2023 Houston Texans Season

The 2023 season was the Houston Texans' 22nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and the first under head coach DeMeco Ryans. While the team went into the season with low expectations as a rebuilding period and started 0–2, they not only improved on their 3–13–1 record from last year with a Week 9 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the Texans qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2019 with a win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 18, ending with a 10–7 record. After the Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Tennessee Titans the day after, the Texans also clinched the AFC South for the first time since 2019. The Texans became the fifth team in NFL history to make the playoffs with both a rookie quarterback and a rookie head coach, as well as making history as the first team in NFL history to win a division entirely with a rookie head coach and rookie quarterback.The other teams to make the playoffs with a rookie QB and HC were:
* 2008 Atlanta Falcons
* 2008 Baltimore Ravens
* 2009 New York Jets
* 2012 Indianapolis Colts

In the Wild Card round of the playoffs, the Texans stunned the favored Cleveland Browns with a 45–14 win. The team’s season ended when they lost to the Baltimore Ravens 34-10 in the divisional round, preventing them from making their first AFC Championship appearance in franchise history.

Offseason

On January 8, the Texans fired Lovie Smith after just one rebuilding season as the head coach with a record of 3–13–1. On January 31, the Texans hired San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator and former player DeMeco Ryans as their new head coach.

Draft

Draft trades and notes

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Baltimore Ravens

Week 2: vs. Indianapolis Colts

Week 3: at Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 4: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

For the second straight week, the Texans had back-to-back upset victories, and improved to 2-2. Former defensive end J.J. Watt was inducted to the Houston Texans Ring of Honor during halftime. Coincidentally, his brother T.J was playing in this game, though for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Week 5: at Atlanta Falcons

Week 6: vs. New Orleans Saints

With the win, the Texans improved to 3–3 and matched their win total from the previous season.

Week 8: at Carolina Panthers

Week 9: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Placekicker Kaʻimi Fairbairn exited the game at halftime with a quad injury. Running back Dare Ogunbowale handled kickoffs for the Texans during the second half.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud sets the NFL single-game record for passing yards by a rookie with 470 passing yards, surpassing the record set by Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.

Week 10: at Cincinnati Bengals

Week 11: vs. Arizona Cardinals

Week 12: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 13: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 14: at New York Jets

Week 15: at Tennessee Titans

Week 16: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 17: vs. Tennessee Titans

Week 18: at Indianapolis Colts

With the win, the Texans clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2019 and finished the regular season with a record of 10–7. The 10 wins also broke the franchise record for most wins in a season by a first-year head coach. The following day, the Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Tennessee Titans; as a result of the Jaguars' loss, the Texans won the AFC South.

Standings

Division

Conference

Postseason

Schedule

Game summaries

AFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. (5) Cleveland Browns

AFC Divisional Playoffs: at (1) Baltimore Ravens

Notes

Statistics

Team

Individual

Source:

References

External links

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{{2023 NFL season by team

Houston
Houston Texans seasons
Houston Texans
AFC South championship seasons