The 2003 Houston Texans season was the franchise's second season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

and the second under

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Dom Capers Ernest Dominic Capers (born August 7, 1950) is an American football coach who is a senior defensive assistant for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the inaugural head coach of the Panthers and the Ho ...

. It saw the Texans make a one-game improvement on its initial season's record. In the

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

, the Texans selected wide receiver Andre Johnson from Miami (FL) third overall. Johnson would become a cornerstone of the Texans' franchise for the next decade and would go on to hold nearly every franchise receiving record. Considered one of the best receivers of his era, Johnson was selected for the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

in 2024, becoming the first player to start their career with the Texans to be inducted.

Offseason

NFL draft

Staff

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Miami Dolphins

Week 2: at New Orleans Saints

Week 3: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Week 4: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 6: at Tennessee Titans

David Carr threw for 371 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions, including a pick six.

Week 7: vs. New York Jets

Week 8: at Indianapolis Colts

Week 9: vs. Carolina Panthers

Week 10: at Cincinnati Bengals

Week 11: at Buffalo Bills

On the Texans' third offensive drive, David Carr was sacked in his own end zone by Jeff Posey and fumbled the ball. The ball eventually went out of bounds in the end zone, resulting in a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

, giving the Bills a 2–0 lead. Carr was injured on the play and would be replaced by Tony Banks for the rest of the game. On the final play of the game, the Texans were facing a 4th and 14 at their own 34-yard line with 0:03 left to play up 12–8. The team lined up in a punt formation and Andre Johnson took the ball, intentionally running backwards to his own end zone and ran out of bounds for a safety with 0:00 on the clock, securing a 12–10 victory for the Texans.

Week 12: vs. New England Patriots

Week 13: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Week 14: at Jacksonville Jaguars

With injuries to both David Carr and Tony Banks, third-round rookie quarterback Dave Ragone made his first NFL start. Decimated by injuries, the Texans' offense struggled throughout the game, finishing with just 124 yards and three turnovers.

Week 15: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 16: vs. Tennessee Titans

Week 17: Indianapolis Colts

Standings

Statistics

Team

Individual

Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2003 Houston Texans Season Houston Texans seasons

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...