2018 Houston Texans season

The 2018 season was the Houston Texans' 17th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their fifth under head coach Bill O'Brien. This marked the first season since 2005 that Rick Smith would not be the general manager as he took a leave of absence for family reasons. Despite an 0–3 start, their first in a decade, the Texans surpassed their win total from the previous season with a Week 8 win over the Miami Dolphins. They had a franchise record 9 consecutive wins that also broke the NFL record for most consecutive wins after starting 0–3. The streak ended with a Week 14 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. With a Week 15 win over the New York Jets, the Texans clinched their first 10-win season under head coach Bill O’Brien, their first 10-win season since 2012 and their third 10-win season in franchise history.

On November 23, 2018, Bob McNair, the founding owner of the Texans, died aged 81.

Despite losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 16, the Texans clinched a playoff berth after the New Orleans Saints defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers later that day.

With a Week 17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Texans clinched the AFC South division, winning their fifth division title.

The Texans lost in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, 21–7 to their AFC South rival, the Indianapolis Colts.

Draft trades

• The Texans traded their first-round selection (4th overall), as well as their 2017 first-round selection (25th overall) to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Cleveland's first-round selection in 2017 (12th overall).
• The Texans traded their second-round selection (35th overall), their sixth-round selection in 2017 (188th overall) and quarterback Brock Osweiler to Cleveland in exchange for Cleveland's fourth-round selection in 2017 (142nd overall).
• The Texans traded their fifth-round selection (141st overall) and offensive tackle Duane Brown in exchange for Seattle's third-round selection (80th overall) and a second-round selection in 2019.
• The Texans were awarded one third-round and two sixth-round compensatory picks (98th, 211th and 214th overall).

Owner – Janice McNair and D. Cal McNair President – Jamey Rootes General manager – Brian Gaine Executive vice president of football operations – Rick Smith Senior vice president of football administration – Chris Olsen Director of college scouting – Jon Carr Assistant director of college scouting – Mike Martin Director of pro personnel – Rob Kisiel Assistant director of pro personnel – C.J. Leak Head coaches

Head coach – Bill O'Brien Assistant head coach/defensive coordinator – Romeo Crennel Offensive coaches

Quarterbacks – Sean Ryan Running backs – Danny Barrett Wide receivers – John Perry Tight ends – Tim Kelly Offensive line – Mike Devlin Offensive assistant/assistant offensive line – Will Lawing Offensive assistant/special teams assistant – Wes Welker | | | Defensive coaches Defensive line – Anthony Weaver Senior defensive assistant/outside linebackers – John Pagano Inside linebackers – Bobby King Secondary – Anthony Midget Assistant secondary – D'Anton Lynn Defensive quality control – Matt O'Donnell Special teams coaches

Special teams coordinator – Brad Seely Assistant special teams – Tracy Smith Strength and conditioning

Senior director of sports performance – Luke Richesson Assistant strength and conditioning – Brian Bell Assistant strength and conditioning – Ian Jones |

28 Alfred Blue 27 D'Onta Foreman 38 Buddy Howell 26 Lamar Miller Wide receivers (WR)

14 DeAndre Carter RS 16 Keke Coutee 10 DeAndre Hopkins 11 Steven Mitchell 17 Vyncint Smith Tight ends (TE)

88 Jordan Akins 84 Ryan Griffin 83 Jordan Thomas | | Offensive linemen (OL) 70 Julién Davenport T 73 Zach Fulton G 63 Roderick Johnson T 64 Senio Kelemete G 74 Kendall Lamm T 65 Greg Mancz C 66 Nick Martin C 75 Martinas Rankin T Defensive linemen (DL)

97 Angelo Blackson DE 95 Christian Covington DE 92 Brandon Dunn NT 93 Joel Heath DE 98 D. J. Reader NT 91 Carlos Watkins DE 99 J. J. Watt DE | | Linebackers (LB) 50 Tyrell Adams ILB 90 Jadeveon Clowney OLB 51 Dylan Cole ILB 41 Zach Cunningham ILB 53 Duke Ejiofor OLB 58 Peter Kalambayi OLB 49 Josh Keyes ILB 55 Benardrick McKinney ILB 59 Whitney Mercilus OLB Defensive backs (DB)

23 Johnson Bademosi CB 39 Deante Burton CB 22 Aaron Colvin CB 29 Andre Hal FS 25 Kareem Jackson SS 24 Johnathan Joseph CB 32 Tyrann Mathieu FS 33 A. J. Moore SS 20 Justin Reid SS 34 Mike Tyson CB 43 Shareece Wright CB Special teams (ST)

 8 Trevor Daniel P  7 Kaʻimi Fairbairn K 46 Jon Weeks LS | | Practice squad 89 Jerell Adams TE 48 Davin Bellamy OLB 12 Amba Etta-Tawo WR 40 Josh Ferguson RB 31 Michael Hunter CB 42 Chris Landrum OLB 61 Maurquice Shakir G 62 Chad Slade G 79 David Steinmetz RT 86 Jester Weah WR (PS/I) 19 Isaac Whitney WR Reserve

15 Will Fuller WR (IR) 76 Seantrel Henderson LT (IR) 30 Kevin Johnson CB (IR) 35 Jermaine Kelly CB (IR) 52 Brian Peters ILB (IR) 57 Brennan Scarlett OLB (IR) 87 Demaryius Thomas WR (IR) 36 Kayvon Webster CB (IR) Rookies in italics 53 active, 9 reserve, 10 practice squad |

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Safety Tyrann Mathieu, who signed with the Texans in the offseason, intercepted a Tom Brady pass that was tipped by Angelo Blackson in the 1st quarter.

With the loss, the Texans fell to 0–3 for the first time since 2008, and suffered their ninth consecutive loss dating back to Week 12 of last season. They then went on to win their next nine games.

Win the win, the Texans improved to 1–3 and snapped a 9–game losing streak. Rookie wide receiver Keke Coutee made his NFL debut, finishing with 11 receptions for 109 yards. Coutee's 11 receptions are the most by a rookie receiver since the AFL–NFL merger.

Battle Red Day

In a low-scoring defensive battle, the Texans claimed the victory in final minutes when cornerback Johnathan Joseph intercepted a pass from Bills backup quarterback Nathan Peterman and returned it for the game-winning touchdown.

Lamar Miller had his first 100-yard rushing game since December 11, 2016 and also had his first rushing touchdown of the season on a 5-yard run during the third quarter. Safety Tyrann Mathieu sacked Jacksonville quarterback Cody Kessler in the fourth quarter for his first sack as a Texan and also had an interception. With the win, Houston improved to 4–3, took sole possession of 1st place in the AFC South, and had their first four-game winning streak since the 2015 season.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson threw five touchdowns (tying a career high) while only having four incompletions with no interceptions. Lamar Miller had another 100-yard rushing game for the second week in a row, running for 133 yards with a touchdown. With the win, the Texans improved to 5–3 and surpassed their win total from the previous season. Receiver Will Fuller tore his right ACL during the game and is expected to be out for 6 to 9 months.

With the close win, the Texans improved to 6–3. They are the first team since the 1970 Giants to win 6 in a row after starting 0–3.

With another close win, the Texans improved to 7–3, their best start since 2012. They also tied their longest win streak in franchise history at 7 straight, which they previously accomplished in 2011. This is the second straight game that the Texans have won thanks to a missed last second field goal.

The Texans successfully avenged their Week 2 loss to their division rival Titans. With their 8th straight win, they improved to 8–3 and eclipsed their previous franchise record for most consecutive wins. Coupled with a Steelers loss to the Denver Broncos the day before, the Texans' victory allowed them to leapfrog the Steelers for the No. 3 seed in the AFC.

This game was the first game following the death of the owner and founder Bob McNair and the team has dedicated the victory to him.

The Houston Texans were going for their ninth win in a row against Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns who the week before defeated the Bengals. The Texans were able to outplay the Browns en route to their ninth straight win and forced the Browns to turn the ball over four times including three interceptions by Baker Mayfield.

With the loss, the Texans 9-game winning streak was snapped. They also squandered an opportunity to move ahead of the Patriots for the No. 2 seed as the Patriots suffered a loss of their own to the Miami Dolphins.

With the win, the Texans improved to 10–4 and reached 10 wins for the first time since 2012, and for the first time in the Bill O'Brien era. With the Patriots loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers the next day, the Texans obtained sole possession of the No. 2 seed and now control their destiny for a first-round bye if they win their last 2 games.

The Texans traveled to Philadelphia seeking to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles for the first time in franchise history. Houston rallied from a 13-point fourth quarter deficit to take a one-point lead on a 35-yard touchdown reception by Vyncint Smith with 2:04 remaining in the game. However, the defense could not stop Philadelphia on the ensuing drive, and the Eagles prevailed 32-30 on a 35-yard field goal by Jake Elliott as time expired. With the loss, the Texans fell to 10-5 on the season and 0-5 all-time against the Eagles. Houston also failed to clinch the AFC South due to victories by the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts and slipped back to No. 3 with the New England Patriots victory over the Buffalo Bills. However, the Texans would clinch a playoff berth when the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the New Orleans Saints later that day.

This was the first time in Houston Texans history where they played against a division opponent in the postseason. With the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys hosting the Seattle Seahawks Saturday evening, it was also the first time in league history that two NFL playoff games were played in Texas on the same day.

Source:

• Official website