(SportsRadio 610) - The Texans lick their wounds from yet another loss, the most lopsided to date after Sunday's 38-20 collapse against the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Texans continue to hemorrhage big yardage on the ground.
On Sunday, Raiders running back Josh Jacobs did his part to expose an already porous Texans run defense that has issues with maintaining gap integrity all season.
"That’s what it was and a great running back," Lovie Smith said. "You have to give him credit. It’s not the first good game Jacobs has had. He’s a good running back. A few of those runs are kind of unacceptable for us."
Jacobs gashed the Texans for 143 yards on just 20 carries, including three touchdowns.
He had seven runs of at least 10 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown run that came on the heels of a 4th-and-1 attempt, which never happened because Texans defensive tackle Roy Lopez jumped offside.
That last touchdown run from Jacobs essentially put the game on ice, giving the Raiders a 31-20 lead with 7:06 remaining in the game.
Jacobs made a little history for one of the most historic franchises in the league Sunday.
In just his 49th career game, the fourth-year pro surpassed Marcus Allen (3,688) for the most rushing yards in franchise history through a players first 50 games.
Jacobs also became just the sixth Raider all-time to rush for 100 or more yards in three straight games.
It’s just the tip of the iceberg for the Texans, who were able to add a healthy body to the mix Sunday afternoon, with rookie linebacker Christian Harris making his long awaited season debut.
It remains unclear how impactful Harris can be as a run defender, but Smith did say he liked what he saw from the rookie and thinks he can be a part of the solution for the Texans' woes.
"If we think he’s one of them, we’ll find ways for him to get on the field," Smith said. “I would say Christian Harris is one of those guys and we found a way to start the process (Sunday). He didn’t do anything (Sunday) that said we should give him less. To me, he did things that said give him more."
Harris and the Texans defense will have their hands full in the coming weeks as they face three more of the NFL’s top running backs this season.
The Texans host Derrick Henry and the Titans this Sunday for a week eight divisional matchup at NRG Stadium.
Henry is coming off his most productive game of the season. The two-time all-pro running back ran for 100 or more yards for the third consecutive game, compiling 128 yards on 30 carries in the Titans' 19-10 win over the Colts.
Following the Titans game, the Texans will host the Eagles and Miles Sanders for their lone Thursday night prime time game, before traveling to New York to face Saquon Barkley and the Giants.
The Texans, now 1-4-1 after their Las Vegas debut, are giving up the most rushing yards per game (167.4). They are third behind only the Giants and Seahawks for most rushing yards allowed on the season (988).
Shaun Bijani has spent the last 16 years covering the Houston sports scene for SportsRadio 610. Follow him on Twitter @ShaunBijani.
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