being an NBA analyst would appear on an ESPN Panel to share his absolute dislike for the state of Texas, and would seem to be using the platform to have a dig at Dallas Cowboys for being overshadowed by their baby brother the Texans. Smith though would make the point that the currently the AFC South ranking were a massive misrepresentation as Houston had only played the one of their divisional rivals so far and had been incredibly lucky to win that game. Smith felt that the Texans were guarantee to be be walked over twice by both the Colts and the Titans and felt that Houston would go 1-5 in the AFC South this season. Smith would go so far as to say, that he felt Houston would be lucky if they managed to even one more game in the regular season and that they had a 0% change of even reaching the playoffs.
No don't make this an lolTexans year