The 2019 season was the Houston Texans' 18th in the National Football League (NFL) and their sixth under head coach Bill O'Brien. It also marked the first full season without the ownership of Bob McNair, who died during the 2018 season. It was, however, the first season of full ownership of both Janice McNair and D. Cal McNair. For the first time in franchise history, the team played in London, against the Jacksonville Jaguars. On June 7, 2019, the Texans fired general manager Brian Gaine after only one season.
The Texans attempted to match their 11–5 record from 2018 despite trading defensive end Jadeveon Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks for a 3rd round pick and two players. However, they lost their third straight season opener to the New Orleans Saints. Their first win came in Week 2 against the Jaguars. With a Week 16 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Texans clinched the AFC South for the fourth time in five seasons and their sixth overall division title. With the victory, the Texans also clinched their second 10-win season under O'Brien even though they failed to match their 11–5 record from last year.
They defeated the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round 22–19 in overtime despite falling behind 16–0. However, they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional round 51–31, despite taking an early 24–0 lead prior to trailing 28–24 at halftime. This marked the fourth time that the Texans' season had ended in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.
The Texans would not have another winning season or a playoff appearance until 2023.
Draft
Staff
Final roster
Preseason
The Texans' preseason schedule was announced on April 9. Exact dates and times were finalized on April 23.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Green Bay Packers L 26–28 0–1 Lambeau Field Recap 2 Detroit Lions W 30–23 1–1 NRG Stadium Recap 3 at Dallas Cowboys L 0–34 1–2 AT&T Stadium Recap 4 Los Angeles Rams L 10–22 1–3 NRG Stadium Recap
Game summaries
Week 1: at Green Bay Packers
In the first preseason game of the 2019 season, the Texans had trouble holding on to the ball and committed four turnovers. Keke Coutee fumbled the ball on a muffed punt that was recovered in the end zone by Equanimeous St. Brown for a Packers' touchdown. Taiwan Jones also fumbled and lost the ball while Joe Webb threw two interceptions. Despite the turnovers, Houston out-gained Green Bay in total yards 412 vs. 237. After being down 18 points, the Texans rallied in the 4th quarter but the comeback fell short, losing to the Packers by 2.
Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions
The Texans received the opening kickoff, with their first team offense marching down the field with the drive ending with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson to DeAndre Hopkins. Watson finished the game 5/7 for 60 yards and a touchdown. Jordan Ta'amu also saw some play at quarterback, finishing 1/1 for 3 yards. Joe Webb was in as Houston's quarterback for most of the game, looking improved from the previous pre-season game. The Texans' offense committed less turnovers, with the only turnovers being a Webb interception and a fumble by wide receiver Steven Mitchell.
Week 3: at Dallas Cowboys
Running back Lamar Miller was injured on the second play of the game, tearing both his ACL and MCL. The Texans' offensive line struggled all game, giving up 8 sacks for a loss of 38 yards. Deshaun Watson only saw brief playing time, fumbling the ball after being sacked by Taco Charlton; Watson would not re-enter the game after the fumble and did not attempt any passes. Joe Webb saw most of the quarterback play for Houston, throwing two interceptions and being sacked 4 times for a loss of 18 yards. Rookie free agent quarterback Jordan Ta'amu also saw play, completing 2 passes out of 5 attempts for 26 yards with no turnovers. Ta'amu was also sacked 3 times for a loss of 14 yards. The Texans only had 135 total yards with 4 turnovers while the Cowboys had 362 yards with no turnovers.
Week 4: vs. Los Angeles Rams
Two days after the game it was announced that the Texans had traded star defensive player Jadeveon Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks. The Texans received defensive ends Barkevious Mingo and Jacob Martin along with a 2020 third-round draft pick. Clowney was franchise tagged in March as a linebacker, but refused to sign the tag as he thought he should tagged a defensive end. Houston tried trading Clowney to the Miami Dolphins earlier in the week, but since Clowney had not signed his tag he had final say on where he would be traded to.
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at New Orleans Saints L 28–30 0–1 Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap 2 September 15 Jacksonville Jaguars W 13–12 1–1 NRG Stadium Recap 3 September 22 at Los Angeles Chargers W 27–20 2–1 Dignity Health Sports Park Recap 4 September 29 Carolina Panthers L 10–16 2–2 NRG Stadium Recap 5 October 6 Atlanta Falcons W 53–32 3–2 NRG Stadium Recap 6 October 13 at Kansas City Chiefs W 31–24 4–2 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 7 October 20 at Indianapolis Colts L 23–30 4–3 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 8 October 27 Oakland Raiders W 27–24 5–3 NRG Stadium Recap 9 November 3 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 26–3 6–3 Wembley Stadium Recap 10Bye 11 November 17 at Baltimore Ravens L 7–41 6–4 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 12 Indianapolis Colts W 20–17 7–4 NRG Stadium Recap 13 December 1 New England Patriots W 28–22 8–4 NRG Stadium Recap 14 December 8 Denver Broncos L 24–38 8–5 NRG Stadium Recap 15 December 15 at Tennessee Titans W 24–21 9–5 Nissan Stadium Recap 16 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–20 10–5 Raymond James Stadium Recap 17 December 29 Tennessee Titans L 14–35 10–6 NRG Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: at New Orleans Saints
The Texans' offense started off slow, only gaining 15 total yards on their first two drives. On the Saints' second drive, Drew Brees was intercepted in the red zone by Whitney Mercilus at the Houston 4-yard line, returning it for 2 yards. On the first play following the turnover, Deshaun Watson threw a 54-yard pass to Will Fuller; the drive ended with a 21-yard touchdown run from Watson. The Texans took a one-point lead with 37 seconds left in the game, only for the Saints to drive downfield and kick a 58-yard field goal to win the game.
The Texans started 0–1, losing their third straight season opener. It was also the second straight road game that they had lost on a last-second field goal, after their Week 16 game against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018.
Week 2: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Texans were leading 13–6 in the second half before the Jags scored a touchdown. However, the Jags failed on their two-point conversion attempt, which led the Texans to their first win of the season.
Week 3: at Los Angeles Chargers
During the third quarter, quarterback Deshaun Watson made the 50th touchdown pass of his career on a 15-yarder to tight end Jordan Akins.
Week 4: vs. Carolina Panthers
Week 5: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta's defense struggled to contain Houston's offense, giving up 592 yards. Deshaun Watson passed for 426 yards with five touchdowns, only five incompletions, and no interceptions for a perfect passer rating.
Week 6: at Kansas City Chiefs
This was assistant head coach Romeo Crennel's first visit to Kansas City in 7 years, where he served as their interim head coach for the final 3 Weeks of the 2011 season, most notably ending the Green Bay Packers' hopes of a perfect season that year, and was the Chiefs' head coach during the 2012 season. With the win, the Texans improved to 4-2.
Week 7: at Indianapolis Colts
Week 8: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 9: at Jacksonville Jaguars NFL London Games
Week 11: at Baltimore Ravens
Week 12: vs. Indianapolis Colts
Week 13: vs. New England Patriots
The win snapped the Texans' eight-game losing streak to the Patriots, beating them for the first time since the 2009 season.
Week 14: vs. Denver Broncos Battle Red Day
Week 15: at Tennessee Titans
Week 16: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 17: vs. Tennessee Titans
With the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the Los Angeles Chargers earlier in the afternoon, the Texans were locked in at the 4th seed for the playoffs. Houston rested several offensive and defensive starters with A. J. McCarron starting at quarterback, his first start since 2015 when he played for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Standings
Division
Conference
Postseason
Schedule Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap Wild Card Buffalo Bills (5) W 22–19 1–0 NRG Stadium Recap Divisional January 12, 2020 at Kansas City Chiefs (2) L 31–51 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
Game summaries
AFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. (5) Buffalo Bills
Houston rallied back from a 16–0 3rd quarter deficit – having been held to 62 total yards in the first half – to win with 3:20 remaining in overtime on Kaʻimi Fairbairn's 28-yard field goal, for Buffalo's 6th consecutive playoff loss since their last win in December 1995.
On the opening drive of the game, Bills quarterback Josh Allen rushed for 42 yards – the Bills' longest rush of the season – and then caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from receiver John Brown on a trick play to put Buffalo up 7–0. In the second quarter, Devin Singletary rushed for an 18-yard gain and Allen completed a 28-yard pass to Brown as the team drove 69 yards in 11 plays to go up 10–0 on Stephen Hauschka's 40-yard field goal. Then after a punt, Buffalo drove 74 yards in 15 plays to score on a second 40-yard field goal from Hauschka, giving them a 13–0 lead at half-time.
Five minutes into the third quarter, Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins fumbled the ball while being tackled by Tre'Davious White, and Tremaine Edmunds recovered it on the Texans' 38-yard line. Buffalo then drove to the 12-yard line, but ended up settling for Hauschka's third field goal after Allen was sacked on third down by J. J. Watt, giving them a 16–0 lead. This time, Houston managed to respond, moving the ball 75 yards in 9 plays and scoring on a 20-yard touchdown run from quarterback Deshaun Watson; Watson also scored the ensuing 2-point conversion to make the score 16–8. On the Bills' ensuing drive, linebacker Whitney Mercilus forced a fumble while sacking Allen, which Jacob Martin recovered for the Texans at midfield with 14:18 remaining. Watson then completed a 20-yard pass to Kenny Stills that set up Fairbairn's 41-yard field goal, cutting the score to 16–11.
After Buffalo punted on their next drive, Watson completed a 41-yard pass – on the drive's second play – to Hopkins on the Buffalo 28-yard line, and later connected with tight end Darren Fells for 14 yards to bring up first and goal from the 1-yard line. Running back Carlos Hyde fumbled a pitch from Watson and was forced out of bounds for a 4-yard loss, before catching a 5-yard touchdown pass from Watson on the next play. Hopkins caught Watson's pass for a 2-point conversion, giving Houston their first lead at 19–16 with 4:42 remaining. Buffalo started out their next drive with a 38-yard completion from Allen to Singletary, and soon found themselves with a first down on the Texans' 25-yard line. After an incompletion, Frank Gore was dropped by Mike Adams for a 3-yard loss and then Allen was flagged for intentional grounding, pushing the team all the way back to the 42-yard line. Allen was sacked for a 19-yard loss by Martin on 4th-and-27, with a turnover on downs putting the Texans at Buffalo's 39-yard line with less than two minutes remaining. The Bills' defense managed to pin the Texans down, with Watson being stopped short by Star Lotulelei on 4th-and-1. Gaining the ball with 1:16 left, Allen led Buffalo 41 yards in 11 plays, including a 20-yard run by Allen, to score on Hauschka's 47-yard field goal, sending the game to overtime at 19–19.