The Houston Texans have an incredible offensive building block with C.J. Stroud at the helm.
Just two seasons ago, the Texans posted a 3-13-1 record. They weren’t a good organization. They then drafted Stroud out of Ohio State with the No. 2 overall pick and hired first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans.
The clean house helped Houston to a 10-7 record and a playoff berth. They even won a playoff game, which was quite a surprise given their rapid rise. This past offseason, they added running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver Stefon Diggs to fortify the offense around the star signal-caller.
The club advanced to 7-4 on the season after taking down the Dallas Cowboys on the road behind strong play from Mixon and the offensive line. After the game, the Oklahoma product was highly complimentary of Stroud.
Mixon compares Stroud to Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow
The Texans lost Diggs for the season, as he suffered an ACL injury. So the team is going to have to lean on the ground game even more to open up the passing attack. Mixon has been around the league for a while, though, so he knows how to elevate an offense with his impact.
As a young quarterback with the Cincinnati Bengals, Joe Burrow led the squad to the Super Bowl with Mixon in the backfield. After the Texans’ win over the Cowboys, the running back drew a comparison between the two quarterbacks.
“In terms of C.J., man, just seeing the growth, you know, him coming out here, the way that he prepares, the way that he does all the little things right,” Mixon said after the win. “He sends us clips, he sends us all the little things that we need to do, you know, to be on top of the detail.
“…I just try to do whatever I can to bring a little bit of off the script, and what Joe Burrow did in Cincinnati, and just letting him know, like, ‘Bro, you have that same ability.’ He made a crucial play with his legs. And I think he does a great job with just taking in the game and really applying it to what he does.”
Stroud can only hope to be like second-year Burrow and take his team to the Super Bowl, with the common denominator being Mixon in the backfield. The Texans certainly have the talent needed to help the Ohio State product take the team to new heights, though they’ll have to remain healthy to have such happen.
The Texans run game is the center of the team’s offense
As great as Stroud is, Houston’s offense doesn’t go without a strong rushing attack. It was an emphasis for the team as they took on the Cowboys. Ryans even challenged his team in that regard, as he revealed how they were able to have such a strong game in that regard.
“The run game starts with our offense line,” Ryans explained. “I asked them, I challenged them to play fast, play aggressive and I thought they did a really nice job. And Joe, when he’s on, he’s a force for us. Over 100 yards, three touchdowns, I just really liked the way we just kept churning it in the run game. And (I’m) proud of the guys for stepping up to the challenge.”
With the ground game working, the Texans then open up the possibility of Stroud connecting with his incredible, elusive receivers to really maximize the overall offensive production.
Now hoisting a 7-4 record, the club is well-positioned for a playoff push and they’ve recaptured momentum and their rhythm as they work through the latter half of their schedule.
