Texans offense gets a stronger review from Sports Illustrated

At NRG Stadium, the Houston Texans offense keeps drawing mixed reviews heading into the 2025 season. One fresh national assessment from Sports Illustrated leans more optimistic, arguing the unit has more going for it than many outside critics want to admit.

That stands out here because the conversation around the Texans has tilted hard toward questions. Houston changed pieces on offense, took heat for protection issues late last season and now enters a year where every Stroud snap will be dissected. Sports Illustrated sees a group that still has enough talent and structure to produce, even if the national noise has gotten louder.

The core of that view starts with quarterback C.J. Stroud and the belief that Houston still has the ingredients to move the ball at a high level. The Texans have spent the last two years building an offense around Stroud's poise, timing and willingness to attack downfield. Critics have focused on what was lost, what went wrong up front and whether last year's uneven stretches exposed deeper flaws.

Sports Illustrated pushed in the other direction. The outlet's evaluation pointed to the remaining skill talent and the possibility that Houston's offense can function better than expected if the line settles in and Stroud returns to the form that made him one of the league's biggest young stars. That does not erase concerns. It does suggest the ceiling remains higher than the most negative projections.

Texans offense still has pieces that matter

Houston's offense is not being graded in a vacuum. The Texans play in a division where scoring swings games quickly, and the AFC remains packed with quarterbacks who force teams to match points. That raises the pressure on every part of Bobby Slowik's old framework and whatever tweaks the staff carries forward this season.

Stroud remains the center of the argument. If he plays efficiently and gets cleaner protection, the Texans offense can look a lot different from the unit that frustrated people in key moments. Houston also still has proven playmakers capable of creating explosive gains, which is one reason a more favorable review is not hard to understand.

Why the national disagreement matters in Houston

The gap between critics and believers says a lot about where the Texans are as a franchise. This team is no longer getting graded like a rebuild. In Houston, the standard has moved toward playoff contention and consistency, so every ranking and projection gets read through that lens.

Sports Illustrated's stance does not hand the Texans any wins. It does reflect that the offense may be closer to dangerous than broken. If that proves true in training camp and the preseason, the tone around this team could shift fast once games begin.

Houston's offense will have to settle the debate on the field, and that starts when Stroud and the first unit get their next extended work ahead of the regular season. Credit Sports Illustrated for the original reporting and analysis that highlighted the more optimistic case for the Texans offense.

This article is a summary of reporting by Sports Illustrated. Read the full story here.