HOUSTON — During an appearance on ‘The Thing About Sports’ hosted by Brian Fitzgerald and Chad Hastings, 95.7 The Fan morning host and Houston Texans studio anchor Sean Pendergast offered his assessment of the team's 0-2 start. Although Pendergast raised serious concerns regarding critical statistical shortcomings and tactical flaws that have plagued the team early on, he remains hopeful, citing the Texans' ability to overcome a 0-3 start to reach the postseason last year. These early struggles come as a disappointment given the expectations set by the franchise's recent playoff runs and consecutive double-digit win seasons.
A primary area of concern for Pendergast is the defense, which has struggled to live up to those pre-season expectations. In their opening loss to the Buffalo Bills, the defense surrendered nine explosive plays through the air, including a dominant performance by tight end Dalton Kincaid. While the defensive unit showed statistical improvement against Cincinnati, Pendergast noted that their inability to force turnovers and a continued vulnerability to chunk plays remain major red flags heading into divisional play.
Offensively, the Texans are grappling with execution issues, particularly along the offensive line and in short-yardage situations. During the team's loss to the Bengals, offensive coordinator Nick Caley opted for heavy 11-personnel sets—featuring one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers—for 87 percent of the game, despite carrying five tight ends on the roster.
"You've got five tight ends on the roster," Pendergast said. "They brought four to gameday last week, and they don't have Nico Collins, and you're running formations out there where your wide receivers are Jared Wayne, Xavier Hutchinson, and Keshawn Boutte... That was the issue... Unacceptable for Nick Caley."
The lack of run-game support forced quarterback C.J. Stroud to attempt 55 passes against Cincinnati, an alarming volume that Pendergast characterized as unsustainable.
"Fifty-five throws is, from just purely the number, the volume of it is not acceptable," Pendergast said. "I didn't have a problem with them shifting away from the run game. The issue I had was the personnel they had out there and the fact that when they did run the football, they were running it right into the teeth of what the Bengals do well."
Pendergast absolved running back David Montgomery of blame, attributing the stagnant ground game to blown assignments upfront rather than individual tailback play.
Looking ahead to an upcoming road matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, Pendergast noted that both teams face key personnel absences, with Nico Collins sidelined for Houston and Alec Pierce out for Indianapolis. He emphasized that Stroud’s ability to manage a hostile road environment will be critical as the Texans attempt to avoid an 0-3 start.
"The degree of difficulty of this schedule compared to last year is on another level," Pendergast said. "So, I'm majorly concerned right now about this team, and it feels really, really weird to say that because C.J. Stroud has actually been pretty good so far this year."
You can hear 'The Thing About Sports' every Saturday at 9am on Talk 1370!
