2 Winners, 3 Losers From Texans' Deflating Week 3 Loss vs. Colts

The Houston Texans have now dropped their third straight game to open the 2026 season following Week 3's 17-19 loss vs. the Indianapolis Colts.

And it was an outing on Sunday that the Texans saw some very similar flaws to what they've faced through the first two weeks. Houston's offense wasn't consistent, couldn't take advantage of a decent defensive performance, and now find themselves in a deep hole to dig out of moving forward this season because of it.

But even in the Texans' Week 3 disappointment, there were still a couple of winners on Houston's roster worth highlighting as noteworthy standouts.

With that in mind, let's sort through two of the Texans' biggest winners, and three of their biggest losers from their Week 3 defeat vs. the Colts:

Loser: RB David Montgomery

Sep 27, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Houston Texans running back David Montgomery (32) rushes the ball in the second half against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After a brutal Week 2 performance against Dexter Lawrence and the Cincinnati Bengals defense, the belief was that David Montgomery and the Texans' run game were going to be a step better against an inferior Colts defensive front and a run defense that's been largely poor two weeks into the season.

Instead, Montgomery didn't turn out to be much better than how things looked a week ago.

He carried the ball 11 times for 33 yards, didn't get many red-zone opportunities (outside of his bizarre touchdown pass attempt), and felt the effects of an overall uninspiring rushing performance for the Texans as a whole.

The Texans brought in Montgomery this summer with the intent that he would bring a much-needed lift of power and potency in the run game as a complement to Woody Marks. But outside of an eye-popping three touchdowns in Week 1, his impact and efficiency haven’t proven to be worth the fourth-round pick Houston gave up for him.

Winner: DE Will Anderson

Sep 20, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans linebacker Jake Hansen (35) defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (51) and linebacker Azeez al-Shaair (0) look to the sidelines for the defensive call against the Cincinnati Bengals at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Texans' defense saw exactly the type of performance they'd hope to see from their star defensive end, Will Anderson Jr.

He was impactful as a run defender, did his job as a pass-rusher with a staggering 2.5 sacks on the day, and even threw in a forced fumble to add on top of what's surely been the best game of his 2026 season so far.

Will Anderson Jr. AGAIN!

Texans ball 👀@HOUvsIND on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/lEOvqBwWvZ
— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

Unfortunately, even with a superstar performance on Anderson's behalf, the Texans still came up short of claiming that first win on the board for the year, which should be a sign of how the pieces surrounding Anderson have looked three games into the year.

Loser: TE Dalton Schultz

Sep 20, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz (86) is introduced before playing against the Cincinnati Bengals at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After such an impressive stat line in Week 2 against the Bengals, where he recorded 12 catches for 140 yards, you would've thought that tight end Dalton Schultz was due to build off of that performance in Week 3 against what's shown to be a worse secondary that the Colts have to offer.

But things were extremely quiet on Schultz's part on Sunday in a game where the Texans could've used some juice on the offensive side of the ball from start to finish.

Schultz had just three targets and brought in three catches and 30 yards; far less than the numbers he saw last week as a bona fide safety net for Stroud while Nico Collins was out. It felt like the Texans should've drawn up a few more looks his way, considering what we just saw from him when he was made a focal point on that side of the ball.

Winner: S Reed Blankenship

Sep 27, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Houston Texans safety Reed Blankenship (6) reacts with safety Kamari Ramsey (27) in the second half at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Blankenship needed a bounce back in Week 3 after his first two games in a Texans uniform were far from exemplary. And with his back against the wall, the veteran safety delivered a pretty solid performance.

That's in large part due to the turnover he was able to record in the form of the Texans' first interception of the season, stemming from a shot to the left sideline from Daniel Jones in the second half, even if that didn't exactly turn the tides for a victory as many expected with Houston's +3 turnover differential.

Picked off by Reed Blankenship near the end zone ‼️@HOUvsIND on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/V6Kx3Q41IW
— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

On top of that pick, he tied for second on Houston's defense in total tackles, and added two passes defended on top of it. So Blankenship's stock is trending up, which is great news for the team that just invested over $20 million into his services this offseason.

Loser: Nick Caley & Frank Ross

Jul 31, 2026; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley talks with head coach DeMeco Ryans during training camp at Houston Methodist Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It feels like the Texans' coordinators really dropped the ball in this one––particularly as it relates to offensive play-caller Nick Caley and special teams coordinator Frank Ross.

The Texans' offensive play-calling was poor. Questionable fourth-down calls, head-scratching decisions on who remains on and off the field, and the continuous lack of playing tight ends. This wasn't Caley's best outing, and neither was last week.

Special teams-wise, Frank Ross nearly gave away a Texans fumble on a kickoff in the first half by letting their backup veteran cornerback, Tremon Smith, return kicks, only to be saved by the turnover call being overturned. Regardless of the call on the field, why is Smith the one returning kickoffs?

If the Texans keep falling short of expectations in the weeks ahead, it's going to lead to many speculating whether or not one, or multiple names inside the organization are on the hot seat. Three weeks into the new season, these two should certainly start feeling their seat getting a little warmer than it was in Week 1.

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