HOUSTON -- Coach DeMeco Ryans challenged his Texans after they fell to 0-2 on Sunday, asking them: If you call yourselves playmakers, where are the plays?
The 20-6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals dropped the Texans to 0-2 for the third time in four years. The good news for Houston is that the previous two times they made the postseason and won a playoff game in blowout fashion.
Ryans believes the only way the Texans will turn this season around is through their playmakers.
"Are you making those plays to put the Texans in position to win football games?" he said Sunday. "That's what it will come down to. Our guys, they played the right way, but you have to execute, have to find a way to get in the end zone. We want to win any game here, we got to get in the end zone, we have to score points. We have to find a way to fix this through our coaches and players. We're all in this together."
Both defeats this season have featured poor performances from one side of the ball.
In the Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Houston's defense allowed 36 points, its most since a 31-2 defeat to the Ravens on Christmas in 2024. And in Week 2, the Texans' offense scored just six points, its fewest since that same gave.
Houston faced an uphill challenge entering Week 2 with three starters -- Pro Bowl wideout Nico Collins, guard Ed Ingram and linebacker Henry To'oto'o -- sidelined. Even without Collins, quarterback C.J. Stroud finished with 353 passing yards, as tight end Dalton Schultz finished with 12 catches for 140 yards.
But the former Pro Bowl quarterback wasn't satisfied with his performance.
"Sadly, we've been here before, but I think we just have to hold each other accountable," Stroud said. "We have to get better. There are a lot of things that we need to be doing better if we're going to win. I think we'll have some conversations this week about that and, you know, get some things fixed."
The Texans went 5-for-17 on third downs, and no wideout finished with more than 37 receiving yards. And although they outgained the Bengals in yards (374-267), the Texans were 0-for-4 both on fourth downs and in the red zone.
Houston also struggled to run the ball as its offensive line didn't create holes for running backs David Montgomery and Woody Marks. They totaled 18 yards on 14 carries, and it was Stroud who finished as the team's leading rusher with 29 yards.
Having to rely on a passing attack on key downs failed. One major reason: Cincinnati's man defense held Stroud to 102 yards on 8-of-20 passing.
Houston, which views itself as a Super Bowl contender, has shown it can recover from 0-2 starts. But how many times can it rely on that?
For now, Ryans won't lean on those experiences, saying, "It's nothing to look back on of what happened in the past."
"We got to go to work," the coach said. "We got to go play good football. That's the bottom line. The 2026 Texans have to dig deep. All of us have to look down, look deep within ourselves and see how we can find a way to play better football."
