Red Zone Plus/Minus Ranking NFL Week 3: Texans Offense Is a Problem

For those suggesting that the Houston Texans’ defense can sue the offense for lack of support, the team’s performance in the red zone certainly backs up that claim. The Texans are the only team in the NFL this season that has yet to score a single red-zone touchdown. Then again, C.J. Stroud and the Texans have only reached the red zone four times in 2025 — by far the fewest number in the league through three weeks. Houston’s defense has played well, but the Texans still rank 31st in Athlon Sports’ exclusive Red Zone Plus/Minus statistic.

The only team with a worse Red Zone Plus/Minus is the Miami Dolphins, whose defense can take credit for that. The Dolphins have allowed 14 red-zone drives, tied for most in the league, and nine touchdowns on those drives. Shockingly, the Baltimore Ravens have allowed a league-high 11 touchdowns on 14 opponent red-zone drives.

Here’s a reminder how the Red Zone Plus/Minus is calculated: Red-zone drives resulting in a touchdown earn six points. Field goals earn three points. If a defense allows a red-zone touchdown, that’s minus-six, and a red-zone field goal allowed is minus-three.

A few other observarions from the updated Red Zone Plus/Minus:

• The New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons are the only teams with a losing record that have a positive plus/minus.
• Four teams that have a winning record have a negative plus/minus: Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Commanders, Cincinnati Bengals
• The biggest riser of the week was the Minnesota Vikings, who were -12 after Week 2 and gained 21 points to reach +9 now.
• The biggest faller was the Cincinnati Bengals, who dropped 21 points from +3 to -18.  

Here’s how all 32 NFL teams rank in Red Zone Plus/Minus after Week 3:

Drive stats provided by Jim Armstrong.