The Houston Texans lost to the Los Angeles Rams 14-9.
Here are 11 observations from the disappointing opener.
The Texans picked up where they left off. The offense was inefficient. The blocking stunk. The quarterback was too gunshy. The penalties mounted. The defense was forced to be perfect, and they weren’t. All the issues that led to the disappointments of last season reared their ugly heads.
Nick Caley’s offense showed no noticeable differences from Bobby Slowik’s offense. The Texans made just a couple of changes to the offensive staff in the offseason, and the offense looked much the same. It was choppy, lacked rhythm, and was inefficient for most of the day. The moment they stepped into the red zone, they went backward. There were two illegal shift penalties, one coming late in the game when they tried to catch the Rams off guard. They scored no touchdowns. An entire offseason produced ZERO touchdowns in the first game of the season. That’s wholly and totally unacceptable.