Deja vu? Texans’ 0-3 start means they must make NFL history to reach playoffs

This is familiar territory for the Houston Texans.

Losers of a 19-17 affair against their AFC South rival Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 27, the Texans have opened a second straight season with three consecutive losses.

In 2025, DeMeco Ryans’ team became the seventh team in NFL history to start 0-3 and make the postseason, as the Texans won the division and played in the divisional round for the third straight postseason. If Houston repeats that feat this season, they'd be the first team in NFL history to pull it off in back-to-back seasons.

Colts kicker Spencer Shrader nailed a 53-yard field goal with 21 seconds remaining to give his team the final lead of the game, with Texans' quarterback C.J. Stroud unable to lead a drive that gave kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn a makeable field-goal attempt.

The Texans’ defense bottled up Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (23 carries, 68 yards) and surrendered a lone touchdown from Indianapolis quarterback Daniel Jones to receiver Keenan Allen early in the second quarter. Will Anderson notched 2.5 sacks, but the Colts moved the ball enough to give Shrader four chances to put points on the board, and he never missed. Houston's defense forced three turnovers…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/sports/