They were eliminated from playoff contention after a Week 14 loss to the Chicago Bears and suffered their first losing season since 2017.

Watson's final game as a Texan was on January 2, 2021, a 41–38 loss to the Tennessee Titans, and would be traded to the Cleveland Browns a year later, on March 18, 2022.

[2] Following their first 0–4 start since 2008 and the trade of DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals, the Texans fired O'Brien on October 5, 2020.

[4][nb 1] The season was stained with drama primarily consisting of trade rumors about Deshaun Watson and J. J. Watt and locker room issues.

Draft trades Front office Head coaches Offensive coaches Special teams coaches Strength and conditioning Running backs (RB) Wide receivers (WR) Tight ends (TE) Defensive linemen (DL) Defensive backs (DB) Special teams Reserve The Texans' preseason schedule was announced on May 7, but was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[15] The heavy rains affected filed conditions while the gusty winds in the area made passing and kicking the ball difficult.

Early in the 2nd quarter, facing a 4th and 2 from the Cleveland 2-yard line, Houston went for it, but Deshaun Watson was sacked by Myles Garrett for a 2-yard loss.

Later in the quarter, the Browns would also turn the ball over on downs when a Baker Mayfield pass intended for Jarvis Landry fell incomplete in Houston territory.

Texans kicker Kaʻimi Fairbairn attempted a 46-yard field goal late in the 3rd, but the gusty winds pushed the ball wide left; Cleveland would score the game's first touchdown on the following drive with a 9-yard run from Nick Chubb.

On the ensuing kickoff, Donovan Peoples-Jones muffed the punt on his own 2-yard line and recovered it for a 1-yard gain before being taken down by Buddy Howell.

The Texans had a chance to get the ball back late in the game with the Browns facing a 3rd and 3 at their own 40-yard line with 1:07 left to play, but Chubb broke free for a 59-yard run before intentionally running out of bounds at the Houston 1-yard line.

The two previously worked together with the New York Giants in the 80s, while Crennel served as Belichick's defensive coordinator on the Patriots from 2001 to 2004.

This was also Deshaun Watson's final game as the Texans starting quarterback, as he sat out the entire 2021 season due to a trade demand and multiple allegations of sexual assault, which then led to him being traded to the Cleveland Browns just before the 2022 season.