Will Houston Remain a House of Horror for Dolphins?

The Miami Dolphins are looking for their first road victory against the Texans
Houston Texans wide receiver Will Fuller (15) runs the ball as Miami Dolphins linebacker Raekwon McMillan (52) closes in during the second quarter at NRG Stadium.
Houston Texans wide receiver Will Fuller (15) runs the ball as Miami Dolphins linebacker Raekwon McMillan (52) closes in during the second quarter at NRG Stadium. / Shanna Lockwood-Imagn Images
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The Miami Dolphins will be back in Houston on Sunday and they are due for a happy trip there.

This will be the first time in six years the Dolphins have played a regular season game in Houston and they'll be looking for done something they've never done before.

They will be looking to defeat the Houston Texans in a road game for the first time.

Yep, Houston has been a house of horrors for the Dolphins since the Texans entered the NFL in 2002 with five visits and five losses.

The last came in 2018 in a Thursday night battle that really wasn't much of a battle at all, as three players with Dolphins connections had big performances in a 42-23 Texans victory.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson, who the Dolphins were looking to acquire three years later, passed for five touchdowns that night and had a 156.0 passer rating. Running back Lamar Miller, who previously had played for the Dolphins, rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Will Fuller, who would join the Dolphins as a free agent three years later for a very brief and very forgettable stint, have five catches for 124 yards, one of them a 73-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

The other Dolphins losses against the Texans in Houston came in the 2012 season opener in Ryan Tannehill's NFL debut (30-9) after three heartbreakers in three consecutive seasons.

The Dolphins lost 17-15 in October 2006 when their two-point conversion attempt with 1:39 left failed; they lost 22-19 in October 2007 on a 57-yard field goal by Kris Brown with 1 second left after Dolphins QB Trent Green sustained a season-ending concussion; and they lost 29-28 in October 2008 on QB Matt Schaub's 3-yard run with 3 seconds left.

The Dolphins did win six games at Houston when it was home to the Oilers, the latest victory coming in 1996, the franchise's last year in that city before moving to Tennessee. That 26-23 victory in 1996 was highlighted by a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown by a Dolphins rookie fifth-round pick by the name of Zach Thomas.

The Texans are the only team in the NFL the Dolphins have yet to face on the road.


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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.