Texans Defense Blowing Late Leads — Survivor Pick Risk

Texans can't close

Houston's defense has slipped from elite to shaky in a hurry. Despite scoring go-ahead touchdowns, the Texans have surrendered late leads in three of their first four games — a troubling pattern for a unit that was supposed to be a strength.

When a team keeps letting games slip away in the final minutes, the margin for a clean win disappears, even when the offense does its job.

Survivor-pick impact

The whole appeal of a survivor pick is a team you can trust to finish. Houston isn't that right now. Scoring the go-ahead touchdown only to lose it back three times in four weeks tells you this is a group that can't be counted on to protect a lead late — exactly the kind of variance you want to avoid when one loss ends your run. Until the Texans show they can close out games, leave them on your bench and lean toward safer options. For more team-by-team reads, keep up with our weekly survivor analysis, and if you're not in a pool yet, you can start a free survivor pool in minutes.