Texans Stuck With Travel Nightmare After Playoff Loss to Patriots

The Houston Texans have seemingly faced some brutal setbacks in their travel back home after their 16-28 divisional round loss to the New England Patriots over the weekend.

According to The Athletic's Dianna Russini, the Texans' team plane has faced extensive delays due to incliment weather on their way back to Houston, leaving them still in the air over 12 hours after the end of their game against New England.

"The Texans are still trying to get back to Houston after yesterday afternoon’s game, dealing with weather delays and other travel complications. They are still in the air. The game ended at 6:15pm."

The Texans are still trying to get back to Houston after yesterday afternoon’s game, dealing with weather delays and other travel complications.
They are still in the air.
The game ended at 6:15pm
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 19, 2026

A pretty brutal situation to add onto their tough playoff loss in Foxborough that makes their trek back home way longer than it should be.

Typically, teams on the road will fly back home immediately after the conclusion of a game and get back in order to prepare for the week ahead, or in this case for the Texans, prepare for exit interviews and wrapping up their season in the building. Yet, it appears the winter weather around the New England area put a halt to those plans and will instead leave Houston getting back in the late morning of the next day.

Texans Faced Major Delay Coming Home vs. Patriots

It was clear the snowy weather was picking up more and more in the Texans' contest against the Patriots, especially heading into the fourth quarter as flurries started to pick up, which appears to have now bled into problems for them both on the field and off.

Jan 18, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga (95) sacks Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) in the fourth quarter in an AFC Divisional Round game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

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The Texans faced a myriad of errors throughout the day in New England, spearheaded by the four ugly interceptions from third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, combining for five total team turnovers, and one of the uglier offensive performances in recent memory for Houston.

Despite a day defensively where Houston was able to generate three turnovers on potential league MVP Drake Maye with fumbles lost and an interception, those few errors made the difference in a playoff game where every little play counts, especially for those that show up in the possession battle.

Now with the travel mishaps slowing down their return to Houston, it'll inevitably give the Texans collectively some more time to mull this one over, which now has dropped the franchise to an 0-3 record in their past three divisional matchups, despite winning all three Wild Card appearances under the direction of Stroud and head coach DeMeco Ryans.

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