Houston Texans Trivia
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49 free Houston Texans trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
This Houston Texans trivia quiz covers the whole short history of the NFL's youngest franchise: how Bob McNair won the 32nd team after the Oilers left for Tennessee, the 2002 opening-night upset of the Cowboys, David Carr's 76 sacks, and the long climb to a first AFC South title in 2011. It then runs through the stars and the seasons that followed — Andre Johnson, Arian Foster's undrafted rushing title, J. J. Watt's three Defensive Player of the Year awards and Hurricane Harvey fundraising, DeAndre Hopkins, Deshaun Watson, the 24–0 collapse in Kansas City, and the DeMeco Ryans and C. J. Stroud era that finally brought a road playoff win — plus the bull logo, Toro, Battle Red and 'Bulls on Parade'. Questions run from easy to hard with the difficulty shown on each one. Every answer has been checked against a primary reference and each question carries its citation.
30 of 49 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Texans replaced which previous Houston NFL franchise, which had left for Nashville?
The Oilers
The Oilers left Houston after the 1996 season and became the Tennessee Titans; the league then retired the Oilers name, so a new Houston team could not revive it.
Q 02Who founded the Texans and owned the team until his death in 2018?
Bob McNair
Bob McNair won the franchise in October 1999 and owned the team until his death in November 2018, when his wife Janice succeeded him as principal owner.
Q 03Houston won the NFL's 32nd franchise in 1999 with a $700 million bid, beating which city that had been promised the team?
Los Angeles
Los Angeles had been awarded the team that March on condition that it settle an owner and a stadium plan by September; when it could not, the owners took Houston's offer instead.
Q 04Which team did the Texans beat in their inaugural regular-season game?
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys fell 19–10 on a Sunday night after rookie David Carr threw a touchdown pass on the Texans' third play; a late safety sealed the upset.
Q 05Who was the Texans' first head coach?
Dom Capers
Dom Capers, previously the expansion Carolina Panthers' first coach, led the Texans for their first four seasons and was fired after the last of them.
Q 06What unwanted NFL record did rookie quarterback David Carr set in 2002?
Most times sacked in a season
Most times sacked in a season became Carr's record when he went down 76 times as a rookie behind an expansion line; he was sacked 68 times more in 2005.
Q 07Whom did the Texans take first overall in 2006, passing on Reggie Bush and Vince Young?
Mario Williams
Mario Williams, the NC State defensive end, had signed his contract the night before the draft; he made two Pro Bowls in Houston before leaving for Buffalo in 2012.
Q 08Which native Houstonian coached the Texans from 2006 to 2013, leading them to their first two division titles?
Gary Kubiak
Gary Kubiak, a Houston native who quarterbacked at Texas A&M, coached the Texans from 2006 until his dismissal in December 2013, then won Super Bowl 50 with Denver.
Q 09Which team did the Texans beat 31–10 in January 2012 for the first playoff win in franchise history?
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals led early, but the game turned when rookie J. J. Watt returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown just before half-time.
Q 10Which wide receiver, drafted third overall in 2003, was the first Hall of Fame inductee primarily as a Texan?
Andre Johnson
Andre Johnson led the NFL in receiving yards in 2008 and 2009, though Houston missed the playoffs both years; in 2024 he became the first Texan elected to the Hall of Fame.
Q 11Which undrafted running back out of Tennessee, signed by Houston, led the NFL in rushing in 2010?
Arian Foster
Arian Foster spent much of 2009 on Houston's practice squad after going undrafted, then led the league with 1,616 rushing yards the next season.
Q 12J. J. Watt was drafted 11th overall out of which college?
Wisconsin
Watt started at Central Michigan as a tight end, then walked on at Wisconsin, where he won the 2010 Lott Trophy as a defensive end before going 11th overall to Houston.
Q 13J. J. Watt's third Defensive Player of the Year award in 2015 tied whose record?
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor won the award three times in the 1980s; Watt's three came in four seasons, one of them a 2014 campaign in which he also caught three touchdown passes.
Q 21Which quarterback signed a big four-year deal with Houston in 2016, then was benched?
Brock Osweiler
Brock Osweiler signed for $72 million over four years, was benched for Tom Savage that December and was traded away after a single season.
Q 22Which HBO series featured the Texans in 2015?
Hard Knocks
Hard Knocks spent its 2015 training-camp season with Houston; the team later released quarterback Ryan Mallett after he missed a team flight, and still went on to win its division.
Q 23Which former Texans linebacker became the team's sixth head coach in January 2023?
DeMeco Ryans
DeMeco Ryans, the Texans' 2006 Defensive Rookie of the Year, arrived from the 49ers, where he had been defensive coordinator, and won the AFC South in his first season.
Q 14J. J. Watt became the first player to do what since sacks became an official statistic?
Record two 20-sack seasons
Record two 20-sack seasons: Watt posted 20.5 in both 2012 and 2014, something no player had managed since sacks became an official statistic in 1982, and he also scored receiving touchdowns in 2014.
Q 15J. J. Watt set out to raise $200,000 after Hurricane Harvey in 2017; roughly how much came in?
$41 million
About $41 million came in, more than 200 times the goal of his first online appeal; the effort earned him the 2017 Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
Q 16Which Clemson receiver, drafted 27th by the Texans in 2013, was traded to Arizona in 2020?
DeAndre Hopkins
DeAndre Hopkins went to the Cardinals in March 2020 for running back David Johnson and a second-round pick, weeks after his third straight first-team All-Pro season.
Q 17Which quarterback did the Texans trade up to take 12th overall in 2017?
Deshaun Watson
Deshaun Watson, fresh from Clemson's national title, went 12th after Houston traded up; a torn ACL in practice ended his rookie season after six starts and 19 touchdown passes.
Q 18In 2022 the Texans traded their star quarterback to which team for a haul including three first-round picks?
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns sent first-round picks in 2022, 2023 and 2024 plus three more selections, then gave the quarterback a $230 million contract; he missed their first 11 games under an NFL suspension.
Q 19The Texans started 0–3 in 2018 and then did what, an NFL first for a team with that start?
Won nine straight games
Won nine straight games is exactly what they did, the longest winning run ever to follow an 0–3 start; it carried Houston to 11–5 and the division title before a first-round playoff exit.
Q 20The Texans blew a 24–0 playoff lead to lose 51–31 to which team?
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs scored 28 points in the second quarter, helped by a failed Houston fake punt, to lead 28–24 at half-time; they went on to win Super Bowl LIV.
Q 24C. J. Stroud was drafted second overall in 2023 out of which school?
Ohio State
Stroud's last game for Ohio State was a 42–41 playoff loss to Georgia in which he threw four touchdown passes; four months later Houston took him second overall.
Q 25C. J. Stroud's 470 passing yards against Tampa Bay in 2023 broke whose single-game rookie record?
Andrew Luck
Andrew Luck had held the mark since 2012; Stroud passed it with five touchdown throws, the last in the final seconds of a 39–37 win over the Buccaneers.
Q 26Which defensive end did Houston trade up to take third overall in 2023, later Defensive Rookie of the Year?
Will Anderson Jr.
Will Anderson Jr. went one pick after C. J. Stroud: Houston traded up from 12th with Arizona to take the Alabama pass rusher, who was named Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Q 27The 2023 Texans became the first NFL division champions led by what pairing?
A rookie head coach and rookie QB
A rookie head coach and rookie QB led Houston from last in the AFC South the previous year to a 10–7 division title; Stroud then became the youngest quarterback to win a playoff game.
Q 28Which team did the Texans beat 30–6 in January 2026 for their first road playoff win?
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers stayed close until Houston's defense scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter; the Texans had never before won a playoff game away from home.
Q 29Which Texans linebacker was named 2009 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year?
Brian Cushing
Brian Cushing, a 2009 first-round pick from USC, won Defensive Rookie of the Year and kept the award when the AP held a re-vote after his 2010 suspension became public.
Q 30The Texans' logo is an abstract bull's head split to resemble what?
The Texas flag
The Texas flag is echoed in the bull's red and blue halves, with a lone white star for the eye; thousands watched the logo's unveiling at a downtown Houston rally in September 2000.