Sitting at 6-2, the Houston Texans were primed to take a major step forward in the AFC South race with a win over the New York Jets. Unfortunately, that didn't come to fruition as they fell 21-13 on thursday night.
There are a multiutde of reasons for that. You can point to both Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs being out and the offensive line allowing eight sacks being major factors in the lack of success on offense. The Texans finally got the running game established with 108 yards in the first half but they weren't able to sustain it in the second half, with quarterback C.J. Stroud picking up 31 of the 79 rushing yards on scrambles during the final drive.
What is the main thing that the Texans need to fix? Making things easier for Stroud.
Bobby Slowik needs to make C.J. Stroud's life easier
Despite the offense having a full year in the system, the offense has not taken a step forward. In 2023, they were relatively inconsistent due to the nature of having a rookie quarterback. They finished the season 15th in EPA/play (-0.023) and 13th in success rate (41.4%). This season, it's a mixed bag, but they haven't taken a step forward one bit, sitting 20th in EPA/play (-0.015) and 25th in success rate (40.3%).
Not having their full arsenal of weapons hurts, but it's not the only thing at fault here. One of the biggest factors in the offense's struggles has been the lack of proper infrastructe and setting them up for success. Stroud's passing chart from Thursday night's game tells a big story.
Not only did Stroud only complete 11/30, he was sacked eight times while being pressured on 46.7% of his dropbacks. Things got so bad for Stroud that three players pressured him seven or more times Thursday night. With those issues in pass protection, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik was still calling seven and nine step drops consistently, forcing Stroud to scramble on 31.1% of his dropbacks.
Arguably the biggest issue for the Texans this season has been the lack of growth and development with the offensive scheme. Slowik hasn't shown much creativity or willingness to adapt with game script, especially in their three losses.
Where was the running game in the second half? Why didn't they continue to get the running game going? Joe Mixon only ran the ball seven times for 15 yards in the second half despite running for 95 yards on 17 carries in the first half.
Why is Stroud taking so many sacks and being pressured over 40% of his dropbacks throughout the season? Where are the quick game throws to get guys like Tank Dell the ball in space so they can create after the catch? Where are the screen passes to capitalize on the edge rushers pinning their ears back and rushing the passer?
Right now, it feels like Slowik is just running the staples from his mentor Kyle Shanahan's offense and hasn't put his own stamp on it. Why is there little to no creativity in this offense? Does Slowik just not have the chops to be a great play caller or is it just a sophomore slump across the board?
This offense needs a spark and to find a way to generate consistency. Adding elements of quick game will help mitigate Stroud getting pressured consistently, especially with his time to throw being 10th in the NFL at 2.89 seconds per Next Gen Stats.
They won't be able to drastically improve the offensive line or the receiving corps this season, but they can adjust how they are playing. If they can do that, the Texans can still make waves in the AFC. If they don't, there will be more of the same where Stroud goes 2/11 on throws over 15 yards and the Texans underperform.
Stroud can make the big play, but making it so he doesn't have to so the Texans win games should be the number one priority this year.
