Even at 2-4, Texans Head Coach DeMeco Ryans Says ‘I Love Where Our Team Is Right Now.’

After beating the Jaguars Sunday in London, C.J. Stroud and the Texans have gone from 0-4 to being two games out of first place.

by Craig Ellenport

Oct 18, 2026

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud

Kirby Lee - Imagn Images

Had the Jacksonville Jaguars been able to pull out a win over the Houston Texans Sunday in London, it would have been fair to call the Houston Texans the best 1-5 team in NFL history. Instead, Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked a 49-yard game-winning field goal as time expired to lift Houston to 2-4 — putting the Texans two games behind the first-place Jags. Now we can start thinking about the Texans becoming the second team in NFL history to make the playoffs after an 0-4 start.

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud completed 24 of 34 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns. Stroud’s lone interception — picked off in the end zone by Travis Hunter — led to Cam Little’s game-tying 60-yard field goal with two minutes left. Stroud then led the game-winning drive, completing both of his pass attempts for 25 yards along the way.

When the Texans got off to an 0-3 start this season, there wasn’t much concern in Houston. After all, this team started 0-3 last year and ended the regular season on a nine-game winning streak before defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in a first-round playoff game. But the Week 4 home loss to the Dallas Cowboys opened a floodgate of doubts.

The 1992 San Diego Chargers are the only team in NFL history to make the playoffs after an 0-4 start. The Texans, now with a two-game winning streak, are in position to be the second.

The Texans could easily be 5-1.

In Week 1, they were leading the Buffalo Bills until Josh Allen threw a game-winning TD pass with 1:36 to play. In Week 3, they took a lead against the Indianapolis Colts with 1:48 to play, only to see the Colts kick a game-winning field goal with 16 seconds left. In Week 4, they were ahead of the Cowboys until Dak Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb with 40 seconds left.

The key to a Texans playoff run will be a defense that has been uncharacteristically generous in 2026. Head coach DeMeco Ryans’ crew ranked first last season in total defense and second in scoring defense, and was certainly expected to carry the 2026 team. Instead, the Texans have allowed 30 or more points three times.

Still, that was against three of the best offenses in the league (Bills, Cowboys, Jaguars). Linebacker Will Anderson Jr. has been playing like a strong Defensive Player of the Year candidate, leading the league with 7.5 sacks. Cornerbacks Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter have not been playing great, but still have Pro Bowl potential.

If the defense can return to 2025 form, the Texans will be a very tough out the rest of the way — especially if Stroud continues to play well on offense. Sunday was his third 300-yard passing game of the season, and he’s averaging 286 yards per game. More importantly, the interception he threw Sunday was just his first of the season. He’s thrown nine TD passes.

“C.J’s been hot all year and he’s still hot,” Ryans said after the game. “He’s lighting it up, he’s dishing the ball around to a lot of different people. It doesn’t matter who it is. … He’s doing an outstanding job of just leading this offense.”

Houston’s first win of the season was a rout of the previously winless Tennessee Titans, so it’s not as if the NFL world was ready to proclaim, “The Texans are back!” This win over the first-place Jaguars will gain some attention.

“This is a really important win, a really big win for us,” Ryans said. “And I can’t say that without giving credit to Jacksonville. That’s a really good team. They’re a physical football team. They’re one of the best teams in the NFL. … So it’s a big win because of who we were able to get this against. And it’s always great for us to close games out. We stumbled along there earlier in the season, when we didn’t finish games. But we found a way today.

“This was a heavyweight battle. … They hit us with some big punches, but our offense was able to answer with some punches of our own.”

The heavyweight rematch will come in Week 15, with Houston hosting Jacksonville. When the Texans fell to 0-4 two weeks ago, it might have sounded ludicrous to think that game might decide the AFC South title. Now? Maybe so.

Ryans praised his team’s ability to respond to adversity.

“I love the response our team has given us,” he said. “You just keep pressing forward, keep working, keep putting in the work, good things will happen. I love where our team is right now.”