The Houston Texans entered Sunday’s game versus the Tennessee Titans with a lot on the line. Starting the season 0-3 was not on their bingo card for the 2025 season, and if they started the season 0-4, there would be widespread consternation in Houston. But after a 26-0 victory over the Titans, the Texans finally got in the win column. Joy is in the air for the win, but there is still some issues going on with that Texans offense.
One of them has to be the offensive line. The Texans entered the offseason with issues to take care of when it came to their offensive line. The Texans’ first move was to trade offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders and guard Kenyon Green to the Eagles, along with releasing guard Shaq Mason, among other moves. And as for the replacements, the Texans decided to sign center Jake Andrews, guard Laken Tomlinson, and offensive tackle Cam Robinson, along with trading for guard Ed Ingram and drafting offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery. The result has been a mess up front, and it was exacerbated even more against the Titans on Sunday. Just check out this incredible quick sack from Jeffery Simmons.
Jeffery Simmons sacked C.J. Stroud in 2.09 seconds, the fastest sack league wide over the last two seasons.
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 28, 2025
Simmons crossed the line of scrimmage 0.32 seconds after the snap, the fastest get-off time by a DT this season.#TENvsHOU | #TitanUppic.twitter.com/xVgPSgYHUC
There were plays like this that happened throughout the game. The Titans had pressure on Texans’ quarterback CJ Stroud pretty routinely, despite what the final score indicated. With a team that is more consistent offensively, this is going to be a problem, especially if the Texans have to match scores to an extent with an opponent. Before this game, they had not been able to muster more than 20 points in a game.
Along with the offensive line issues, there are times when CJ Stroud does not look sharp out there. This is not to say that Stroud is playing badly all the time. But it is to say that he is having some moments like this one right here that happened in Sunday’s game:
On this play, this was on Stroud. Has two guys open and missed both of them. Gotta make this play count with a struggling offense.
— Mike Patton 🏈🎤🖋 (@MikePatton82) September 28, 2025
pic.twitter.com/rRhSFJWz4R
Part of it is that Stroud does not seem comfortable behind that offensive line. Time and time again, he has to move because the front line has been breached, and he must find a quick solution. Sometimes he is able to find one and at other times, he is not. However, the other reason he does not feel comfortable is that this is a new offense, and there are no solutions that he knows he can consistently rely on with the pressure he is under.
Lastly, another issue with this Texans’ offense is that offensive coordinator Nick Caley is still trying to figure things out. A perfect illustration of that was when the Texans had a third-and-one play in the third quarter where the ball was given to Woody Marks to run between the tackles. While Marks had a good game and was running the ball effectively, he is a guy who is at his best when hitting the edges and catching passes out of the backfield. Nick Chubb should have been the back that was running between the tackles and not Marks. There are other instances, but it seems like Caley hasn’t figured out all the answers to the test, nor the different things that work and don’t work for this offense consistently when attacking opposing defenses.
The Texans face a Ravens team that is struggling defensively next week and could show signs of improvement against them, but they could also revert to their form from the first three weeks of the season. It will be interesting to see what happens and how they respond.