The Houston Texans are 0-3. Indeed, they are two seasons removed from similarly being 0-3, but not many 0-3 teams have made the playoffs: try four since 1990.
0-3 escalates the talk of playoff qualification to September, a time when teams are getting their feet wet and acclimating to the new season.
Going three weeks into a season might panic some teams, but Texans coach Bill O’Brien believes his veteran roster knows 0-3 means it is time to focus, not time to panic.
“We have to get our sights set on Minnesota, back home,” O’Brien told reporters after the Texans’ 28-21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday at Heinz Field. “Minnesota is a good team. We haven’t played anybody in the division yet. There is a lot of football left. It’s not where you want to be, but we have a really veteran team in many aspects. So, I don’t think anybody is panicking, but everybody knows that 0-3 is not where we want to be. It’s urgency more so than it is panic.”
For the Texans to play with more urgency, it is going to take constant improvement. For defensive end J.J. Watt, who collected four total tackles against the Steelers, improvement is the essence of pro sports.
“If you’re not interested in getting better and finding ways to get better, then you’re probably in the wrong profession and you shouldn’t be in sports, because that’s what this job is,” said Watt. “It’s finding a way every day to get better, every week to get better, and right now we need to do that in a hurry.”
Quarterback Deshaun Watson has been the focal point of the Texans’ offseason moves with the team trading for running back David Johnson, receiver Brandin Cooks, and signing receiver Randall Cobb. Though the two-time Pro Bowler has taken 13 sacks, the most ever in his career through the first three weeks, Watson chooses optimism, not pessimism.
“We are where we are, 0-3, but there’s a lot of positivity in this,” said Watson. “We can’t get caught up in the negativity. There’s a lot of football to go. We got 13 more games. Anything can happen in 13 games. We haven’t even played our division teams. So, there’s a lot of opportunities out there.”
Watson completed 19-of-27 for 264 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in the loss.
“I can’t let myself get discouraged,” Watson said. “very week is a new week. We missed it all this week, and now we’re sitting at 0-3. But at the end of the day the one thing we can try to do is win next week and continue on.”
All it takes is one win for the Texans. In 2018, they ripped off nine straight, but they had to get that elusive first. If the Texans can beat the Vikings at NRG Stadium on Oct. 4, it may create the spark of optimism needed to recover their 0-3 start.