Interviewing with KPRC2's Aaron Wilson at the Houston Texans' third annual Girls Flag Football Showcase, Texans Foundation Vice President Hannah McNair answered a question about her perspective of the team and the season ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl that will feature their AFC Divisional opponent in the New England Patriots. 

She expressed disappointment in the recent 28-16 outcome, saying that they "could have" been there , and that it was "right there for us". 

Even though the city as a whole prefers to move on from one of the lowest moments in franchise history, sometimes it's good to go back and potentially get catharsis in processing how a negative event ultimately unfolded. 

Should the Texans really have beaten the Patriots? In this case, let's examine three reasons why the outcome went exactly as it should have, due to the specific weaknesses of the team leading up to the game. 

Let's get the most obvious reason out of the way. Besides the performance of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen against the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans C.J. Stroud had the worst individual display of ball security in the AFC playoffs against the New England Patriots.

In just the first half of the contest, Stroud threw four interceptions (first quarter: 1, second quarter: 3). This included one returned for a touchdown by Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones in the second quarter. It was one of the worst playoff games for a quarterback in NFL history (it also completed a two-game stretch where Stroud was responsible for seven turnovers total). 

Even though the score heading into the third quarter was a surmountable 21-10, the damage, physically and mentally, had already been done.

Especially in the playoffs, overcoming multiple turnovers is an incredibly hard task to accomplish. More often than not, turnover differential tells the story of a game's outcome. This was one of those moments (for Stroud, it was his whole postseason). 

Another problem for Houston that day was the  pass rush generated by the Patriots' defensive line for all four quarters of the game. 

ESPN's Mike Reiss gave his observations of New England's dominance. He stated, "In the first half, New England limited Houston to 8 rushing yards on 12 carries. That allowed the Patriots to pressure quarterback C.J. Stroud consistently, forcing him into four interceptions before halftime." 

He continued, "The Texans finished with 48 yards on 22 carries (2.2-yard average), while Stroud was 20-of-47 passing for 212 yards with 1 touchdown and 4 picks." 

In all, the Patriots' defense finished with three sacks, six tackles for loss and nine quarterback hits. 

It was the arguably worst the offensive line has looked since their week seven matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, where Stroud was also under duress for the entirety of the game to the tune of three sacks, 10 tackles for loss and seven quarterback hits. 

This was a feared outcome by many in 2025, as general manager Nick Caserio opted to fill the offensive line with a series of veteran cast-offs from other teams and a rookie in Minnesota's Aireontae Ersery.

The unit performanced admirably during the season, but remained a concern for sporadic regression depending on who they face throughout the year. 

Most NFL contests are decided by which unit dominates the line of scrimmage. On that day, the Patriots overwhelmed the Texans' offensive line (and by extension, the offensive operation as a whole). 

The Texans were one of the worst rushing teams throughout the 2025 season, as evidenced by their team stat line that read:

Things got no better against New England, as the Texans were held to 48 total rushing yards on 22 attempts at 2.2 yards per carry.

This was primarily due to the Patriots' sixth-best rushing defense that held opponents to 101.7 yards per game. They were also tied for fourth-fewest rushing scores given up at 11 total for the season. 

All things considered, it makes sense how the Texans' rushing offense was shut down, seeing as though the game seemed tailor-made for the Patriots' ground defense to dominate. 

Outside of Stroud's unforeseen implosion, the rest of the outcome makes a lot of sense for the situation. Weather advantage notwithstanding, the specific weaknesses of the Texans were the perfect points of exploitation for the Patriots and their coaching staff. considering the specific strengths of theirs that fit the moment like a glove.

They were virtually the worst matchup at the worst possible time for the club. 

This should give Caserio and co. multiple targets for how to improve heading into 2026, as they will be paramount for whether or not the Texans can finally overcome their AFC Divisional round woes. 

Do you think the Texans will fix those particular issues in the offseason? Let us know in the comment section below and by mentioning us at @Texans_RTB on X and @Texans.Roundtable on TikTok!