The Houston Texans dropped a very winnable game on Monday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, falling to 0-2 on the season. It was a contest Houston had in-hand late, but just couldn’t close out.
The Texans got off to a promising start, scoring 10 points in the first quarter — more than they had all of Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. But they went scoreless in the second and third quarters before finally finding life in the fourth.
Special teams ended up being the differentiator late. A blocked punt set up a stalled offensive drive that still resulted in a field goal. Then rookie Jaylin Noel delivered a phenomenal punt return to set up a 25-yard touchdown run by Nick Chubb, though the Texans failed on the two-point conversion. In total, Houston scored nine points in the fourth quarter, all of which were set up by the special teams unit.
Still, it wasn’t enough. That failed two-point attempt loomed large in the closing minutes. It’s hard to say exactly how the game would have played out differently, but when the Buccaneers marched down the field and scored a touchdown in the final seconds, Houston trailed by one instead of being tied or holding a slim lead. Tampa Bay went for two after the score to try to stretch the lead to three with six seconds remaining, just in case the Texans managed a miraculous kick return and long field goal attempt. The Bucs didn’t convert, but it didn’t matter as time ran out on the return, and Tampa Bay escaped with a 20-19 win.
Now, Houston sits in a significant early-season hole. This still feels like the Texans’ division to win, as they remain the most talented team on paper. But at 0-2, they share the divisional basement with Tennessee, while Jacksonville sits at 1-1, and Indianapolis surprisingly sits atop the AFC South at 2-0 with Daniel Jones at quarterback.
The season is far from over, and there’s plenty of football left to play. The Texans still have a strong shot to take the division, but they’ve now dropped two very winnable games to open the year. The defense continues to look great, special teams have stepped up, but the theme remains the same.
The offense simply can’t get going.
That's a legitimate problem, as the running back room continues to struggle to produce and the receivers outside of Nico Collins have yet to pop.