The 2024 season was the Houston Texans' 23rd in the National Football League (NFL) and the second under head coach DeMeco Ryans. The team introduced new uniforms for the first time since the franchise's inception. This was the Texans' first season with Cal McNair as the franchise's sole principal owner. The Texans started 2–0 for the first time since 2016 following their Week 2 victory against the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football. The Texans would go on to have a 5–1 start, being their best start since 2012, but lost six of their next ten, including a game against the Detroit Lions where they blew a 23–7 halftime lead, and a loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas where they lost 31–2, only scoring a safety. Poor offensive-line play alongside numerous injuries contributed to these losses, including injuries to their top three receivers, Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs, and Tank Dell. Because of a sweep of their division rival Indianapolis Colts, a Week 15 victory against the Miami Dolphins coupled with the Colts’ loss to the Denver Broncos resulted in the Texans successfully defending their AFC South title and clinching a second consecutive playoff performance. After a Week 18 victory over the Tennessee Titans, the Texans finished with the same record as the season before, 10–7.
Despite their inconsistent regular season performance, the Texans' dominated the Los Angeles Chargers 32–12 in the Wild Card Round to advance to the Divisional Round for the second consecutive season, where they lost to the AFC's top seed and two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs 23–14.
Offseason
Signings Position Player Age 2023 team Contract RB Dare Ogunbowale 29 Houston Texans 1 year, $1.5 million LB Azeez Al-Shaair 26 Tennessee Titans 3 years, $34 million LB Del'Shawn Phillips 27 Baltimore Ravens 1 year, $2.6 million LB Jacob Phillips 25 Cleveland Browns 1 year, $1.15 million DE Danielle Hunter 29 Minnesota Vikings 2 years, $49 million DE Denico Autry 33 Tennessee Titans 2 years, $20 million DE Mario Edwards Jr. 30 Seattle Seahawks 1 year, $1.65 million DE Derek Barnett 27 Houston Texans 1 years, $2 million DT Folorunso Fatukasi 29 Jacksonville Jaguars 1 year, $3.125 million DT Tim Settle 26 Buffalo Bills 2 years, $7 million CB Myles Bryant 26 New England Patriots 1 year, $1.75 million CB Jeff Okudah 25 Atlanta Falcons 1 year, $6 million CB Mike Ford 28 Cleveland Browns 2 years, $4.5 million CB Lonnie Johnson Jr. 28 New Orleans Saints 1 year, $2.5 million CB C. J. Henderson 25 Carolina Panthers 1 year, $3.25 million OT David Sharpe 28 Carolina Panthers 2 years, $2.58 million P Tommy Townsend 27 Kansas City Chiefs 2 years, $6 million
Trades March 13To Houston Texans Joe MixonTo Cincinnati Bengals 2024 7th round pick #224 (from Arizona)To Houston Texans 2024 7th round pick #232 (from Denver)To San Francisco 49ers Maliek CollinsMarch 15To Houston Texans 2024 2nd round pick #42 2024 6th round pick #188 2025 2nd round pick (traded to BUF)To Minnesota Vikings 2024 1st round pick #23 2024 7th round pick #232April 3To Houston Texans Stefon Diggs 2024 6th round pick #189 2025 5th round pickTo Buffalo Bills 2025 2nd round pick (from Minnesota)May 9To Houston Texans Ben Skowronek 2026 7th round pickTo Los Angeles Rams 2026 6th round pick
Draft
+ 2024 Houston Texans draft selections Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 23 Traded to the Minnesota Vikings 27 Traded to the Arizona Cardinals 2 42 Kamari Lassiter CB Georgia From Vikings 59 Blake Fisher OT Notre Dame 3 78 Calen Bullock S USC From Seahawks via Commanders and Eagles 86 Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles From Eagles 90 Traded to the Arizona Cardinals 4 123 Cade Stover TE Ohio State From Browns via Eagles 127 Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles 5 162 Traded to the Arizona Cardinals 6 188 Jamal Hill LB Oregon From Raiders via Patriots and Vikings 189 Traded to the Detroit Lions From Bills 205 Jawhar Jordan RB Louisville From Lions 7 224 Traded to the Cincinnati Bengals From Cardinals 232 Traded to the Minnesota Vikings 238 Solomon Byrd DE USC From Saints 247 Marcus Harris DT Auburn 249 LaDarius Henderson G Michigan From Lions
+ 2024 Houston Texans undrafted free agents Name Position College Ref. Tarique Barnes LB Illinois British Brooks RB North Carolina Jadon Janke WR South Dakota State Jaxon Janke WR South Dakota State Pheldarius Payne DE Virginia Tech Max Tooley LB BYU
Draft trades
NFL Top 100
NFL Network began announcing its annual top 100 list on July 22, 2024. Four players were named to the list.
Rank Player Position Change 20 C. J. Stroud Quarterback NR 56 Stefon Diggs Wide receiver 40 68 Danielle Hunter Defensive end NR 71 Laremy Tunsil Offensive tackle 14
Staff
Final roster
Preseason Schedule On March 26, the NFL announced that the Texans would play the Chicago Bears in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, August 1, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, at 7:00 p.m. CDT. The Texans were represented by Andre Johnson. The two teams also met in Week 2 of the regular season in Houston.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap HOF vs. Chicago Bears L 17–21 0–1 Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Recap 1 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 20–12 1–1 Acrisure Stadium Recap 2 New York Giants W 28–10 2–1 NRG Stadium Recap 3 Los Angeles Rams W 17–15 3–1 NRG Stadium Recap
Game summaries Hall of Fame Game: vs. Chicago Bears
The game went into a weather delay with 3:31 left in the third quarter with a thunderstorm raining down on the stadium with lightning in the area. After a delay of 30 minutes, the game was officially called.
Preseason Week 1: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Preseason Week 2: vs New York Giants
Preseason Week 3: vs Los Angeles Rams
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 8 at Indianapolis Colts W 29–27 1–0 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 2 September 15 Chicago Bears W 19–13 2–0 NRG Stadium Recap 3 September 22 at Minnesota Vikings L 7–34 2–1 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap 4 September 29 Jacksonville Jaguars W 24–20 3–1 NRG Stadium Recap 5 October 6 Buffalo Bills W 23–20 4–1 NRG Stadium Recap 6 October 13 at New England Patriots W 41–21 5–1 Gillette Stadium Recap 7 October 20 at Green Bay Packers L 22–24 5–2 Lambeau Field Recap 8 October 27 Indianapolis Colts W 23–20 6–2 NRG Stadium Recap 9 at New York Jets L 13–21 6–3 MetLife Stadium Recap 10 November 10 Detroit Lions L 23–26 6–4 NRG Stadium Recap 11 at Dallas Cowboys W 34–10 7–4 AT&T Stadium Recap 12 November 24 Tennessee Titans L 27–32 7–5 NRG Stadium Recap 13 December 1 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 23–20 8–5 EverBank Stadium Recap 14Bye 15 December 15 Miami Dolphins W 20–12 9–5 NRG Stadium Recap 16 at Kansas City Chiefs L 19–27 9–6 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 17 December 25 Baltimore Ravens L 2–31 9–7 NRG Stadium Recap 18 January 5 at Tennessee Titans W 23–14 10–7 Nissan Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Indianapolis Colts
The Texans defeated the Colts for their first week 1 win since 2021. Week 2: vs. Chicago Bears
With this win, the Texans earned their first 2–0 start since 2016.
Week 3: at Minnesota Vikings
With this loss, the Houston Texans are 0–6 all-time against the Minnesota Vikings.
Week 4: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
A late touchdown pass from C. J. Stroud allowed the Texans to avoid the Jaguars' upset bid, improving to 3–1, their best start since 2016. Week 5: vs. Buffalo Bills
Buffalo rallied from a 20–3 deficit to tie the game late in the 4th quarter; however, after three straight incompletions by Josh Allen from his own 1-yard line, Buffalo was forced to punt and Houston took advantage of the field position to convert Ka'imi Fairbairn's game-winning 59-yard field goal. This improved the Texans to 4–1, their best start since a 5–0 start in 2012.
Week 6: at New England Patriots
This game marked the Texans first win in Foxborough in franchise history. They were previously 0–5 in the regular season and 0–2 in the playoffs against the Patriots in Foxborough.
Week 7: at Green Bay Packers
Despite forcing three turnovers in the first half, the Texans were unable to pull away, and the Packers were able to win on a last-second field goal. With the loss, the Texans dropped to 5–2, as well as being 1–5 all-time against the Packers.
Week 8: vs. Indianapolis Colts
With this win, the Texans swept the Colts for the first time since 2016, and improved to 6–2, two games clear of the Colts (with the head-to-head tiebreaker) in the division race.
Week 9: at New York Jets
With the loss, the Texans fell to 6–3 and lost their third straight game against the Jets. Week 10: vs. Detroit Lions
The Texans, primarily from their defense which intercepted Lions quarterback Jared Goff five times, built a 23–7 halftime lead; however, their offense continued its second half struggles, and the Lions rallied with 19 unanswered points, winning it on a walk-off field goal from Jake Bates. With the loss, the Texans fell to 6–4. Week 11: at Dallas Cowboys
This game marked the Texans first win against the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in franchise history. They were previously 0–2 against the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium and 0–3 on the road against the Cowboys in franchise history, as they lost the only game they played against the Cowboys at Texas Stadium in 2006. The Texans also snapped their 4-game streak without scoring a touchdown in the second half, improving to 7–4.
Week 12: vs. Tennessee Titans
Ka'imi Fairbairn missed a 30-yard field goal that would have tied the game just after the two-minute warning; the Texans got the ball back one more time, but C. J. Stroud ran out of the end zone for a safety, similar to Dan Orlovsky's infamous play against the Vikings. With the upset loss, the Texans fell to 7–5. This was their only division loss of the season.
Week 13: at Jacksonville Jaguars
During the second quarter, Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair made an illegal hit on Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The hit and subsequent brawl between Al-Shaair and several Jaguars players resulted in Al-Shaair being suspended for three games. The Texans held off a late rally by the Jaguars to improve to 8–5 and swept the season series for the first time since 2021, winning their seventh straight away game against the Jaguars.
Week 15: vs. Miami Dolphins
With the win and the Colts losing to the Broncos later in the day, the Texans clinched the AFC South for the second straight season.
Week 16: at Kansas City Chiefs Tank Dell was lost for the season with a broken leg on a touchdown catch from C.J. Stroud in the 3rd quarter.
Week 17: vs. Baltimore Ravens Christmas Day games In an ugly performance, the Texans offense got nothing going against the Ravens and were shut out, though they managed a safety on a tackle of Derrick Henry in the endzone in the 2nd quarter.
Week 18: at Tennessee Titans
With the win, the Texans finished the season 10–7 and won their fourth straight game against the Titans in Nashville.
Standings Division
Conference
Postseason
Schedule Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap Wild Card Los Angeles Chargers (5) W 32–12 1–0 NRG Stadium Recap Divisional at Kansas City Chiefs (1) L 14–23 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
Game summaries AFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. (5) Los Angeles Chargers
This is the first time the Texans have played the Chargers in the playoffs, with the Texans being 3–6 against them all-time. The Texans had made their eight appearance in the wild-card round in their 23-year history, and they had played in the Saturday 4:30 slot each time (this streak would finally be broken the following year when the Texans played on Monday night). Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert, who only threw a total of three interceptions during the regular season, was picked off four times during the game.
AFC Divisional Playoffs: at (1) Kansas City Chiefs