Texans 2025 Season in Review

Houston's defense finished −129 in expected points added allowed — first in the entire league. Out of 32. Here's how the league's best defense dragged this team to 12 wins, why the offense couldn't punch it in close, and the one stat that explains how the season ended. 12 five, a wild card berth, a 30 to six demolition of the Steelers, then a 16 to 28 divisional exit in New England. This was a defense-wins-football season — until it wasn't.

Let me set the team-level table. The defense led the league at −129 in expected points added allowed — that's how much Houston lowered opponents' scoring chances per snap, and nobody did it more. The offense? −13.9 in expected points added, 20-first, 30-eighth percentile. Houston also led the NFL in field goal percentage at 92.3 percent — 48 of 52. And here's where the story sharpens: only 42.2 percent of their scoring drives ended in touchdowns. Dead last. That mix tells you everything. After an oh-and-three start with losses to the Rams, Buccaneers, and Jaguars where the offense couldn't break 20, this team rattled off 12 wins in 14 games. The defense was the steady floor every week. The offense was a parade of field goals.

Now let's talk about the passing offense. C.J. Stroud and the passing game finished +21.9 in expected points added on 618 attempts — a hair above league average, fifteenth, 50-sixth percentile. Stroud himself: 273 of 423 for 3041 yards, 19 touchdowns, eight interceptions across 14 games, with completion percentage over expected of +0.8 — right at expectation. The headline number isn't a counting stat though. It's 31 sacks allowed on 648 dropbacks, a 4.8 percent sack rate, 20-sixth in the league. Stroud absorbed 23 himself. Nico Collins led the receiving room — 71 catches, 1117 yards, six touchdowns on a 24 percent target share. Boom-or-bust on a weekly basis: in week five at Baltimore, in a 44 to 10 beatdown, this passing game looked top-five. Most other weeks it looked exactly like the numbers say — average, sack-prone, and reliant on Collins to manufacture explosives.

Now let's dig into the rushing offense. This is where the season got muffed. Houston finished −44.9 in expected points added on 476 carries — thirtieth, ninth percentile. A bottom-three rushing attack by efficiency. 3.9 yards per carry, 20-second. Woody Marks led the team with 196 carries for 703 yards — 3.6 a pop — and two rushing touchdowns. Low floor, low ceiling, almost every week. And it shows up in the worst place — the red zone. Houston scored touchdowns on just 50.7 percent of red-zone trips, 30-first in the league, sixth percentile. When you can't run it inside the 20, you settle for three. Which is exactly why that kicker led the league in field goal percentage.

Next up, the pass defense. This was the unit that smashed. Houston allowed −109 in expected points added across the season — −0.19 per dropback. 47 sacks, seventh in the league, 80-first percentile. 28 takeaways including 19 interceptions, third in the league, 90-fourth percentile. An opportunistic, ball-hawking, quarterback-hunting unit working in concert all year. The defining moment came in week 11 at Tennessee, fourth quarter, third and 10, Texans up 10 to six. Will Anderson Jr. arrived on Cam Ward, stripped the ball, recovered it himself at the Tennessee 34. One play, one sack, one fumble, one recovery — −4.4 expected points for the Titans. That's the identity in a single snap: get home, get the ball, change the game. Consistent week to week — even in losses to Seattle and Denver, the defense kept Houston in striking distance. This is the engine that made 12 wins possible.

And the run defense matched the standard. Houston allowed 94.1 rushing yards per game and posted a rushing expected points added allowed of −19.7 — 70-fifth percentile, top-eight in the league. Per carry, opponents managed just −0.05 in expected points. Nothing easy on the ground all year. 13 rushing touchdowns allowed across 17 games, right around the league benchmark. No single hero story here — a collective front-seven effort that complemented the pass rush. Steady, disciplined, and largely uneventful in the best way a run defense can be.