HOUSTON – C.J. Stroud piled up yards even as he endured heavy punishment. His experience Sunday ran the entire gamut for an NFL quarterback.
As the Texans’ rookie continues to make strides, ranking fourth in the NFL in passing yardage while avoiding interceptions and throwing his first two touchdown passes, his makeshift offensive line is struggling mightily to protect him.
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Stroud has been sacked 11 times in two games and hit 19 times overall. The winless Texans are allowing the most sacks in the NFL and the running game is stagnant.
“Guys are still going out trying to do the best that they can do, doing the job that we asked them to do,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Of course, we like it better, we don’t want to see the quarterback get hit, but I thought the guys’ offense took a move in the right direction. They got better overall.”
The primary issues are personnel-related as the line has faced major calamity due to injuries.
Against the Indianapolis Colts during a 31-20 defeat Sunday, the Texans were playing without Pro Bowl left offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil due to a sore knee. So, they shifted Josh Jones from left guard to left tackle and the former University of Houston lineman allowed one sack and had a holding penalty that negated a touchdown pass. Kendrick Green played left guard with mixed results.
Rookie center Jarrett Patterson snapped effectively, but was overwhelmed at the point of attack on the opening play of the game by defensive tackle Grover Stewart and running back Dameon Pierce was tackled for a three-yard loss. Right guard Shaq Mason allowed three pressures. And right tackle George Fant held up solidly for the most part.
“We went out there and we didn’t get the job done, but I think we took some steps in the right direction,” Mason said. “If you give No. 7 time, he can make some plays. That’s very encouraging, but unfortunately no moral victories in this league. We have to keep chopping wood.”
The Texans trailed 28-10 at halftime, but outscored the Colts 10-0 in the fourth quarter to make it closer.
In the first half, though, Stroud completed 8 of 15 passes for 110 yards and was sacked twice. The Texans rushed for just 36 yards on 15 runs in the first half as running back Dameon Pierce, a Pro Bowl alternate as a rookie, was limited to 26 yards on 10 carries. He finished the game with six more yards, 31 overall, on an additional five carries.
The Texans ran for just 52 yards on 26 carries, a 2.0 average per run.
For the season, they rank last in the NFL with 2.5 yards per run.
“Yeah, we can run the ball better,” Ryans said. “It starts with our communication up front [and] just being on the details again, and communicating where we’re going, where we ID, and just being on it, and also just how we’re running it. Just staying after it, making plays.
“We had some plays there to be made where there’s one free guy in the hole. If we can make sure we’re on the right person and be where we’re supposed to be, there are some explosive plays in the run game to be made.”
Pierce had contact after running just 0.4 yards against the Colts. He had contact after running just 0.3 yards in a season-opening loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
How the Texans began the game was concerning. There was very little energy and tempo evident to the eye, or in the results. One of the Colts’ touchdowns came on an Anthony Richardson run directly after a sack-strip on Stroud by Samson Ebukam.
“I feel like probably the urgency to start the game,” Patterson said. “I feel like second half, we were clicking well. To start the game, we need to come out faster and be ready for what they’re going to do. I think that was the biggest thing. We started out slow and waited to respond. We need to send the message first.”
Ryans was noncommittal on whether Tunsil will play this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Pro Bowl left offensive tackle said he badly wants to play and is working hard to get back on the field.
“Yeah, we’ll see where Laremy is with his knees,” Ryans said. “We’ll see how that goes throughout the week, still a day-to-day process.”
Not having Tunsil, a team captain and the highest rated pass protector in the league last season and the highest paid offensive lineman in the NFL after signing a three-year, $75 million contract this offseason, represents a major blow to the offense and the entire team.
“It’s definitely tough losing a player of that caliber,” Mason said. “That’s the game. It’s a tough sport. I know he’s fighting hard to get back out there and I know he wanted to be out there.”
Tunsil is a leader for the entire team. He sets a tone with his excellence as an overall blocker. His presence is missed.
“Yeah, Laremy, he’s a good dude,” Patterson said. “We feel for him. We’ve had a few injuries on the line. At the end of the day, guys have to step up. That’s the game of football.”
Texans right tackle Tytus Howard is on injured reserve as he continues to recover from hand surgery. Howard is on track in his recovery and is expected to return and be activated after missing the first four games, including the next two games against the Jaguars and the Pittsburgh Steelers, per league sources.
Texans rookie center Juice Scruggs, a projected starter after Scott Quessenberry tore anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in training camp, is set to return from a strained hamstring and is expected to be activated from injured reserve after he’s out the NFL minimum four games, per league sources.
Stroud has no complaints about his blocking. He wants to uplift his linemen and vice versa.
“You’ve got to trust those guys, and I do,” Stroud said. “I think I’ve showed it, because I’m not just running around all the time. I’m only trying to extend plays when I have to, even sometimes I was trying to run around and the looks were there, and I just missed the read. I would come back and do it the next time and get the read. It’s just a consistent fight every play. I’m up for the challenge, and those guys are too. I appreciate those guys.
“Josh was at guard last week. He moved to left tackle. That’s a hard thing to do. This is the NFL. It’s the best players in the world every week, you know what I mean? So, I definitely appreciate those guys, because they’re fighting, they’re not just giving up. It’s easy to put your head down in this league and just turn around and just do whatever, but those guys constantly are looking me in the eye like, man, I got you, and I appreciate that. I love those boys, and I’m going to keep fighting for them because they’re fighting for me.”
A former third-round draft pick acquired in a trade from the Arizona Cardinals, Jones was forced to shift over to left tackle due to Tunsil being out. He had a 67.7 pass blocking grade. The lowest pass blocking grades from Pro Football Focus were Patterson (54.1), Green (61.1) and Mason (61.9).
“I think Josh played well,” Fant said. “People don’t understand how hard it is. We’ll grow.”
Despite the issues with the line and no running game to speak of, he completed 30 of 47 passes for 384 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Colts. He has 626 passing yards, the fifth most of any player in their first two games behind Cam Newton, Kyler Murray, Justin Herbert and Todd Marinovich. He has the most passes, 91 overall, to start an NFL career without an interception in NFL history.
Stroud has a respectable 91.2 passer rating and is averaging 7.3 yards per attempt.
He has 18 completions on throws of 10 yards or higher to lead the NFL.
The progress is obvious for the second overall pick and two-time Heisman Trophy finalist from Ohio State.
“C.J. is a very good processer, a smart, smart quarterback,” Ryans said. “He’s not going to make the same mistake twice. That’s one thing I like about him. He knows his mistakes and he knows how to correct them on the fly and it’s just encouraging when you see a young player, a rookie quarterback, who is able to make steps in the right direction.
“He’s able to progress, he’s able to grow within games. Like you see in our past game where he got pressured and held onto the ball a little too long and he comes back, and he makes the right decision with the football. This kid is made of all the right stuff. Happy to have him on board, our team is happy to have him on board. We just have to play better, complementary football around him.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.