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Houston Texans · Franchise era 1 of 5

Building the Texans: the Houston Texans story

Franchise era

2002—2010

Building the Texans

Houston Texans

The story in one sentence

Houston beat Dallas in its first game, then developed foundational stars while waiting nearly a decade for its first winning season.

01

A dramatic debut gives way to patient construction

02

Andre Johnson, DeMeco Ryans and Mario Williams gave the era its recognizable core.

03

Its ending created the conditions for watt and the first playoff teams.

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. The foundation

    The franchise context

    Houston's expansion franchise has moved from its first victory over Dallas through the Watt defense and into a new chapter built around C.J. Stroud and DeMeco Ryans.

  2. 2002—2010

    Building the Texans

    Houston beat Dallas in its first game, then developed foundational stars while waiting nearly a decade for its first winning season.

  3. After 2010

    What came next

    Wade Phillips's defense and Foster's zone running produced consecutive division titles, while Watt became the era's defining defensive player.

The core

Faces of the chapter

01Andre Johnson→02DeMeco Ryans→03Mario Williams→
Next era →Watt and the first playoff teams2011—2016