3 Key Takeaways From Texans' Humbling MNF Loss vs. Seahawks

After two weeks where the Texans' offense felt like it had finally found its groove, Week 7 was a much different story for C.J. Stroud and the rest of this scoring unit.

Stroud had his own respective struggles on the night, completing less than 50% of his throws on nearly 50 attempts and throwing an early second half pick that made any Houston comeback a steeper mountain to climb, but the situation around him didn't do many favors either.

The Texans quarterback was pressured from the Seattle pass rush throughout the entire night. The run game never got established, and the Texans' top offensive target, wide receiver Nico Collins, would leave in the second half with a head injury.

Stroud did tap in for one late-game touchdown to rookie Woody Marks which kept a comeback in reach within the second half, but it was too little, too late for that climb to come to fruition.

While the Texans were able to take a breath of fresh air to show optimism offensively following two straight wins, now, they'll be headed back to the drawing board to determine just how to get this group back on track after a disorganized and messy night overall.

2. Dominated the Turnover Battle, But Wasn't Enough

Putting points on the board was a struggle for the Texans across Monday night, but the defensive end was able to provide a bit of a spark for Houston amid those troubles in the form of some stellar work in the turnover battle.

Four total turnovers generated by this Houston defense–– with one of those coming from a Will Anderson strip sack fumble in Seattle's end zone in the third quarter that kept the Texans within striking distance of a comeback. An Elijah Arroyo fumble and a pair of Sam Darnold interceptions added onto that tally, dominating the turnover battle 4-1.

But, with those turnovers on the defensive end comes opportunities that need to be capitalized on offensively, and for the Texans, those necessary strides just weren't there from start to finish.

Throughout the initial season sample size, this Texans defense has made it clear they can keep Houston in virtually any game as one of the best collective units in the NFL. However, in order to close the deal on those winning efforts, both sides of the ball have to be up to standard.

3. Costly Late-Game Mistakes

In the midst of Houston's attempt at a late fourth-quarter comeback in Seattle, two plays killed any momentum of that happening.

One was a botched kickoff to the Seahawks on the cusp of the two minute warning that wasted an opportunity for Houston to stop the clock defensively. Had the Texans kicked the ball out of bounds ahead of the two minute warning, it would have allowed Houston an extra 40 seconds of game clock to work with in order to muster together a comeback.

The second mistake came from a late unneccessary roughness penalty on defensive tackle Tim Settle Jr. once Seattle had the ball back, ultimately icing the results of the contest, and killed any hopes of Houston running back home with a victory.

It's another week where the Texans had chances at the end to execute and come away with a win, yet failed to do so, and leaves them falling short. Now, they're stuck behind the 8-ball at a 2-4 record on the year after the bye and needing to make up major ground to have a real shot at a postseason appearance.