With the Houston Texans down 14-10 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers early in the fourth quarter, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud broke the huddle to the sounds of a roaring crowd.
The jubilation was from the decision of head coach DeMeco Ryans to defer from kicking a field goal and go for the touchdown on fourth and goal.
But those cheers quickly turned to boos from the home crowd in attendance for the season opener against Tampa Bay on Monday Night Football.
As Stroud rolled to his left to avoid pressure, he saw wide receiver Nico Collins headed towards the back of the end zone with a step on his defender, but his pass sailed over the head of Collins, causing the Texans to give the ball back to the Buccaneers.
Before the ball could firmly hit the ground near the players’ tunnel, the fans began to boo the offense loudly as they ran off the field, knowing that they had let a golden opportunity slip through their fingers.
“We did what we wanted to do there,” said Ryans when questioned about the decision to go for it on fourth down. “We wanted to go in and score a touchdown.”
@Troy Taormina - Imagn ImagesThe last time boos could be heard that loudly at NRG Stadium and on a big televised stage was on Christmas Day 2024, or what’s known as the “Beyonce Bowl,” when Mrs. Knowles-Carter performed at halftime of the 31-2 loss against the Baltimore Ravens.
Fans want to root and cheer for a team that can play consistent football, but they did not get that on Monday, and they were visibly and verbally upset by the inept execution of the offense, something that Stroud says needs to change.
“It’s a young offense,” said Stroud, who finished the game with 207 yards passing and one touchdown. “We can make a bunch of excuses, but we’re just not getting it done. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters. We are moving the ball pretty well; we just got to put seven [points] on the board. That’s the big difference right now.”
Over the first two weeks of the 2025 NFL season, the Texans’ offense is averaging 265.5 yards per game, ranking them at 28th amongst the rest of the teams in the NFL. They have not scored a touchdown in the red zone in three attempts this season.
With the talent that Houston has on the offensive side of the ball, they should be higher. Still, first-year offensive coordinator Nick Caley is having a difficult time scheming up plays for his young core of wide receivers opposite of Nico Collins, which includes veteran Xavier Hutchinson and rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel.
“I thought our young guys handled it as best they can,” Stroud said about the offense. “Of course, there are always things to clean up. There is no excuse. We just got to make more plays.”