There isn't a real fix this season for the biggest issue the Houston Texans are facing on offense
The Houston Texans have a big problem on offense. I really don't have to tell you all; you watch the games, so you know, but I'll break it down anyway for the sake of the article. The Texans cannot run the ball, and they cannot protect C.J. Stroud. This is a personnel issue, one that […]
The Houston Texans have a big problem on offense. I really don't have to tell you all; you watch the games, so you know, but I'll break it down anyway for the sake of the article. The Texans cannot run the ball, and they cannot protect C.J. Stroud. This is a personnel issue, one that can't be fixed this season.
Could they improve and make these issues less bad this year? Most definitely. But they cannot completely solve the issue. It will always be there. The offensive line is just too bad in both phases of the offense. They can't protect Stroud, who has been pressured more than any quarterback in the league with 167 pressures. And they can't block in the run game in this outside zone run scheme.
Here is the misconception about the offense, though — it's not Joe Mixon, who has actually been very good for what he's been dealt. But before we get into that, let's break down just how bad this run game is by the numbers.
Texans have one of the worst run games in the NFL
Positive plays are good, whether they're one-yard or two. They are good, considering you would rather have that than a negative play, right? In this league, where the defense has been ramped up this year a lot, you just want to string together positive plays and build off of that. Well, the Texans aren't doing that.
Houston is third in the league in the percentage of zero or negative yards per rush. Third is not good, when it comes to this stat, you want to be as close to 32 as possible. When it comes to rushes for negative yards, the Texans are first in the league, meaning they have the most negative rushes in the league.
As I said earlier, positive plays and gains are good because it is better than negative play. But, when you get positive plays, you want to try to get at least four or five yards per rush. And, the Texans are nowhere near that. On the percentage of rushes for five-plus yards, the Texans are 27th. They also have a rushing success rate that ranks 31st in the league.
“With the offensive line, with the lineup that we have, they’re going out again for the second time," head coach DeMeco Ryans said this week. "We all hope that everything continues to improve and get cleaner. I thought the guys did a really nice job of communicating and protecting [QB] C.J. [Stroud] this past game and it was a well improved and we’re just looking for continued improvement. And the run game is where I challenge our guys to pick it up and we’ll see how we accept that challenge Monday night.”
Now, a lot of people may look at this and think that Mixon has been very bad, but really, he hasn't. Now, his stats aren't other-worldly, because he is running behind a bad offensive line, but with where he stands in a lot of these stats, you can tell it's not him that's the problem.
Mixon is 12th in the league in RYOE, or Rush Yards Over Expected, which basically measures how many yards you gained that exceeded what was expected on that play. This is a good measure because the Texans are expected to have a lot of bad plays, but Mixon has bailed them out.
Mixon ranked 12th in RYOE, as we said, with an RYOE of +7.4. Mixon is 15th in RYOE/Attempt with +0.5, according to NFL Pro.
So fans will say, "Okay, but he doesn't look as good as he once did." Well, I would beg to differ. He is 10th in rush yards after contact with 501, and he is fifth in the number of runs where he reached 20 miles per hour with two total times, as it doesn't happen as often as you may think.
Mixon is not the problem, which is why I say this won't be fixed this season. It's the offensive line, and while they can be better, this will not be fixed this year. They are going to have to do some major evaluation of who they have on the offensive line heading into 2025.
When the run game isn't working, the passing game is hard to get going. When teams know you can't run the ball, they can sell out to the passing game, making everything difficult and the offense even worse.
The Texans will play the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football before playing two divisional opponents in the Tennessee Titans, and Jacksonville Jaguars, and then will play the Miami Dolphins during a stretch that will be perfect for them to get their run game back on track. They can't do the same thing they did against the Detroit Lions.
Against the Cowboys, the Texans have decided they will wear all-navy for their primetime game.
C.J. Stroud is already doing what no other Houston Texans player has ever done after loss to Lions
He’s too popular right now.
