The Houston Texans and offensive coordinator Nick Caley caught the brunt of much fan backlash at the end of the season, after the disappointing 28-16 Divisional round ending to their 2025 campaign.

Missed opportunities, slow operational execution, offensive line penalties and empty red zone trips defined the Texans' offense throughout the year (turnovers became a thing in the postseason). 

Except, even at the end of it all, Houston still found a way to manufacture productive offense when needed and finish as no worse than a top-15 offense in several statistical categories. Here are five of the data points:

Houston hadn't finished top-15 in scoring since 2023. This year, they rebounded from the 19th spot in 2024 (21.9 points/game) to 13th-best in 2025 (23.8 points/game). 

This was in spite factors like not scoring from the red zone until week four (against Tennessee Titans) and losing quarterback C.J. Stroud for three games due to a concussion suffered in week nine against the Denver Broncos.

Specific to the passing game, the Texans finished as the 14-best passing unit in the NFL at 218.1 per game. This allowed them to finish above team likes like the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles (all except the Chiefs were playoff teams). 

This is enlightening, seeing as though Houston was implementing a rookie trio of receiving options like Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel and Woody Marks on a weekly basis for production.

Established pass-catchers like Nico Collins, Xavier Hutchinson and Dalton Schultz definitely helped stabilize numbers, but offensive coordinator Nick Caley had to help navigate those waters of uncertainty and strain. 

Texans tight end Dalton Schultz had a career season in 2025, so much so to where he even finished as a top-five yardage option at the position. 

The top five tight ends in total yards:

- Trey McBride: 1,239 yards (Arizona Cardinals)

- Kyle Pitts Sr.: 928 yards (Atlanta Falcons)

- Juwan Johnson: 889 yards (New Orleans Saints)

- Travis Kelce: 851 yards (Kansas City Chiefs)

- Dalton Schultz: 777 yards (Houston Texans) (he also was the sixth-best in first downs converted at 39)

This came as Schultz completed his third season as one of Stroud's security blankets in the passing game, and it helped further show the kind of trust he's gained from his young signal caller. 

Especially with the team learning a brand new offense, Schultz still being able to be a consistent safety valve to help his quarterback and teammates was a significant accomplishment. He even led the team in receptions 

In a Super Bowl lead-up edition of Sports Radio 610's "The Drive" show with Clint Stoerner and Ronald "The Show" Highley, Schultz expressed of his comfort level, “It’s a new offense but it’s stuff I’ve been doing my whole career. I do feel like I was more ahead of the curve than everybody else. I was like ‘I see the coverage, I know the read, here’s where I’m sitting, ball.’"

With that type of confidence, it's no wonder Schultz had his best overall season as a Texan, and the second-best year of his career (2021, Dallas Cowboys)

The Texans were actually the fourth-best ball control offense in the NFL behind only the Bills, Chargers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

They averaged a 31:38 time of possession mark per game, signifying a proficiency with extending drives and even closing games if in the position to.

Touchdowns were hard to come by at times for Caley's unit, but at least there was a foundation of knowing how to keep the opposing team's offense on the sidelines (meaning, not as many scores for them either). 

The Texans finished 2025 as the second-best team in the NFL in turnovers with 12 (Chicago Bears were first with 11). It was their best finish since their first place ranking in 2023 with 14.

If nothing else, Houston was one of the league's finest in protecting the football. 

Ultimately, if Houston was able to attain such respectable rankings in spite of much tumult on the offensive side of the ball, a focused offseason of re-investment in the unit could launch them into top-tier territory.