Having lost two of their last three games, including a 21-13 defeat against the New York Jets in Week 9, the Houston Texans are trying to find answers that will keep their once-promising season from going off the rails.

Per Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle, a group of team leaders that included C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr. held a two-hour meeting with each other on Monday that "gave each of them a chance to talk about what they felt was going wrong."

Alexander noted when the Texans returned to the team facility on Wednesday to start their weekly preparations for the upcoming game, running back Joe Mixon addressed the offense before offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik started his announcements:

"On Wednesday morning, during their weekly offensive meeting before practice, Slowik was getting ready to address the team when Mixon stopped him. 'Let me holla at the boys,' Mixon said.

"Mixon said he didn't plan what he was going to say. 'If it's real, it comes from the heart,' he told the Houston Chronicle.

"Mixon said his message to his teammates was to understand the opportunity they have in front of them, and not let it go to waste.

"'Everybody know we've got a hell of a team, and obviously we've been battling injury, and that ain't no excuse,' Mixon said. "'But at the same time, it's like s---, we've got the guys who can go get it with the best of them. Really getting guys to understand that buying in to what's being preached out there and what's being ran. It's up to us to make it shake.'"

After a 41-21 victory over the New England Patriots in Week 6, the Texans were sitting pretty in the AFC with a 5-1 record. They were the No. 2 seed in the playoff race, trailing only the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs.

Since that time, though, the Texans' offense has looked like a mess. They were held to a season-low 197 yards in a 24-22 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 7. They held on for a 23-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts the following week.

The Texans were at a disadvantage against the Jets, playing on the road on a short week for Thursday Night Football. It was also their first game without Stefon Diggs, who tore his ACL against the Colts.

Houston's offense has also been without Nico Collins since Week 5 due to a hamstring injury. It's not a coincidence that a lot of problems really started when he went down.

Despite having missed the past four games, Collins still leads the Texans in receiving yards (567) and is tied for the team lead in receiving touchdowns (three). He had more than 100 yards in three of five games before suffering the injury.

Collins returned to practice on Friday and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions. There would be no shame in losing to the Lions, who are arguably the best team in the NFL, if that's what happens.

But it will increase the panic meter in Houston because a loss and a Colts win over the Bills would shrink the lead in the AFC South to one game.

A victory over the 7-1 Lions who have steamrolled most of the teams they have played this season would silence any doubt that might be cropping up for the Texans.