Current team fits in hall of shame
HOUSTON — Texans fans just think they know how to suffer.
The Texans are 2-11 and one of the NFL’S three-worst teams with Detroit (1-11-1) and Jacksonville (2-13). They’re guaranteed of having a second consecutive losing record.
I think we can all agree Sunday’s game at Jacksonville is the best chance the Texans have of winning a third game and avoiding tying the franchise record for fewest victories in a season.
But what if they lose to the Jaguars and finish 2-15, setting a team record for most defeats in a season?
They’ll get one of the top-two picks in the draft, possibly first overall if the Lions manage to win another game, which is doubtful considering their remaining schedule. The Texans would also have a 6-27 record in their last two seasons.
Even though the Lions are one-half game worse than the Texans, you can make a strong case for the Texans being the league’s worst team. There’s no doubt they have the worst offense.
Through 13 games, the Texans are 32nd in points (13.6 a game), point differential (minus-179), touchdown differential (minus-24), yards (264.2), yards rushing (77.5), yards per carry (3.3) and touchdowns rushing (six).
The Texans are 31st in passing (186.6) ahead of the Bears (176.5).
I’ve had so many fans ask if this is the worst Texans team in franchise history, and how do they compare to the worst teams in Oilers history.
Let’s check it out.
If the Texans lose the rest of their games, their two-year record of 6-27 would give them a winning percentage of .182. That’s pathetic, right?
Yes, but it’s not the most pathetic in our city’s history.
The worst two-year record in Houston history was provided by the 1972-73 Oilers. They were 1-13 in each season. That 2-26 record gave them a winning percentage of .071.
During a four-year stretch (1970-73) in which the Oilers had a new coach each season, they were 9-45-2, a .167 winning percentage.
Owner Bud Adams went from head coaches Wally Lemm (310-1) in 1970 to Ed Hughes (4-9-1)
in 1971 to Bill Peterson (1-13) in 1972 to Peterson (0-5) and Sid Gillman (1-8) a year later. Adams gave Peterson a lifetime contract and fired him after 19 games.
The 1971 Oilers finished 4-9-1 in their only season with Hughes as their coach. He was so ashamed of that season he wouldn’t allow it to be included in his biography for the rest of his career.
Hughes coached a team that used the third overall pick on quarterback Dan Pastorini.
Pastorini’s first team included three players who would be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame — safety Ken Houston, defensive end Elvin Bethea and receiver Charlie Joiner. Linebacker George Webster was good enough to be in the Hall of Fame, too.
Something interesting about the 1973 Oilers. Even though they won only one game, they continued stockpiling talent that helped them finish 7-7 in 1974. Gillman was still the coach, and Bum Phillips was in his first year as general manager. Phillips replaced Gillman as coach a year later.
That 1973 team included Pastorini, Bethea, receiver Kenny Burrough, offensive tackle Greg Sampson, outside linebacker Ted Washington and cornerback Willie Alexander. Five years later, they played substantial roles on the 1978 team that featured Earl Campbell and reached the AFC Championship Game in back-to-back seasons.
By the way, Houston fans haven’t seen a team reach the AFC Championship Game since the 1979 Oilers, who lost for a second consecutive season at Pittsburgh.
With the Oilers part of Houston history, they tend to be romanticized by a lot of fans, but they had another dreadful era.
From 1981-86, the Oilers had six consecutive losing seasons. Their record was 23-66 (.258). In the last five seasons during that period, they failed to win more than five games. In 1983-84 —
their worst two-year stretch — they were 4-27 (.148).
Now, looking at how the Texans could end up if they can’t defeat the Jaguars, this two-year stretch still won’t be as wretched as those two periods in Oilers’ history.
There are some things about this Texans’ team that reek.
For instance, the Texans have rushed for six touchdowns, fewest in the league. They have one running back on the roster who’s rushed for a touchdown — Rex Burkhead with one, and he’s injured.
The Texans’ leading rusher is still Mark Ingram II with 294 yards, and he was traded to New Orleans in late October. David Johnson is next with 176.
On the defensive side, the Texans have surrendered 22 touchdowns rushing. Only the Jets, who beat the Texans, have allowed more (24).
So, is this the worst Texans team?
Despite their records, it says here the worst Texans’ teams were in 2002, 2005 and 2021. They have four games left to prove they’re not the worst.