The Houston Texans are a 2-5 football team heading into their Week 8 bye.

Needless to be said, there's much work to be done heading into the second half of the season if the Texans want to get back on track for a similar late-season run like they put together around this time last year.

And to do that, the Texans have some clear flaws within their game plan and overall production to iron out; issues that can be clearly seen by looking at a select few stats in which Houston has not exceled in through their first seven games of the year, thus leadin to their roster looking like what it does now.

So with all of that in mind, let's take a look at three different stats from the Texans' pre-bye week slate that need to turn around in the right direction for the weeks ahead. Or else, it'll be really tough to picture Houston racking up the necessary wins for a surprise push to the postseason.

Team Run Stuffed Rate: 19.8%

Now, to the Texans' credit, they've been able to run the ball a bit better over the past three weeks since Woody Marks has been leading the charge in the backfield.

Marks has been averaging 3.8 yards per carry over the past three weeks that David Montgomery has been sidelined with an average of over 80 yards from scrimmage throughout. He's been a big-time playmaker for this offense and a capable lead ball-carrier on the ground, while helping their run game lift from the depths they were previously at through the first quarter of the season.

However, even while Marks has been taking care of business on the ground, the Texans' offensive line could still serve to make some improvements from the level they're at now when factoring in a nearly 20% run stuffed rate.

For reference, only six other teams rank ahead of the Texans for run-stuffed rate. Over half of those teams have a record under .500, and that's a crowd that Houston currently falls right into.

If Houston wants to continue to progress on the offensive side of the ball, gaining more momentum on the ground and finding more positive runs is a critical step in the process.

Team Total Interceptions: 3

The Texans' defensive turnovers as a whole have not been to the level that they were at throughout their dominance of 2025.

Through seven games of last season, Houston's defense had recorded a total of 11 turnovers, even with the early struggles they faced in the year. Seven games in 2026, Houston's total is nearly half that, with just six.

And a large part of that regression for the Texans' turnover numbers has surrounded their failure to attack the air for those giveaways.

Houston's only three interceptions on the year have been to backup linebacker Jake Hansen, along with safeties Calen Bullock and Reed Blankenship getting a pair of their own as well. As for the Texans' top two corners, Derek Stingley and Kamari Lassiter, they haven't seen any takeaways coming their way.

Simply put, the Texans need to take advantage of the turnover battle more than they have so far this season. And with a defense as talented as the one this roster has on paper–– especially within the secondary–– there's little excuse for Houston to have just three interceptions in seven weeks.

More often than not, teams who win the turnover battle can win a lot of football games. The Texans' offense has taken care of the ball extremely well, but now comes the time for the defense to hold up their end of the bargain.

Team Total Flags: 70

An issue that really showed itself for the Texans in their latest game against the New York Giants: penalties.

Last week, Houston gave up 80 total yards for the eight penalties they accumulated throughout the day, which has turned into a common trend for this Houston roster to look both unorganized and undisciplined––especially on the line of scrimmage offensively.

The Texans are currently the third-highest number of total flags in the NFL behind only the Green Bay Packers and the Cleveland Browns, who each have 73. Houston is one of only two teams to have given up over 500 total yards on the season because of penalties.

When factoring in the flaws that the Texans have had on early downs running the ball, getting even further behind because of frequent penalty issues ends up setting this offense back even further. Penalties have to be cleaned up for Houston, and DeMeco Ryans knows it.

However, time will tell if the Texans are able to get this group of tight ends up in time to make a run for the second half of the season.