While CJ Stroud engineered another efficient 60 minutes of football, throwing for three touchdown passes and a 100.5 passer rating without Nico Collins, the Texans got a much needed boost offensively with the ground game.
Not only did the Texans win at Foxboro for the first time in the 23-year history of the franchise, but they showed that successfully running the football might just be something else in their arsenal after all.
Through the first five weeks of the season, the Texans had eclipsed 100-yards rushing just twice as a team and left much to be desired in the run game.
It’s been a slog to say the least, though Sunday was anything but.
Joe Mixon, who returned to action for the Texans for the first time since week two, ran for 102 yards on just 13 carries, including a receiving touchdown.
While 59 of those yards came on one carry, Mixon averaged 3.5 yards per rush on his other 12 carries and was a factor in the pass game as well, hauling in two catches for 30 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.
Mixon’s 59-yard run came with the Texans leading the Patriots 14-0 inside 12 minutes to play in the second quarter. Similar to week five against the Bills, the Texans had an opportunity to put the game in peril early, but while it was a turnover on downs that prevented the Texans from taking a more commanding lead against the Bills, it was a rare Stroud interception in the end zone that prolonged the inevitable on Sunday.
Nevertheless, the run blocking on Mixon’s run was really well executed.
Many, myself included won’t want to hear it, but that run is why the Texans will continue to run the ball between the tackles, particularly out of bunched sets.
Between Laremy Tunsil, Juice Scruggs and Kenyon Green, their blocks on the play were all key in springing Mixon for the 59-yard run.
Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai nearly made a play on Mixon after he came off of Dalton Schultz’s block, but Tavai got off his block a tick too late.
Dameon Pierce is no longer M.I.A.
How can you not be happy, excited and relieved for the Texans third-year pro?
Pierce hasn’t been the same player since
his rookie season when he rushed for 939 yards, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. In fact, prior to Sunday, Pierce has averaged just 2.9 yards per carry on 148 rushes between last season and the first six weeks of this season.
Having missed the previous four weeks due to a hamstring injury, Pierce burst back onto the scene in a big way in Sunday’s win for the Texans. On his eighth and final carry of the afternoon, Pierce put the game on ice in the fourth quarter with a 54-yard touchdown run, showcasing what he’d done better than most his rookie season, breaking tackles.
Pierce was sprung with a great double-team by both Dalton Schultz and Stefon Diggs on Patriots safety Marte Mapu and Tytus Howard drilling linebacker Raekwon McMillan in his ear hole.
It led to Pierce busting out the second-longest run of his career, which ended with him diving into the end zone, bouncing up and signaling for a touchdown.
He wanted it, he needed it and boy did he deserve it.
Pierce finished the game with 76 yards on nine carries, his most productive outing since week four of last season when he ran for 81 yards on 24 attempts.
Ryans has to feel a bit relieved as well.
While the status of Dameon Pierce amongst fans and media had been in question, during Texans OTA’s, Ryans boasted about how Pierce had entered camp with a clean slate and that he was more than capable of being a part of a “one-two punch” for the Texans in the backfield.
“I see Dameon having a very clear headspace as we are out working, and I think that will allow him to have a really productive year this year,” Ryans said. “He has everything it takes to be a really good running back for us and I think him and Joe as a one-two punch would be very beneficial for us all.”
After Sunday’s game, Ryans acknowledged the game changing, big play ability of his running backs.
“Those guys bring play-making ability,” Ryans said. “Not just getting what the run is blocked for. When your backs are special, they get more than what is blocked for, and that's what you saw today with the explosive runs.”
It’s been a bit of a slower build than anticipated for the Texans offense, but that’s also relative to the sky-high expectations and aspirations that have come along with a team that far exceeded the low bar set for them by fans and “experts” last season.
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