The Houston Texans’ 26-3 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday may have broken a stretch of misfortune that followed the team’s Jan. 12 wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, when Texans mascot Toro ripped a Terrible Towel, the team said.
After that 30-6 playoff win, Houston lost 28-16 to New England in the divisional round and opened the 2026 season with four straight defeats. The loss streak intensified talk about a so‑called Terrible Towel “curse” following Toro’s actions.
Toro appeared to try to reverse course ahead of the recent turnaround, posting a video in which he used tape and glue to piece the torn rally towel back together. The gesture came before the decisive victory over Tennessee, which halted Houston’s skid.
The Texans are not the only team in recent years to endure a run of poor results after mishandling Pittsburgh’s iconic rally towel. During the 2023 season, Jacksonville safety Andrew Wingard grabbed a Terrible Towel and waved it after a Week 8 win over Pittsburgh; the Jaguars went 3-6 the remainder of the season and missed the playoffs, a collapse that helped the Steelers reach the postseason.
It remains unclear whether Houston’s win over Tennessee ends the streak tied to the torn towel. The Texans will have an opportunity to test the theory when they host the Steelers in Week 13, and the team’s mascot may opt to leave the towel intact this time.
