Texans’ defense shines but offense falters in 27-19 loss to Seahawks

By Canadian Press on October 21, 2025.

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston’s defense did a lot of good things Monday night against the Seattle Seahawks.

The same could not be said of the offense.

The Texans forced four turnovers and scored a defensive touchdown, but the offense squandered opportunity after opportunity in the 27-19 loss that snapped a two-game winning streak and dropped them to 2-4.

“Offensively was not good enough,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Didn’t move the ball good enough. We’ve got to execute better.”

Houston trailed 14-6 at halftime before C.J. Stroud threw an interception on the first drive of the second half and the Seahawks added a field goal. Will Anderson Jr. sacked Sam Darnold in the end zone and forced a fumble which he recovered for a touchdown, but the 2-point conversion failed to get Houston within five later in the third.

The Texans had a third-and-1 from their own 41 late in the third, but Woody Marks was stuffed on consecutive plays to give Seattle the ball back with a short field. The Seahawks took advantage of the opportunity and added a touchdown by Zach Charbonnet to extend the lead to 27-12.

The defense gave the Texans another chance with about 10 minutes remaining when Azeez Al-Shaair recovered a fumble, but once again the Texans couldn’t move the ball. This time, they faced third-and-15 and two straight incomplete passes by Stroud gave Seattle the ball again.

Houston’s defense came up big yet again two plays later with Derek Stingley’s interception that gave the Texans the ball at their 48. This time they drove and had a first down at the 3-yard line and a run by Marks got them to the 1.

Stroud threw two incomplete passes before a false start brought up fourth-and-5 and yet another incompletion left the Texans emptyhanded.

Stroud, who dealt with heavy pressure all night, took responsibility for the struggles of the offense.

“It starts with me and I’ve got to do a better job of distributing the ball better,” he said. “When I have good pockets, working them and making sure I’m getting the ball out on time and to the right guy. So, I’ll look inward and then there are some other things we’ll watch film and get better at.”

What’s working

Houston’s defense continues to be the strength of the team. The Texans rank fourth in the NFL by allowing 274.2 yards a game and lead the NFL by giving up just 14.7 points. They are tied for sixth in the NFL with seven interceptions and the 179 yards passing they’re averaging a game rank fifth in the league.

Anderson, the 2023 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, continues to lead the group and has four sacks and seven tackles for losses this season. He had five tackles Monday night to give him 104 in his career to join J.J. Watt and Mario Williams as the only defensive linemen in franchise history with at least 100 tackles in their first 35 career games.

What needs help

There’s plenty to pick from here when it comes to the offense, but the biggest issue that has affected everything else is the poor play of the offensive line. Stroud was sacked three times, hit another seven times and seemed to be running for his life for most of Monday night’s game.

“When we continue to have the pressures that we have, until we get it picked up it’ll keep happening,” Ryans said. “We got to do better job coaching and got to do a better job executing it.”

The poor blocking of the offensive line also kept the Texans from running the ball effectively against the Seahawks. They finished with a season low 56 yards rushing, led by 25 from Stroud.

Stock up

TE Dalton Schultz had nine receptions for a season-high 98 yards on Monday. It was the second-most catches and yards he’s had in a game in his eight-year career.

Stock down

The entire offensive line which must find a way to improve if the Texans hope to get their offense back on track Sunday.

Injuries

Top receiver Nico Collins could miss Sunday’s game after sustaining a concussion in Monday’s game. … WR Christian Kirk sat out Monday with a hamstring injury after missing the first two games with the injury.

Key numbers

The Texans converted just one of three trips inside the red zone Monday, converted only 2 of 15 third downs and were 1 of 4 on fourth down.

What’s next

The Texans host San Francisco on Sunday in the first of three consecutive home games in which they’ll need to quickly fix their mistakes if they hope to salvage a season that’s beginning to slip away.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Kristie Rieken, The Associated Press

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