2021 Houston Texans season
20th season in franchise history
The 2021 season was the Houston Texans' 20th season in the National Football League and their first and only under head coach David Culley.
| 2021 Houston Texans season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Janice and D. Cal McNair |
| Head coach | David Culley |
| General manager | Nick Caserio |
| Home field | NRG Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 4–13 |
| Division place | 3rd AFC South |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Uniform | |
 | |
Draft
change| 2021 Houston Texans draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 67 | Davis Mills | QB | Stanford | |
| 3 | 89 | Nico Collins | WR | Michigan | from Cleveland via Carolina |
| 5 | 147 | Brevin Jordan | TE | Miami (FL) | |
| 5 | 170 | Garret Wallow | LB | TCU | from Cleveland via Jacksonville and L.A. Rams |
| 6 | 195 | Roy Lopez | DT | Arizona | from Dallas via New England |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Regular season
changeSchedule
changeThe Texans' 2021 schedule was announced on May 12.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 12 | Jacksonville Jaguars | W 37–21 | 1–0 | NRG Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | September 19 | at Cleveland Browns | L 21–31 | 1–1 | FirstEnergy Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | September 23 | Carolina Panthers | L 9–24 | 1–2 | NRG Stadium | Recap |
| 4 | October 3 | at Buffalo Bills | L 0–40 | 1–3 | Highmark Stadium | Recap |
| 5 | October 10 | New England Patriots | L 22–25 | 1–4 | NRG Stadium | Recap |
| 6 | October 17 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 3–31 | 1–5 | Lucas Oil Stadium | Recap |
| 7 | October 24 | at Arizona Cardinals | L 5–31 | 1–6 | State Farm Stadium | Recap |
| 8 | October 31 | Los Angeles Rams | L 22–38 | 1–7 | NRG Stadium | Recap |
| 9 | November 7 | at Miami Dolphins | L 9–17 | 1–8 | Hard Rock Stadium | Recap |
| 10 | Bye | |||||
| 11 | November 21 | at Tennessee Titans | W 22–13 | 2–8 | Nissan Stadium | Recap |
| 12 | November 28 | New York Jets | L 14–21 | 2–9 | NRG Stadium | Recap |
| 13 | December 5 | Indianapolis Colts | L 0–31 | 2–10 | NRG Stadium | Recap |
| 14 | December 12 | Seattle Seahawks | L 13–33 | 2–11 | NRG Stadium | Recap |
| 15 | December 19 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 30–16 | 3–11 | TIAA Bank Field | Recap |
| 16 | December 26 | Los Angeles Chargers | W 41–29 | 4–11 | NRG Stadium | Recap |
| 17 | January 2 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 7–23 | 4–12 | Levi's Stadium | Recap |
| 18 | January 9 | Tennessee Titans | L 25–28 | 4–13 | NRG Stadium | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
changeDivision
change| AFC South | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| (1) Tennessee Titans | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 5–1 | 8–4 | 419 | 354 | W3 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 451 | 365 | L2 |
| Houston Texans | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 3–3 | 4–8 | 280 | 452 | L2 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 3 | 14 | 0 | .176 | 1–5 | 3–9 | 253 | 457 | W1 |
Conference
change| # | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | STK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division winners | |||||||||||
| 1[a] | Tennessee Titans | South | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 5–1 | 8–4 | .472 | .480 | W3 |
| 2[a] | Kansas City Chiefs | West | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 5–1 | 7–5 | .538 | .517 | W1 |
| 3 | Buffalo Bills | East | 11 | 6 | 0 | .647 | 5–1 | 7–5 | .472 | .428 | W4 |
| 4 | Cincinnati Bengals | North | 10 | 7 | 0 | .588 | 4–2 | 8–4 | .472 | .462 | L1 |
| Wild cards | |||||||||||
| 5[b] | Las Vegas Raiders | West | 10 | 7 | 0 | .588 | 3–3 | 8–4 | .510 | .515 | W4 |
| 6[b] | New England Patriots | East | 10 | 7 | 0 | .588 | 3–3 | 8–4 | .481 | .394 | L1 |
| 7 | Pittsburgh Steelers | North | 9 | 7 | 1 | .559 | 4–2 | 7–5 | .521 | .490 | W2 |
| Did not qualify for the postseason | |||||||||||
| 8[c] | Indianapolis Colts | South | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .495 | .431 | L2 |
| 9[c][d] | Miami Dolphins | East | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .464 | .379 | W1 |
| 10[c][d] | Los Angeles Chargers | West | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 3–3 | 6–6 | .510 | .500 | L1 |
| 11[e] | Cleveland Browns | North | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 | 3–3 | 5–7 | .514 | .415 | W1 |
| 12[e] | Baltimore Ravens | North | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 | 1–5 | 5–7 | .531 | .460 | L6 |
| 13 | Denver Broncos | West | 7 | 10 | 0 | .412 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .484 | .357 | L4 |
| 14[f] | New York Jets | East | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 0–6 | 4–8 | .512 | .426 | L2 |
| 15[f] | Houston Texans | South | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 3–3 | 4–8 | .498 | .397 | L2 |
| 16 | Jacksonville Jaguars | South | 3 | 14 | 0 | .176 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .512 | .569 | W1 |
| Tiebreakers[g] | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||