JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Dameon Pierce busted through tackles as a rookie a year ago.
And none of the Texans running back’s punishing runs were as eye-catching as his epic, tackling breaking run against the Jacksonville Jaguars, recognized for the Angry Run of the Year.
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One year later after a Pro Bowl alternate rookie season last season, Pierce still finds inspiration from that bruising display of running as he prepares to face the Jaguars again on the road after imposing his will and determination on their defense last season on a 20-yard run as he churned through hits and kept going.
“That run showed that I was capable of not making good plays but great plays,” Pierce said. “It gave me a lot of confidence and it carries over to this season knowing I can make those types of plays again. Seeing myself doing it, I said to myself ‘Man, I really did that,’ and it gave me a big confidence boost.
“I feel like the first thing (Jaguars coaches) said on Monday was, ‘Do not let him have his run again. It’ll be a bigger challenge for me and the guys up front to try and do it again.”
The Texans’ running game has ground to a halt two games into the season. They rank last in the NFL with a 2.5 average per carry. Part of the issue is abandoning the run when the 0-2 Texans fall behind on the scoreboard. Another issue is a patchwork offensive line that will play today without Pro Bowl left offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil due to a knee injury and right tackle Tytus Howard is on injured reserve after undergoing hand surgery.
Pierce, after rushing for 939 yards and four touchdowns last season, has rushed for just 69 yards on 26 carries for a 2.7 average two games into the season.
The former fourth-round draft pick from Florida finished last season fourth in the NFL with 27 broken tackles, breaking one every eight carries for the second-most in the NFL. He had 506 yards after contact before his season ended prematurely as he missed the final four games due to a high-ankle sprain.
This season has been a difficult start for Pierce and the injuries are an obvious factor.
“Guys are eager to get back in the field, missing the field just as much as we miss them on the field,” Pierce said. “It hurts, it sucks, but that’s part of the game and you know, everybody is working to get better.”
Pierce embodies the kind of physical, tough approach that new coach DeMeco Ryans is looking for on both sides of the football.
Pierce emerged as the Texans’ most dangerous offensive player last season and was expected to be a key figure in the offense again. The architect of the San Francisco 49ers’ top-ranked defense, Ryans is expected to emphasize a strong running game on offense to establish an aggressive, productive style. The 49ers’ versatile offensive system was built around the talents of running back Christian McCaffrey and all-around wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
However, nothing has been productive so far about the Texans’ running game. They had just 52 rushing yards on 26 carries, a 2.0 average, as Pierce was limited to 31 yards on 15 carries for a 2.1 average.
On his first run of the game, rookie center Jarrett Patterson was overwhelmed by defensive tackle Grover Stewart and the penetration led to Pierce being tackled for a three-yard loss.
“We wanted to run the ball last game,” Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said. “That was our plan, but you’re not going to, when you get down what we got down, and you’re only running the ball for two yards per carry, you can only stick with that for so long, and you’ve got to adjust.
“The reality is in our run game, we all know it needs to be better. We know the ball carriers need to be better. We’ve got to stop having mental mistakes in the run game. We’ve got too many unblocked defenders in the hole. We can scheme up some better plays in some areas, and when we get the right looks, we’ve got to make them explosives – and right now, we’re not. So, we’re all well aware what we have to fix.”
The Texans rank fourth in rushing yards with 124. Pierce’s longest run is 10 yards after establishing himself as a breakaway threat last season.
“It’s a simple fix, it’s not like we have guys lacking or not giving an effort,” Pierce said. “As we stay adamant with it and intentional with it, then we’re going to see more and more runs pop. The patience part for me comes in, it’s as simple as going from seven-and-a-half yards alignment, to eight yards.”
Pierce said he and running backs coach Danny Barrett are putting in overtime trying to fix the problem.
“Every week, me and DB always steal a lot of reps, steal a lot of film,” Pierce said. “It comes down to me. He doesn’t want to slow me down because that’s how I play. That’s one thing I like about DB. He keeps me in the framework of my game, but also within the framework of this offense and what they’re asking of me. Both of them mesh together.”
Perhaps Pierce will line up deeper in the backfield this week to set up his vision for runs.
“This week, you might see me a little deeper,” Pierce said. “We saw that, you know, when I was deeper as opposed to closer, I naturally feel the cut anyway, I was finding it regardless. The timing was a hair of a second off or a split-second too early or we’ll mess up in a fit or something.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.