Texans coach DeMeco Ryans was addressing reporters in his post-game news conference, but it sounded like he was pleading with owner Cal McNair to not make any drastic moves.
“I know we have the right people,” Ryans said after a 17-10 loss to the Jaguars dropped the Texans to 0-3. “We’ve got the right staff, we’ve got the right players. We’ve just got to figure it all out, and we’ve got to go show it.”
In two short years, the Texans have gone from the team with the brightest future to the NFL’s biggest disappointment, which is where we begin the Week 3 review:
⋅ The Texans’ loss on Sunday was more of the same: Another day under 300 yards and 20 points, and filled with mistakes, such as two interceptions and a lost fumble in the fourth quarter. Through three weeks, the Texans are averaging an NFL-worst 12.7 points per game, and third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud’s numbers are the worst of his career across the board.
It’s a far cry from where the Texans were two years ago, when Stroud was named Offensive Rookie of the Year, the Texans won the AFC South (10-7) and a playoff game, and their offense ranked fourth in the NFL in explosive passes (69). The Texans did win the AFC South title and a playoff game again in 2024, but they dropped to 22nd in explosive passes (45), and fired offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik after the season.
Now the Texans are in free fall with new offensive coordinator Nick Caley, formerly the Patriots’ tight ends coach. The 0-3 start is usually a death knell — since the playoffs expanded to 12 teams in 1990, only four of 165 teams to start 0-3 have made the postseason. Coincidentally, the last team to do it was the Texans in 2018 under Bill O’Brien.
A Texans team that was expected to ascend into the NFL’s elite is now sinking to the bottom. Ryans, Caley, and general manager Nick Caserio are likely all feeling the heat.
“Our team is right there, despite how it looks, how it feels,” Ryans said. “We’re close, but close isn’t good enough. So we have to pick it up and find a way to get a win.”
⋅ The narratives are starting to flip for the 2024 quarterback class. Caleb Williams had a terrible start to the season (and his career) but was nearly perfect in Sunday’s win over the Cowboys, throwing for 298 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions against his former head coach, Matt Eberflus.
Meanwhile, last year’s promising quarterbacks are mostly struggling. Bo Nix had his third straight subpar game as the Broncos dropped to 1-2. Michael Penix got yanked in the Falcons’ 30-0 loss to the Panthers. And J.J. McCarthy and Jayden Daniels had poor performances in Week 2 and missed Week 3 with injuries. Daniels should bounce back, and Williams will regress, but teams with young quarterbacks have to ride the roller coaster.
⋅ A high-scoring Week 2 was followed by a wild Week 3 of dramatic finishes, defensive touchdowns, and special teams fireworks.
Entering Monday night, the NFL’s seven games with a winning score in the final three minutes of regulation tied for most in a week since the 1970 merger.
The league saw five blocked field goals on Sunday. The Browns blocked the Packers’ 43-yarder in the closing minutes to set up a dramatic comeback win. The Jets blocked the Buccaneers’ 43-yarder to score a late, go-ahead touchdown. And the Eagles became the first team since at least 1978 to block two field goals in the fourth quarter in their extraordinary comeback win over the Rams.
Week 3 didn’t have any kickoff return touchdowns, but it was the first week in 42 years with two punt returns of 90-plus yards, by Seahawks rookie Tory Horton (95-yard touchdown) and Commanders rookie Jaylin Lane (90-yard touchdown).
There also were five defensive touchdowns, tied for the most in any week in the last two years. Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rodgers became the first player in NFL history with an interception return touchdown of at least 85 yards and a fumble return touchdown of at least 65 yards in the same game.
Tracking former Patriots
⋅ 49ers QB Mac Jones: Threw an interception and took a safety in the fourth quarter, but finished with 284 passing yards and a touchdown and led a last-minute field goal drive to eke out a 16-15 win over the Cardinals. Brock Purdy is probably ready to return next week, and Jones tweaked a knee injury, but he did his job in going 2-0 as the fill-in starter.
⋅ Falcons K Parker Romo: Missed wide right from 49 yards and wide left from 55 in the Falcons’ 30-0 loss, a week after going 5 for 5 on field goals. Patriots kicker Andy Borregales had a quiet day with two extra points and no field goal attempts.
⋅ Titans K Joey Slye: Last year’s Patriots kicker hit from 42 and 57 yards, was blocked from 62, and wide right from 64. He’s the Titans’ only offense.
⋅ Chiefs WR Tyquan Thornton: Another nice day for the Patriots’ former second-round pick, with five catches for 71 yards and a touchdown in the 22-9 win over the Giants. Thornton leads the Chiefs with 171 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and his 23.8 air yards per target lead the NFL.
⋅ Giants coach Brian Daboll: Entered the season on the hot seat with an 18-32-1 record, and now he’s 0-3 for the first time. It’s likely only a matter of time before the Giants are looking for their fifth head coach since firing Tom Coughlin after 2015.
⋅ UNC coach Bill Belichick: Dropped to 2-2 with a 34-9 loss to Central Florida that was barely competitive. This week’s game against Clemson could get ugly.
Quick hits
⋅ The AFC West race might already be finished, with the 3-0 Chargers holding a two-game lead over the other three teams, plus head-to-head wins over all three. The Bills and Buccaneers are also 3-0 and hold two-game leads in their divisions.
⋅ Coaching matters: Daniel Jones ranks third in the NFL in passer rating (111.7), third in completion percentage (71.6), and first in yards per attempt (9.27) as the Colts are 3-0 and averaging 34.3 points per game.
⋅ The Jets under Aaron Glenn are getting good at almost winning games, with impressive comebacks that fell just short against the Steelers and Buccaneers. The hard part is actually winning the close ones.
⋅ The Patriots’ Week 1 loss to the Raiders is looking worse after the Raiders lost by 17 to the Commanders with their backup quarterback on Sunday.
⋅ The Bengals might want to consider trading for Kirk Cousins or pulling Derek Carr out of retirement. The Bengals committed five turnovers in Jake Browning’s first start, and ran just 52 plays in 13 offensive series.
⋅ Shocker that the Cowboys traded Micah Parsons and now their defense stinks, ranked 28th in points allowed (30.7 per game).
⋅ The Browns will struggle on offense all year, but their defense is legit, as the Packers discovered Sunday. The Browns have allowed the NFL’s fewest yards (204 per game) and yards per rush attempt (2.3).
⋅ The Buccaneers are the first team in the Super Bowl era to start 3-0 with all three wins coming in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
⋅ Travis Hunter’s debut has mostly been a dud. He’s playing a lot — 121 snaps on offense (59 percent) and 92 on defense (47 percent) — but has just 10 catches for 76 yards and nine solo tackles.
⋅ NFL teams are just 7 for 20 on 2-point conversions (35 percent). In 2023, the success rate was 55.1 percent.
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.