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Houston Texans

The Houston Texans is a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Texans joined the NFL as a 2002 expansion team. The city's previous franchise, the Houston Oilers, moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1997, changing their name to the Tennessee Titans in 1999.

Franchise history

Returning a team to Houston: 1997–2001

1997

In the first part of 1997, football was on the back burner of Bob McNair's mind, as he attempted to bring a National Hockey League team to Houston. In June 1997, the NHL owners turned down his efforts to bring an expansion hockey team to Houston, stating, among other reasons, that the Compaq Center was not an adequate facility for an expansion hockey team. McNair’s only option now would be to buy an existing franchise and move it. They began exploring options with the Edmonton Oilers, a once-proud franchise that had hit hard times economically.

Barely two weeks later, the fourth-largest city in the United States found itself without professional football for the first time since 1959 as Houston Oilers owner Bud Adams got the final approval to move his team to Tennessee. A lawsuit filed by the city of Houston, Harris County, and other parties was settled with Adams paying millions of dollars for leaving town. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, local entrepreneur and San Diego Padres owner John J. Moores, whose name was often attached to efforts to return the NFL to Houston, said that the city’s football fans would be in for a long, dry spell without football and that he did not foresee another league expansion in the next 10 years. While efforts to get an NHL team in Houston faltered, McNair made his decision to set his sights higher and founded Houston NFL Holdings. Steve Patterson, who had been working with McNair in an attempt to bring NHL to Houston, was immediately named as head of the new organization.

Now committed to the task at hand, McNair and Houston got an immediate morale boost in October 1997, when the NFL Stadium Committee reported to Commissioner Paul Tagliabue on the current attractiveness of Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Houston. Cleveland had lost the Browns in 1995 and had been promised by Tagliabue that the next expansion team would play there, bringing the league total to 31 teams. A future expansion to 32 teams seemed both logical and destined to happen, and Tagliabue praised McNair’s strong initial efforts. Encouraged by the commissioner’s strong words, local support for a return of the NFL to Houston spread like wildfire across the city. Two days later, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLS&R) officials announced they would push for a domed stadium as part of the bid to lure the NFL back to Houston.

1998

In March 1998, McNair and company got more good news when the league made it official that Cleveland would receive an expansion franchise, making it the 31st team in the NFL. Houstonians had been concerned that the league would allow an existing franchise to move to Cleveland, thus keeping the number of teams at 30 and dealing a serious blow to Houston’s hopes of securing the next expansion franchise. Tagliabue said that the league would likely add a 32nd team in the next two years in either Houston, Los Angeles, or Toronto. The mention of Los Angeles worried plenty of Houston officials. Television money had become such a huge part of the NFL that it seemed unlikely the owners would pass up the chance to re-introduce professional football to the second-biggest TV market in the country. In early May, those fears became reality as entertainment guru Michael Ovitz announced he would lead a largely privately financed $750 million project to build a stadium in Carson, California.

In late October 1998, Tagliabue announced that the NFL owners would have a decision by April 1999 as to which city would be awarded the NFL expansion franchise. Both Bob McNair and Ovitz stated they needed to know the situation by the first quarter of the new year, lest they lose public support as a result of long delays while the league developed. Ovitz now had competition coming from his own city, however, as real estate developer Ed Roski threw his hat into the ring to bring another team to Los Angeles. Roski’s proposal centered around putting a 68,000-seat stadium inside the shell of the Los Angeles Coliseum.

1999

On March 16, 1999, the NFL owners, by a 29–2 vote, approved a resolution to award L.A. the expansion franchise if the city could put together an acceptable ownership team and stadium deal by September 15. If the parties could not reach or be very near reaching an agreement, it was decided that the committee would turn its recommendation to Houston. A month later, NFL executives flew to Los Angeles to see how things had progressed. They found that neither group had relented to the other, that the city was not allowing tax dollars to be used for a new stadium, and that neither group was prepared to build the kind of state-of-the-art facility that Houston had been guaranteeing for more than six months.

When the NFL officers returned to Los Angeles in late May, Ovitz had changed his tune, unveiling plans to turn the area around the Coliseum into a 60-acre complex of parks, parking garages, shopping areas and a brand-new stadium. Tagliabue and the NFL officials were pleased with the look, but daunted by the cost, including $225 million for parking garages that was not available from either the city or the state. In June Tagliabue expressed his frustration with Los Angeles’ inability to get a plan together and advised McNair to resume his discussions with the expansion committee.

On September 9, 1999, the league’s expansion committee indicated that McNair and other Houston officials should be prepared to attend an October 6 meeting of the NFL owners in Atlanta. L.A.’s effort was not completely dead, as Ovitz, Roski, and newcomer Marvin Davis all scrambled to find the right deal to woo the league back in the last six days before the deadline. In the first week of October, Ovitz announced that his group was prepared to offer $540 million for the NFL franchise. Later that week, McNair’s Houston NFL Holdings proposed a bid of $700 million to the owners.

On the morning of October 6, 1999, in Atlanta, the NFL owners voted 29–0 to award the 32nd franchise and the 2004 Super Bowl to Houston.

2000

After that, things moved fast for the yet-to-be-named football team. Focus groups were formed across the state to determine the image and direction for the franchise. NFL Properties and team officials began working on the identity, name and logo and the front office began to take shape with the hiring of former Washington Redskins General Manager Charley Casserly as Executive Vice President/General Manager in January 2000.

That spring, Houston NFL 2002 celebrated the official groundbreaking of Reliant Stadium. The 69,500-seat state-of-the-art facility would become the NFL's first retractable-roof stadium.

After almost a year of speculation, the worst kept secret in Houston became reality as the team was officially christened the Houston Texans during a downtown celebration in September 2000 that included NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Bob McNair unveiling the new logo.

2001

On January 21, 2001, the Texans turned to the coaching staff and introduced Dom Capers as the club's first head coach. Capers had served the previous two seasons as the Jacksonville Jaguars' defensive coordinator. From 1995 to 1998, Capers was the head coach of the expansion Carolina Panthers. Capers would soon fill out the rest of the staff in the months to follow. After five long seasons, Houston was at last ready to rejoin the league.

Play begins: 2002-2005

The Texans launched their inaugural campaign on September 8, 2002 against the Dallas Cowboys at Reliant Stadium. Rookie David Carr hooked up with tight end Billy Miller on the third play from scrimmage for a touchdown and shocked their intrastate rivals 19-10, becoming just the second expansion team ever to win their first game. The Texans lost their next five games before winning for the first time on the road against the Jaguars, a team they would find success against in the seasons to come.

Victories over the New York Giants in Houston and the Steelers in Pittsburgh (despite just 46 total yards of offense – an NFL low for a winning team) and the Texans finished the season 4–12, sending two players (Gary Walker and Aaron Glenn) to the Pro Bowl, the most ever by an expansion team. The season was deemed a success despite David Carr being sacked an NFL record 76 times and the realization that Tony Boselli, the man they had hoped would protect their young quarterback, would never play a down of football for the team.

During the next two seasons, the Texans made steady progress. In 2003, they started out much as they had done in 2002 by shocking the heavily favored Dolphins in Miami to open the season. No other expansion team had ever won the season opener in each of its first two seasons. The Texans would only improve their record by one game in that season, but after a victory over the eventual NFC champion Carolina Panthers and a tough overtime loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, optimism was high going into 2004 that they could compete with any team in the league. That optimism soured, however, after the Texans started the ’04 season 0–3 and for the first time fans began to question the direction in which head coach Dom Capers and the front office were taking. No other expansion team had taken so long to win back-to-back games and expectations in the third season were growing. Finally, after their first victory of 2004 in Kansas City, the Texans came home and defeated the Oakland Raiders the following week to secure their first win streak in franchise history. After sweeping division rivals Tennessee and Jacksonville and another impressive pair of back-to-back wins late in the season, the Texans were poised to finish the year 8–8. All they had to do was beat the 3-12 Cleveland Browns at home. The Texans came out flat and unprepared, however, and fell to the Browns 22–14. The game served as an omen of bad times ahead. On the bright side, second year receiver Andre Johnson was selected to his first Pro Bowl and as of 2007, and it was the only season the Texans did not finish last in the AFC South.

Despite the disappointing end to the 2004 season and a troubling preseason, a playoff push by the Texans in 2005 still seemed likely. They got hammered by the Bills in Buffalo 22–7 to open the season and then humiliated by the Steelers at home 27–7 the following week. As the losses mounted, whatever optimism that was left over from the previous year faded away. Offensive Coordinator Chris Palmer was replaced before the third week and media and fans began to point to questionable personal decisions and lackluster draft picks by General Manager Charley Casserly and doubt about Dom Capers ability to lead the team in the future began to surface. They started the season 0–6 before beating the Browns in Houston only to follow that up with another six game losing streak. By the end of the season most were calling for Dom Capers and Charley Casserly to be fired. Conspiracy theories that the Texans were tanking games to secure the number one pick after several close losses late in the year culminated with the “Bush Bowl” in San Francisco during the last week of the season. The Texans and 49ers came into the game with the two worst records in the NFL and the loser would “win” the right to choose USC running back Reggie Bush in the 2006 NFL Draft. The Texans lost 20–17 and finished 2–14, the worst in the league. One bright spot was the sensational rookie season by kick returner Jerome Mathis who returned two kicks back for touchdowns, including one for 99-yards against Kansas City. Mathis was Houston's only player in 2005 to be selected to the Pro Bowl.

After finishing 2–14 in 2005 the Texans fired Dom Capers and most of his staff. General Manager Charley Casserly was spared, but would eventually leave after the draft, replaced by Rick Smith. Gary Kubiak, offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos, was hired to take over and the franchise headed into the most controversial off-season in team history. While most in the national media believed that the Texans drafting Reggie Bush in the 2006 Draft was a no-brainer, many in Houston began to voice their desire for the team to draft hometown hero Vince Young after his performance in leading the University of Texas to victory over Bush's USC team in the Rose Bowl, that year's NCAA National Championship Game.

In February, after a vote of confidence from Gary Kubiak, the Texans exercised an $8 million bonus option for David Carr, guaranteeing he would be a Texan in 2006. Still, the debate between Bush and Young raged on for months over local sports talk radio and internet message boards. While support for Vince Young was mounting, most still thought Reggie Bush would eventually be drafted by the Texans.

In a stunning turn of events, however, the Texans shocked the NFL world on the eve of the NFL Draft by announcing that North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams - not Reggie Bush or Vince Young - would be the team’s choice for their number one pick. Fans were angered and shocked, many booed the choice during a public draft party at Reliant Stadium and the Texans were ridiculed by the national media for committing what many believed was the worst mistake in NFL Draft history. Comparisons to Michael Jordan and Sam Bowie were immediately being made and the endless second-guessing began. Reggie Bush fell to the New Orleans Saints and Vince Young was taken by the Titans. By drafting Williams, the Texans addressed their greatest need, yet it would turn out to be a public relations nightmare that would haunt them for much of the 2006 season. By the end of the year Bush and the Saints were on their way to the NFC Championship game and Young had won the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Mario Williams finished with 4.5 sacks and 47 tackles despite suffering from plantar fasciitis for the entire season.

2006

On September 10, 2006, native Houstonian Gary Kubiak made his head coaching debut as he led the Texans against the Philadelphia Eagles at Reliant Stadium. Despite taking the first drive down the field for a touchdown, the game resulted in a disappointing 24-10 loss. They lost the next two in embarrassing fashion before awarding Kubiak his first career victory with a win over the Miami Dolphins in week four. After a loss to Dallas, two of the next four games would be against division rival Jacksonville – and Houston beat them both times. As unexplainable as the Texans’ continued ability to beat the Jaguars, so too was a game against the Titans where they out-gained Tennessee in total yards 427 to 197 but lost because of five turnovers.

The Texans went on to suffer two heart-breaking losses in their final eight games because of a weak defense, which proved to cost them their first breakeven season. They first allowed the Buffalo Bills to score a go-ahead touchdown with just nine seconds remaining, and then three weeks later Tennessee Titans QB Vince Young ran 39 yards for the winning touchdown in overtime, escaping the outstretched arms of Texans DE Mario Williams. To make matters worse for the Texans, some fans, who thought Houston made a mistake by not drafting him instead of Williams, showed up wearing Vince Young jerseys and cheered as he scored in overtime. A week later, the emotionally exhausted Texans showed up in Foxborough to face the New England Patriots and were hammered 40–7.

The Texans made the most of the remainder of the season as Carr led the team to victories in what would prove to be his final two games as a Texan. Snapping a nine game losing streak to the Indianapolis Colts, the Texans stunned the eventual Super Bowl Champions 27–24 as Carr went 16–23 with 1 TD and no interceptions or sacks; and finished the game with a 6-play, 31 yard drive to put Kris Brown in a position to kick the winning field goal. Carr finished the season by beating the Cleveland Browns in Houston; giving the Texans their first back-to-back wins in two years. The Texans finished with six wins in 2006, four more than the previous year. Had it not been for the last minute defensive failures versus the Bills and the Titans, the Texans would have finished with their first breakeven season at 8–8, on the back of their rapidly improving offense.

In terms of individual performances, David Carr finished the season with a career high 68.9% pass completion percentage and tied the NFL record of 22 for consecutive pass completions in the game versus the Buffalo Bills. The Carr-to-Johnson combination again proved to be formidable, as Andre Johnson led the league in receptions with 103 and was selected to his second Pro Bowl. Finally, the Texans got contributions from all seven of their 2006 draft picks, including DE Mario Williams, TE Owen Daniels and LB DeMeco Ryans - a second round pick who was selected as the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year.

2007

Most of the speculation in Houston following the 2006 season involved David Carr and his future with the Texans. On March 21, reports surfaced that backup Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Schaub would be traded to the Texans. The Texans and Falcons swapped first round picks and the Texans gave Atlanta their second round pick in 2007 and 2008. Upon his introduction in Houston on March 22, Schaub was announced as the starting quarterback in 2007. Despite rumors that the Texans were attempting to trade him, the team granted the popular Carr an unconditional release so that the former #1 pick could shop for his own team. On April 6, 2007 David Carr joined the Carolina Panthers and eventually became the starter after an injury to longtime Panthers Jake Delhomme ended his season.

For Matt Schaub and the Texans, the 2007 season started on a high note. They extended their franchise record two-game winning streak from the end of 2006 to four with victories at home against the Chiefs and on the road in Carolina. After the 2–0 start, however, the Texans would be plagued with injuries and turnovers. Matt Schaub proved not to be as durable behind the Texans ever-changing offensive line as former QB David Carr, missing five full games and major portions of two others. Former Pro-Bowl receiver Andre Johnson missed 7 games due to a knee injury. Dunta Robinson was lost for the season after a leg injury in a Week 9 game against Oakland, starting Center Steve McKinney suffered a season-ending injury in the third game of the season, and Ahman Green, who was signed in the offseason to a large contract, rushed for only 260 yards, missed several games and finished the season on IR. Despite all of this, the Texans would have one of the best seasons in franchise history, finishing with a .500 record for the first time ever, including going 6-2 at home and setting several team and individual records. Due to a more talented receiving corps, the Texans had their best offense, setting team highs in points, average yards per play, total touchdowns, passing touchdowns, total yards and passing yards. Andre Johnson finished with a career and franchise high 8 touchdowns. Mario Williams set a franchise record with 14 sacks, finishing first in the AFC and tied for third in the league and DeMeco Ryans was selected as a starter in his first Pro Bowl. The Texans posted a 1–5 record, finishing last in the AFC South, and a 7–3 record outside of their division.

2008

The Texans opened the 2008 season with consecutive losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers 38-17, and the Tennessee Titans 31-12. Returning from an injury plagued 2007 season, Texans QB Matt Schaub continued to struggle behind the Texans offensive line, being sacked eight times and throwing five interceptions in the first two games.

Nickname, logo and uniforms

On March 2, 2000, Houston NFL 2002 announced that the team name search had been narrowed down to five choices: Apollos, Bobcats, Stallions, Texans and Wildcatters. The five names are determined after several months of research conducted jointly by Houston NFL 2002 and NFL Properties. An online survey regarding the name generated more than 65,000 responses in just seven days. In April the list of five names was narrowed down to three: Apollos, Stallions and Texans. Before selecting "Texans", owner Bob McNair asked fellow NFL owner Lamar Hunt for his permission to use the moniker. Hunt and his franchise, the Dallas Texans (now the Kansas City Chiefs), were charter members of the American Football League.

On September 6, 2000, the NFL's 32nd franchise was officially christened the Houston Texans before thousands at a downtown rally on Texas Avenue. Before unveiling the logo Bob McNair described the colors as "Deep Steel Blue", "Battle Red" and "Liberty White". The logo was abstract depiction of a bull split in such a way to resemble the flag of Texas, including a lone star, the five points of which representing pride, courage, strength, tradition and independence. A year later the Texans unveiled their uniforms during another downtown rally.

The Texans' helmet is dark blue with the Texans bull logo. The uniform design consists of red trim and either dark blue or white jerseys. The team wears white pants with its blue jerseys, blue pants with its white jerseys, and on occasion they will wear all-white or all-blue. In 2003, the Texans introduced an alternative red jersey with blue trim. In 2007 the Texans introduced red pants for the first time, pairing them with the red jerseys for an all-red look.

In 2002 the team wore a patch commemorating their inaugural season.

Like many other NFL teams located in subtropical climates, the Texans traditionally wear their white jerseys at home during the first half of the season — forcing opponents to wear their dark ones during the hot autumns in Houston. The team will still wear white jerseys during those early regular season games even though the retractable roof of the club's home field, Reliant Stadium, may be closed. In the preseason, the Texans wear white at home.

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Statistics

Season-by-season records

Record vs. Opponents

(As of Week 17 of the 2007 NFL season. Includes postseason records.) |- | Miami Dolphins || 3 || 0 || 0 || 1.000 || W 22-19 || Oct 7, 2007 || Houston || |- | Oakland Raiders || 3 || 0 || 0 || 1.000 || W 24-17 || Nov 4, 2007 || Oakland || |- | Carolina Panthers || 2 || 0 || 0 || 1.000 || W 34-21|| Sept 16, 2007 || Charlotte || |- | Arizona Cardinals || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1.000 || W 30-19 || Dec 18, 2005 || Houston || |- | Chicago Bears || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1.000 || W 24-5 || Dec 19, 2004 || Chicago || |- | Jacksonville Jaguars || 7 || 5 || 0 || .583 || W 42-28 || Dec 30, 2007 || Houston || |- | Cleveland Browns || 2 || 2 || 0 || .500 || W 14-6 || Dec 31, 2006 || Houston || |- | Atlanta Falcons || 1 || 1 || 0 || .500 || L 26-16 || Sept 30, 2007 || Atlanta || |- | Dallas Cowboys || 1 || 1 || 0 || .500 || L 34-6 || Oct 15, 2006 || Irving, TX || |- | Denver Broncos || 1 || 1 || 0 || .500 || W 31-13 || Dec 13, 2007 || Houston || |- | New Orleans Saints || 1 || 1 || 0 || .500 || W 23-10 || Nov 18, 2007 || Houston || |- | New York Giants || 1 || 1 || 0 || .500 || L 14-10 || Nov 5, 2006 || East Rutherford, NJ || |- | Pittsburgh Steelers || 1 || 2 || 0 || .500 || L 38-17 || Sept 7, 2008 || Pittsburgh || |- | Tampa Bay Buccaneers || 1 || 1 || 0 || .500 || W 28-14 || Dec 9, 2007 || Houston || |- | Kansas City Chiefs || 2 || 2 || 0 || .500 || W 20-3 || Sept 9, 2007 || Houston || |- | Buffalo Bills || 1 || 3 || 0 || .250 || L 24-21 || Nov 19, 2006 || Houston || |- | Tennessee Titans || 2 || 10 || 0 || .180 || L 38-36 || Oct 21, 2007 || Houston || |- | Indianapolis Colts || 1 || 11 || 0 || .083 || L 15-38 || Dec 23, 2007 || Indianapolis || |- | Detroit Lions || 0 || 1 || 0 || .000 || L 28-16 || Sept 19, 2004 || Detroit || |- | Green Bay Packers || 0 || 1 || 0 || .000 || L 16-13 || Nov 21, 2004 || Houston || |- | Minnesota Vikings || 0 || 1 || 0 || .000 || L 34-28 (OT) || Oct 10, 2004 || Houston || |- | St. Louis Rams || 0 || 1 || 0 || .000 || L 33-27 (OT) || Nov 27, 2005 || Houston || |- | San Francisco 49ers || 0 || 1 || 0 || .000 || L 20-17 (OT) || Jan 1, 2006 || San Francisco || |- | Seattle Seahawks || 0 || 1 || 0 || .000 || L 42-10 || Oct 16, 2005 || Seattle || |- | Baltimore Ravens || 0 || 2 || 0 || .000 || L 16-15 || Dec 4, 2005 || Baltimore || |- | New England Patriots || 0 || 2 || 0 || .000 || L 40-7 || Dec 17, 2006 || Foxboro, MA || |- | Philadelphia Eagles || 0 || 2 || 0 || .000 || L 24-10 || Sept 10, 2006 || Houston || |- | Washington Redskins || 0 || 2 || 0 || .000 || L 31-15 || Sept 24, 2006 || Houston || |- | Cincinnati Bengals || 0 || 3 || 0 || .000 || L 16-10 || Oct 2, 2005 || Cincinnati || |- | New York Jets || 0 || 3 || 0 || .000 || L 26-11 || Nov 26, 2006 || East Rutherford, NJ || |- | San Diego Chargers || 0 || 3 || 0 || .000 || L 35-10 || Oct 28, 2007 || San Diego ||

Team records

Wins: 8 (2007)
Home Wins: 6 (2007)
Road Wins: 4 (2004)
Most Points For: 379 (2007)
Fewest Points Allowed: 339 (2004)
Touchdowns: 43 (2007)
First Downs: 300 (2004)
Rushing Touchdowns: 16 (2004)
Passing Touchdowns: 24 (2007)
Return Touchdowns: 4 (2007)
Defensive Touchdowns: 5 (2004)
Offensive Yards: 5,337 (2007)
Rushing Yards: 1,882 (2004)
Passing Yards: 3,751 (2007)
Defensive Interceptions: 22 (2004)
Time of Possession: 30:13 (2004)
Fewest Sacks Allowed: 22 (2007)
Defensive Sacks: 37 (2005)

All-time individual records

Passing Yards: 13,391, David Carr
Passing Touchdowns: 59, David Carr
Passer Rating: 87.2, Matt Schaub
Rushing Yards: 3,195, Domanick Davis
Rushing Attempts: 770, Domanick Davis
Rushing Touchdowns: 23, Domanick Davis
Receptions: 371, Andre Johnson*
Receiving Yards: 4,804, Andre Johnson*
Receiving Touchdowns: 25, Andre Johnson*
Combined Touchdowns: 28, Domanick Davis
Combined Yards: 4,585, Domanick Davis
Quarterback Sacks: 18.5, Mario Williams*
Tackles: 542, Jamie Sharper
Pass Interceptions: 11, Dunta Robinson*
Kick Returns: 117, J.J. Moses
Kick Return Yards: 2,658 J.J. Moses
Kick Return Touchdowns: 3, Jerome Mathis*, André Davis*
Punt Returns: 72, J.J. Moses
Punt Return Yards: 553 Yards, J.J. Moses
Punt Return Touchdowns: 1, Avion Black André Davis
Punts: 437, Chad Stanley
Punting Yards Touchdowns: 7,908, Chad Stanley

(* as of December 30, 2007)

Single season records

Passing Attempts: 466, David Carr (2004)
Passing Completions: 302, David Carr (2006)
Passing Yards: 3,531, David Carr (2004)
Passer Rating: 87.2, Matt Schaub
Touchdowns: 14, Domanick Davis (2004)
Passing Touchdowns: 16, David Carr (2004)
Rushing Attempts: 302, Domanick Davis (2004)
Rushing Yards: 1,188, Domanick Davis (2004)
Rushing Touchdowns: 13, Domanick Davis (2004)
Receptions: 103, Andre Johnson (2006)
Receiving Yards: 1,147, Andre Johnson (2006)
Receiving Touchdowns: 8, Andre Johnson (2007)
Points: 115, Kris Brown (2007)
Quarterback Sacks: 14, Mario Williams (2007)
Pass Interceptions: 7, Marcus Coleman (2003)
Tackles: 166, Jamie Sharper (2003)
Kickoff Return Yards: 1,542, Jerome Mathis (2005)
Kickoff Return Touchdowns: 3, André Davis (2007)
Punt Return Yards: 309, J. J. Moses (2004)
Punt Return Touchdowns: 1, Avion Black (2002)
Field Goals: 26, Kris Brown (2005)
Punting Average: 41.7, Matt Turk (2007)

Single game records

Passing Yards: 372, David Carr (October 10, 2004 vs Minnesota)
Passing Touchdowns: 4, Sage Rosenfels (October 21, 2007 vs Tennessee)
Rushing Yards: 158, Domanick Davis (December 26, 2004 at Jacksonville)
Rushing Touchdowns: 2, multiple players
Receiving Yards: 170, Andre Johnson (October 10, 2004 vs Minnesota)
Receiving Touchdowns: 2, multiple players
Interceptions: 2, multiple players
Quarterback Sacks: 3.5, Mario Williams (December 13, 2007 vs Denver)
Longest Field Goal: 57 yards, Kris Brown (October 7, 2007 vs Miami)
Longest Play: 104 yards (Kick Return), André Davis (December 30, 2007 vs Jacksonville)
Longest Rushing Play: 51 yards, Domanick Davis (November 9, 2003 at Cincinnati)
Longest Pass Play: 81 yards, David Carr to Corey Bradford (October 13, 2002 vs Buffalo)
Longest Touchdown Completion: 78 yards, David Carr to Corey Bradford (September 7, 2003 at Miami)
Longest Kick Return: 104 yards, André Davis (December 30, 2007 vs Jacksonville)
Longest Punt: 62 Yards, Chad Stanley (December 2, 2002 @ Pittsburgh) and (December 31, 2006 vs Cleveland)

Players of note

Current players

NFL Draft history

First-round draft picks by year

= Pro Bowler

Year	Pick	Player	Position	College
2002 Exp	1st overall	Tony Boselli	Offensive Tackle	University of Southern California>Southern California
2002	1st overall	David Carr	Quarterback	Fresno State
2003	3rd overall	Andre Johnson	Wide receiver	Miami (FL)
2004	10th overall	Dunta Robinson	Cornerback	South Carolina
2004	27th overall (from Tennessee)	Jason Babin	Defensive end	Western Michigan
2005	16th overall (from New Orleans)	Travis Johnson	Defensive tackle	Florida State
2006	1st overall	Mario Williams	Defensive end	North Carolina State
2007	10th overall (from Atlanta)	Amobi Okoye	Defensive tackle	Louisville
2008	26th overall (from Baltimore)	Duane Brown	Offensive tackle	Virginia Tech

Awards

2003 Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year: Domanick Davis
2006 Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year: DeMeco Ryans
2006 Associated Press All-Pro Team (Second Team Wide Receiver): Andre Johnson
2006 NFL Alumni Wide Receiver of the Year: Andre Johnson
2007 NFL Alumni Defensive Lineman of the Year: Mario Williams
2007 Associated Press All-Pro Team (Second Team Inside Linebacker): DeMeco Ryans
2007 Associated Press All-Pro Team (Second Team Defensive End): Mario Williams

Pro Bowl selections

2002 DB Aaron Glenn, DT Gary Walker
2004 WR Andre Johnson
2005 KR Jerome Mathis
2006 WR Andre Johnson
2007 LB DeMeco Ryans

Other notable alumni

Tony Boselli (OL 2002) (Did not play due to injury)
Corey Bradford (WR 2002-2005)
Dom Capers (Head Coach 2002-2005)
David Carr (QB 2002-2006)
Charley Casserly (General Manager 2002-2005)
Marcus Coleman (DB 2002-2005)
Domanick Davis (RB 2003-2006)
Jabar Gaffney (WR 2002-2005)
Aaron Glenn (DB 2002-2004)
Jermaine Lewis (WR 2002)
Steve McKinney (OL 2002-2007)
Billy Miller (TE 2002-2004)
Eric Moulds (WR 2006)
Chris Palmer (Offensive Coordinator 2002-2005)
Seth Payne (DT 2002-2006)
Jamie Sharper (LB 2002-2004)
Mike Sherman (Offensive Coordinator 2006-2007)
Gary Walker (DL 2002-2005)
Kailee Wong (LB 2002-2006)

Coaches of note

Head coaches

''As of December 9, 2007. Only regular season and postseason games are counted.

Name	From	To	Record			Titles
Name	From	To	W	L	T	Titles
Dom Capers	January 21, 2001	January 2, 2006	18	46	0	0
Gary Kubiak	January 26, 2006	Present	14	18	0	0

Current staff

Traditions

Battle Red Day - On Battle Red Day the team wears the red alternate jerseys and fans are encouraged to wear red to the game. In 2007, this included the Texans wearing red pants along with the red shirts.
Bull Pen - The sections behind the north end zone of Reliant Stadium are known as the Bull Pen. The most avid fans attend games in the Bull Pen and regular members have helped create and implement fan traditions, songs and chants.
Bull Pen Pep Band - 45-member musical group that performs at all Houston Texans home games.

Trivia

The Texans are just the second expansion team since 1960 to win their very first NFL regular season contest. The Texans defeated the Dallas Cowboys on September 8, 2002 by a score of 19-10. The only other expansion team to win its very first NFL regular season contest was the Minnesota Vikings, who defeated the Chicago Bears on Opening Day 1961 by a score of 37-13.
Billy Miller scored the first points in franchise history with a touchdown catch on the team's third play from scrimmage against the Dallas Cowboys.
At the 2002 Pro Bowl, The Texans tied the 1961 Vikings for the most players selected (2) from an expansion team and become the first expansion club to be represented at the Pro Bowl since the New Orleans Saints in 1967, when all teams were required to have at least one player selected. The two representatives for the Texans that year were cornerback Aaron Glenn and defensive end Gary Walker.
The Texans became the first expansion team in NFL history to win their first two opening day games when they defeated the Miami Dolphins to open the 2003 season.
The Texans hold the record for the fewest yards gained by a winning team in NFL history (47). The record was set on December 8, 2002 when the Texans defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-6 despite being outgained 422-47 in total yards.
David Carr holds the dubious title as the most sacked quarterback in a single season. In 2002, he was sacked 76 times, but still managed to take every snap for the team that season. (The 1986 Eagles hold the NFL record for most sacks permitted by a team in one season with 104)
David Carr tied an NFL record with 22 consecutive completions in a 2006 game against Buffalo at Reliant Stadium. He is tied with Mark Brunell who completed 22 consecutive passes on the same field against the Texans just a few weeks earlier.
The Texans' first-round pick in 2007, Amobi Okoye, is the youngest player ever selected in the history of the NFL Draft. Okoye did not turn 20 until June 10, 2007.
In 2007, Kris Brown became the first kicker in NFL history to make three field goals of 54 yards or longer in a single game, which included a franchise record 57-yard field goal to beat the Dolphins.

Radio and television

As of 2007, the Texans' flagship radio stations were KILT SportsRadio 610AM and KILT 100.3FM. The AM station has an all-sports format, while the FM station plays contemporary country music. Both are owned by CBS Radio. Marc Vandermeer is the play-by-play announcer. Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware provides color commentary, and SportsRadio 610 host Rich Lord serves as a sideline reporter. Preseason games are telecast by KTRK, an ABC owned and operated station. Joel Meyers calls the games on TV, with former Oilers running back Spencer Tillman providing color commentary.

Spanish language radio broadcasts of the team's games are aired on KLAT La Tremenda 1010AM.