The Nightmare That Could Derail the Texans in 2025 Goes Beyond the O-Line

The beautiful and equally terrifying thing about the NFL is that every team starts 0-0. Last season doesn’t matter anymore; just the next game does. That leaves the door open for the highest of hopes and the darkest of fears.

Bleacher Report recently took a shot at laying out all 32 teams’ nightmare scenarios for the 2024 season, and the Texans’ isn’t too hot of a take.

“The Laremy Tunsil trade backfires and a rejigged offensive line is no better or worse for C.J. Stroud, who can't shake a sophomore slump as the Texans lose control of the division,” Brad Gagnon wrote.

The Texans revamped their offensive line this season after relenting 52 sacks on Stroud last year, but there’s certainly room to wonder if trading Tunsil was the right move. Stroud did have a down season in Year 2 due to the constant pressure, but Houston didn’t exactly lose its grip on the otherwise weak AFC South.

Respectfully, I disagree that this is a nightmare scenario for Houston, or at least the full story of one. The Texans are strong enough at every other position group to overcome middling offensive line play, just as they did in 2024. Would the 2025 season likely end in the same style of disappointment? Yeah. Would the Texans miss the playoffs? Probably not.

While it’s admittedly no hotter of a take, I’d argue more crushing injuries are the real nightmare scenario for Houston. To be fair, these types of 'nightmare scenario' articles rarely bring up injuries, and for good reason. Still, if you’re the superstitious type, now’s the time to start knocking on wood.

The Texans saw Jalen Pitre, Tank Dell, Christian Harris, and others go down for extended periods throughout the 2024 season. While that’s just the nature of NFL football, injuries are one of the few things standing in the way of Houston winning the AFC South for the third-straight season.

Consider that re-shaped offensive line. Texans fans know all too well the dangers of watching a young quarterback eat league-leading totals of sacks across multiple seasons. 

While, again, Houston overcame this same obstacle in 2024, the real nightmare scenarios lie in the unpredictable. Isn’t that what makes a nightmare a nightmare? Watching something terrifying or unfortunate unfold in first-person view, well out of your control?

Houston should expect some growing pains with its new offensive line, but there’s little reason to expect that the proactive nature with which the Texans approached their biggest weakness from last season will lead to Stroud becoming a worse player.

Still, health, especially among the elite players on the Texans' impressive roster, is the key to staying on top of a division that is theirs to lose in the first place. Even if Stroud eats another 50 sacks this season, he and the Texans proved last year that, as long as Stroud and other key players are still healthy, they're more than capable of overcoming that nightmare to at least preserve the status quo.