Running the football is important.
Let’s say it one more time.
Running the football is important.
And if the Texans are going to go anywhere this season, they will need a hefty dose of it. That much was obvious on Sunday when Joe Mixon returned to the lineup for the first time since Week 2 from a high-ankle sprain injury. His backup, Dameon Pierce, also was back after missing four games due to injury.
The end result was an efficient offense that pretty much did what it wanted during an impressive 41-21 road win over the New England Patriots. This was all accomplished even in the absence of star receiver Nico Collins.
What it shows is how important the run is to the Texans and quarterback C.J. Stroud and how critical it will be as the season moves forward.
“He’s got great vision, you know, hits it as hard as he can, you know, so just a great feel for the game, a great feel to set his blocks up. When our O-line is blocking and he’s setting blocks, it’s a recipe for success and then DP (Dameon Pierce) comes in and does well as well.”
– C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans Quarterback
The Texans, even with arguably the most impressive receiver trio in the NFL this season, will go as Mixon and the ground game go.
“When your backs are special, they get more than what is blocked for, and that’s what you saw (Sunday) with the explosive runs, the two big explosive runs, one by Dameon and one by Joe,” said Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, whose team takes a 5-1 record into this week’s showdown in Green Bay. “When you got backs who can do that extra, that’s what they’re capable of doing, of giving us the extra. And for both guys to get touchdowns today, that was big.”
The explosive runs Ryans referred to were Mixon’s 20-yard touchdown burst early in the fourth quarter followed by Pierce’s 54-yard strike midway through the fourth.
The Texans had been missing those types of explosive runs the last month, and as a result, we saw them struggle to put away games against clearly inferior opponents.
With Mixon and Pierce working in tandem, the Texans accumulated 192 yards on the ground, which was more than double the 82 yards the defense limited the Patriots to. For some perspective, the offense had totaled just 233 yards rushing from Week 3-6 in their absence.
Mixon finished with 132 yards from scrimmage with 102 coming on the ground and 30 receiving, while Pierce added 76 rushing and an insane 9.5 yards per carry average.
