The Houston Texans have been one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL this season, and Sunday's 17-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars only compounded matters. With an inability to consistently protect quarterback C.J. Stroud and costly turnovers, among other issues, the Texans find themselves in an 0-3 hole that they may not climb out of.
A lot of the immediate blame falls on general manager Nick Caserio. According to The Athletic's Jordan Pun, there is no doubt in his mind that Texans general manager Nick Caserio is the one who should be held responsible, pointing to the poor coaching hires, offensive line management, and not taking advantage of Stroud's talent.
Texans GM Nick Caserio Is to Blame for Houston's 0-3 Start
The poor offensive line play is not just a problem this season. Houston had the second-most sacks allowed last season (52). Through three games this season, the Texans have allowed eight sacks, which is tied for the seventh-most in the league, once again struggling to give their talented QB any time to operate.
Veteran blocker Cam Robinson was brought in during the offseason to help protect Stroud, but was benched after failing to live up to the expectations Houston had when it brought him in. A lot of the same issues reside on the offensive line, but some of the blame has to go to Stroud as well.
Stroud is considered by many to be a top-10 QB, but has not lived up to that this season, having only accounted for two touchdowns and three interceptions so far. He has had accuracy issues at times and has been unable to find a reliable option down the field, aside from wide receiver Nico Collins, who has both receiving TDs for the team this season.
None of the Texans' receivers have stepped up so far, and running back Nick Chubb (141 yards, one TD) has not been as effective as the Texans would like to balance out the offense, proving how limited the production has been thus far, which is unfortunate considering the defense has given up no more than 20 points in either of its three games.
The Jaguars did not seem to present a huge threat to Houston's passing attack on Sunday and Houston finally appeared to be getting healthy at the right time with WR Christian Kirk making his Texans debut against his former team. Kirk was supposed to be Houston's WR2 behind Collins, but was held to just three catches for 25 yards in Sunday's loss, another tough blow for a struggling unit.
It doesn't help that rookie WRs Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins aren't making immediate impacts, indicating that Caserio should've added more experienced pass-catchers this offseason.
For a team failing to put all the pieces together right now, three turnovers only made it more difficult against the Jaguars. Although this looked like a favorable matchup for Houston coming in and offered an opportunity for this offense to finally get clicking, it was the complete opposite, and those struggles start with Caserio's roster construction.
The Texans' defense has played well enough to win each game so far, but has not had much help from an offense that cannot consistently put drives together for one reason or another. Unless something turns around fast, this could be a long season for the entire Texans organization after a shocking start to the season, and it will force Caserio to take a look in the mirror.