The 2022 season was the Houston Texans' 21st in the National Football League (NFL) and their only season under Lovie Smith, following the firing of David Culley at the end of the 2021 season.
This was their first season since 2016 without quarterback Deshaun Watson on the roster, as he was traded to the Cleveland Browns on March 18.
The Texans recorded their first tie in franchise history against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1. However, the Texans struggled as they had their worst start since 2005. Houston was the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention for the second consecutive season in Week 13, becoming the first NFL team to do this in back-to-back seasons since the Cleveland Browns accomplished this feat in 2016 and 2017. The Texans failed to improve upon their 4–13 record from the previous year, and posted a 9-game losing streak from Week 7 to Week 15, their worst losing streak since 2013. They failed to win a home game in 2022, going 0–7–1 at NRG Stadium.Houston Texans go winless at home as 2022 season nears end, Houston Public Media, January 2, 2023 Hours after their season-ending win against the Colts, the Texans parted ways with head coach Lovie Smith after only one season with the organization, marking the third consecutive year that the team fired its head coach. As of 2026, this is the most recent season the Texans missed the playoffs, finished with a losing record, and finished in last place in the AFC South.
Draft
2022 Houston Texans Draft Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 3 Derek Stingley Jr. CB LSU 13 Traded to Philadelphia from Cleveland 15 Kenyon Green OG Texas A&M from Miami via Philadelphia 2 37 Jalen Pitre S Baylor 44 John Metchie III WR Alabama from Cleveland 3 68 Traded to Cleveland 75 Christian Harris LB Alabama from Denver 80 Traded to Denver from New Orleans 4 107 Dameon Pierce RB Florida from Detroit via Cleveland 108 Traded to Cleveland 124 Traded to Cleveland from Philadelphia 137 Traded to Carolina from LA Rams 5 148 Traded to Chicago 150 Thomas Booker DT Stanford from Chicago 162 Traded to Denver from Philadelphia 166 Traded to Chicago from Arizona via Philadelphia 170 Teagan Quitoriano TE Oregon State from Tampa Bay via New England 6 183 Traded to New England 205 Austin Deculus OT LSU from Green Bay 207 Traded to Chicago from San Francisco via NY Jets 7 224 Traded to New England 228 Traded to Green Bay from Chicago 245 Traded to New England from Dallas Draft trades
+ 2022 Houston Texans undrafted free agents Name Position College Ref. Myron Cunningham OT Arkansas Damion Daniels DT Nebraska Drew Estrada WR Baylor Jacobi Francis DB Memphis Seth Green TE Minnesota Jake Hansen LB Illinois Kolby Harvell-Peel DB Oklahoma State Kurt Hinish DL Notre Dame Johnny Johnson III WR Oregon Tristin McCollum DB Sam Houston State
Staff
Offseason changes
Head coach
The Houston Texans fired first-year head coach David Culley on January 13, 2022, who most notably led the Texans to a win at AFC No. 1 seed Tennessee Titans.
Final staff
Final roster
Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 New Orleans Saints W 17–13 1–0 NRG Stadium Recap 2 at Los Angeles Rams W 24–20 2–0 SoFi Stadium Recap 3 San Francisco 49ers W 17–0 3–0 NRG Stadium Recap
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 11 Indianapolis Colts T 20–20 0–0–1 NRG Stadium Recap 2 September 18 at Denver Broncos L 9–16 0–1–1 Empower Field at Mile High Recap 3 September 25 at Chicago Bears L 20–23 0–2–1 Soldier Field Recap 4 October 2 Los Angeles Chargers L 24–34 0–3–1 NRG Stadium Recap 5 October 9 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 13–6 1–3–1 TIAA Bank Field Recap 6Bye 7 October 23 at Las Vegas Raiders L 20–38 1–4–1 Allegiant Stadium Recap 8 October 30 Tennessee Titans L 10–17 1–5–1 NRG Stadium Recap 9 Philadelphia Eagles L 17–29 1–6–1 NRG Stadium Recap 10 November 13 at New York Giants L 16–24 1–7–1 MetLife Stadium Recap 11 November 20 Washington Commanders L 10–23 1–8–1 NRG Stadium Recap 12 November 27 at Miami Dolphins L 15–30 1–9–1 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 13 December 4 Cleveland Browns L 14–27 1–10–1 NRG Stadium Recap 14 December 11 at Dallas Cowboys L 23–27 1–11–1 AT&T Stadium Recap 15 December 18 Kansas City Chiefs L 24–30 1–12–1 NRG Stadium Recap 16 at Tennessee Titans W 19–14 2–12–1 Nissan Stadium Recap 17 January 1 Jacksonville Jaguars L 3–31 2–13–1 NRG Stadium Recap 18 January 8 at Indianapolis Colts W 32–31 3–13–1 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Indianapolis Colts
This was the first tie in franchise history.
Week 2: at Denver Broncos
Week 3: at Chicago Bears
Week 4: vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Week 5: at Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 7: at Las Vegas Raiders
Week 8: vs. Tennessee Titans
Week 9: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
This was played the same day as Game 5 of the 2022 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies, moved back by one day due to rain in Philadelphia earlier in the week. Estimates from Nielsen Media Research show the baseball game drew an average of five million more viewers, with a share of at least 50 in both Philadelphia and Houston. Meanwhile, the football game, originally scheduled to air on the Fox affiliates in both markets per NFL rules, moved to the MyNetworkTV affiliates in both markets.
Week 10: at New York Giants
Week 11: vs. Washington Commanders
Week 12: at Miami Dolphins
Week 13: vs. Cleveland Browns
Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson made his first start since January 3, 2021 when he still played for Houston. Both offenses struggled throughout the game, with the game's only offensive touchdown coming with 1:57 left on a 6-yard Kyle Allen pass to wide receiver Nico Collins. However, Cleveland would score two defensive touchdowns and a special teams touchdown. With the loss, the Texans dropped to 1–10–1 and were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for the second season in a row.
Week 14: at Dallas Cowboys
The Texans held a 23–17 lead entering the fourth quarter but fell apart in the final minutes of the game. Cornerback Tremon Smith intercepted a Dak Prescott pass and returned it 7 yards to the Dallas 4-yard line; however, the offense failed to score a touchdown and turned the ball over on downs. Starting at their own 2-yard line, the Cowboys marched 98 yards down field with Ezekiel Elliott getting the go-ahead score on a 2-yard run with 0:41 left. Houston attempted to respond, making it as far as the Dallas 44-yard line, but two false start penalties on Laremy Tunsil pushed the Texans back to their own 46-yard line and a Davis Mills Hail Mary pass was intercepted in the end zone by Israel Mukuamu, sealing the victory for Dallas.
Week 15: vs. Kansas City Chiefs A fumble lost by David Mills in overtime led to the game winning touchdown by the Chiefs.
Week 16: at Tennessee Titans
Kickoff was originally scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CST, but was delayed an hour due to rolling blackouts in the Nashville area.
Week 17: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 18: at Indianapolis Colts
With the win, combined with a loss from the Chicago Bears, the Texans lost their first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.Texans lose No. 1 pick after wild last-second win, NBC Sports, January 8, 2023
Standings
Division
Conference
Statistics
Team CategoryTotal yardsYards per gameNFL rank Passing offense 3,344 196.7 25th Rushing offense 1,476 86.8 31st Total offense 4,820 283.5 31st Passing defense 3,558 209.3 10th Rushing defense 2,894 170.2 32nd Total defense 6,452 379.5 30th
Individual CategoryPlayerTotal Offense Passing yards Davis Mills 3,118 Passing touchdowns Davis Mills 17 Rushing yards Dameon Pierce 939 Rushing touchdowns Dameon Pierce 4 Receiving yards Brandin Cooks 699 Receiving touchdowns Jordan Akins 5 Defense Tackles Jalen Pitre 99 Sacks Jerry Hughes 9 Interceptions Jalen Pitre 5 Source:
References
External links