The Texans and Jets played an ‘Oops, All Punts!’ first half and it was hideous

One of the worst halves of football we’ve ever seen.

Entering Sunday’s matchup in the Meadowlands, we thought we understood the Houston Texans and New York Jets. Led by the bright C.J. Stroud, Houston was an underrated playoff contender brimming with promise. Led by the incompetent Zach Wilson, New York was a team spiraling down the drain of a lost 2023 season.

It seems the powers of Wilson and the Jets’ offense (as well as the team’s elite defense) rubbed off on an abysmal first-half display.

In a scoreless opening half, the Texans and Jets punted 11 times. That is not a typo or a misprint. Not one possession between both teams ended with anything but a booming punt downfield. No wonder this was the first NFL game with a scoreless first half since 2019. Woof.

And yes, in case you were wondering, it was genuinely as ugly as it sounds:

For what it’s worth, Stroud and Wilson seemed to exchange their quarterbacking powers. Wilson eventually got the Jets on the board with not one but two touchdowns to start the second half on a better foot. Stroud, meanwhile, struggled to get his offense rolling in a proper rhythm, having completed just single-digit passes near the end of the third quarter.

Even still, we won’t soon forget that first half of football that seemed determined to set back offense as we know it.