Perspective: Football’s back. However, it was only the first preseason game for both teams. Generally, you don’t see many of the starters play in the first preseason game, outside of maybe one or two drives max. This is the time for the back end of the roster to showcase that they can perform in game conditions. How many of these players that logged the most minutes, especially in the second half, end up making the final roster will be quite the guessing game. For the Texans, this was all about depth. Given the top-heavy nature of the squad, especially on defense, it is most important for those players to show out. At least until the 4th quarter, the depth played generally quality defense. Likely due to the talent drop-off and the absence of any semblance of real offense for Houston, the defense broke against the Chargers. Still, all of these results will mean nothing come September 13th.
Hope you love 12 formations: During the offseason, Offensive Coordinator Nick Caley indicated a high interest in running more offensive plays out of a 12 formation (1 running back, 2 tight ends). Last season, Houston mainly used 11 formations (1 RB, 1 TE), with clearly mixed results. With a 12 formation, Houston could diversify its offensive play-calling, with more blockers to help a bottom-tier running game. Granted, this will mean that Houston must have quality TEs that can catch and block. In this game, the results were mixed. There were some good highlights (more later), but overall, the Houston offense didn’t offer a lot of reassurance that 12 formations will pay off all that much.
A near crisis moment: Seasons aren’t won in the preseason, but they can be lost, or at least, massively disrupted. Houston nearly faced that at the end of the 1st half. The apparent idea was for Davis Mills and the 1st team offensive line to play at least one series and then turn the game over to Graham Mertz. A 2025 6th round selection, Mertz could really use this preseason to solidify his hold on the QB3 position, as well as potentially move into the backup slot next season. After Mills led the team to an opening drive TD, Mertz took over the offense. 4 of 7 for 23 yards passing doesn’t really move the needle. He did have 3 rushes for 15 yards. However, it was that last rush that led to the crisis moment for Houston. After a 9-yard scramble, Mertz was on the ground, holding his leg. He would leave under his own power, but did not come back on to the field. Ryans later acknowledged that it was his ACL, and this was confirmed Friday night, with Mertz tearing his right ACL and expected to miss the rest of the season. Given that Mertz’s college career at Florida ended with an ACL tear, this is not surprising, nor good news.
This left Houston in a rather dire situation. CJ Stroud, as the starter, was not dressed for the game. Davis Mills only expected to play one drive, and after a successful 4 of 6 for 54 yards and 1 TD (a 5 yard TD pass to Jared Wayne), it figured he had a good night’s preseason work. However, the Texans have no other quarterback on the roster aside from Stroud and Mertz. Suddenly, Houston faced a very uncomfortable situation of only having one effective QB on the roster. Mills ended up playing the rest of the game, and likely the sudden shift into returning to the field impacted his performance. 5 of 9 for 28 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs does not make for an effective performance. Then again, the priority was not so much moving the ball, but rather making sure that Mills didn’t get injured. That can have a rather significant impact on offensive performance. If Mills had been injured, it is unknown what Houston would have done. Stroud won’t have played, but either an emergency QB steps in, or Houston would forfeit the game. Expect Houston to sign another QB, likely before next week’s game against the Raiders.
FUN WITH NUMBERS:
20: Worst margin of defeat for Houston in a preseason game since 2023: Take any and all preseason records with a massive grain of salt. However, Houston has not suffered this bad a preseason loss since 2023, when the Houston Texans lost their sole home preseason game in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins 28-3.
.677: Jim Harbaugh’s winning percentage at NRG/Reliant Stadium. Chargers’ coach Jim Harbaugh won his second game at NRG/Reliant with this past Thursday’s win. Granted, a preseason win is not worth all that much, but a win is a win. His other win will resonate more as it was the 2023-24 FBS National Championship game where in his final game at Michigan, his Wolverines logged a 34-13 win over the Washington Huskies. His only loss at NRG/Reliant was a 32-12 playoff blasting by the Texans in the 2024-25 Wild Card round.
GAME BALLS:
TE Martin Klein: Perhaps the franchise’s most overdrafted TE since Bennie Joppru, or at least based on all of the commentary since he was drafted in the second round by Houston, he opened the game as a starting TE. Then he managed to provide Houston with its biggest play of the night: a 36 yard catch from Davis Mills that flipped the field and set up the sole score for the Texans. Granted, one catch does not completely undo any other narratives, but if Klein can build on this performance, that bodes well for Houston’s 12 formation plans.
C Keylan Rutledge: He opened the game as the starting center. His only action was that opening drive, but that he was part of the starting lineup indicates a lot of positives for him in his battle with Jake Andrews in the quest to claim the starting center position. Perhaps Andrews starts the next game, but if Rutledge opens as the starter next week, you would have to think that Rutledge will open the regular season at the center spot.
2026 Drafted Defensive Rookies: DL Kayden MacDonald and S Kamari Ramsey had a solid debut on the Texans defense. Ramsey missed one pick by then got an INT with a 40-yard return at the end of the 1st half. MacDonald managed a solid run stuff and was quite a disruptive run-stuffing threat. LB Aiden Fisher also played well in the second half, with 5 tackles and one TFL.
SHOULD BE FORCED TO LISTEN TO THE INANE PLAY-BY-PLAY OF THE TEXANS’ TV COVERAGE ON REPEAT WHILE READING THE TRANSCRIPT CONCURRENTLY.
OL Blake Fisher: Swing OL Fisher did not exactly distinguish himself during the game, and given that his future on the team is not exactly secure, any bad performance in game situations cannot be good for his long-term future.
Texans’ Short Yardage Play After the 1st Drive: Perhaps the starters looked great. However, after the backups started to get into the game, it wasn’t exactly a lot of greatness. Houston was stopped on multiple short-yardage plays. On arguably the best drive after the opening drive, Houston was stopped twice on a 3rd and 4th and 1, bringing up bad memories of last season (think the Seattle game). They failed on a 4th and 1 late in the 4th quarter, effectively ending any final interest for the Houston fan in this matchup.
With that, Houston opens its preseason at 0-1. Their next matchup is a duel against the Las Vegas Raiders next Thursday at 7:00 pm CDT on ABC/ESPN at Reliant.