Last year, the Texans’ defense was nearly good enough to propel the team to the Super Bowl with minimal help offensively. The problem was that, in the playoffs, the help from the offense was less than minimal.
Against the Steelers in the wild-card round, Houston was clinging to a 7-6 lead entering the fourth quarter, even though Pittsburgh’s offense lacked any real punch. Against the Patriots six days later, five turnovers (including four C.J. Stroud interceptions) made it impossible to advance.
This year, the defense seems to be as good as it was last year — if not better. On Saturday, offensive coordinator Nick Caley was asked whether the offense has any “extra pressure.”
“I always take my job seriously,” Caley told reporters. “I think everybody else here does. The biggest thing we want to do is be at our best and give ourselves a chance to perform at the highest level we can possibly do. Not to make it any more simplified than that, but that’s really what it is. Coming out here, there’s a standard. This was sloppy to start today. That’s not good enough. We have to do a better job of being more consistent, starting with me.
“Moving the needle there, but in terms of the pressure, I think we have a great opportunity to work in this profession. We have great people here with good characters that [General Manager] Nick [Caserio] and [coach] DeMeco [Ryans] have given us. We’re busting our ass every single day to be the best that we can be and trying to just be truth tellers to each other. ‘Hey, it’s either good enough or it’s not and here’s how we have to rid the bad stuff and be able to move the needle.’ That’s the reality of it. We’re on a crusade to do that.
“It’s not perfect. We have a ways to go. I want to give ourselves an opportunity to play our best football when it matters the most.”
It will matter the most in January, if the Texans can do enough to qualify for the single-elimination phase. And if the offense fails to provide a better complement to one of the very best defenses in football, the Texans will be facing some big decisions after the dust settles on the 2026 season.
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