The Houston Texans have had a rough year all year so far, as I’m sure most of you know by now. Their offense and defense have both equally struggled and both have contributed to the Texans starting the season 1-9-1. There has been no worse part of this team (besides QB play) than the Texans run defense.
They’ve been completely abysmal all season. They give up 169 rushing yards per game (31st in the NFL) at nearly 5 yards per carry. PFF ranks the Texans run defense 37/100 which is good for 30th in the NFL (only behind the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears). If you couldn’t figure it out by just reading the numbers, those stats are really, really bad.
Here are some rushing stats from opposing RBs against the Texans this season:
Week 1- Jonathan Taylor: 31 carries, 161 yards, 1 TD, 5.2 YPC
Week 2- Javonte Williams/Melvin Gordon: 25 carries, 122 yards, 4.9 YPC
Week 3- Khalil Herbert: 20 carries, 157 yards, 2 TDs, 7.8 YPC
Week 5- Etienne/Robinson/Lawrence: 24 carries, 127 yards, 5.3 YPC
Week 7- Josh Jacobs: 20 carries, 143 yards, 3 TDs, 7.2 YPC
Week 8- Derrick Henry/Dontrell Hilliard: 40 carries, 302 yards, 2 TDs, 7.6 YPC
Week 9- Eagles Team: 31 carries, 143 yards, 2 TDs, 4.6 YPC
Week 10- Saquan Barkley: 35 carries, 152 yards, 1 TD, 4.3 YPC
Those were all of the games that I considered the Texans run defense to be below average, and most of the games I listed above were well below average. The upcoming schedule (Running Back wise) is also daunting. The rest of the season Houston plays the likes of Nick Chubb, Zeke Elliot/Tony Pollard, Derrick Henry, Travis Etienne, and Jonathan Taylor. I don’t know about you, but I do not like the Texans odds to slow down any of those elite players at all.
The Texans have put together a few weeks though, where the run defense was actually pretty good; but they are few and far between:
Week 4- Chargers RB’s: 27 carries, 81 yards, 3.0 YPC
Week 11- Antonio Gibson/Brian Robinson Jr: 33 carries, 129 yards, 3.9 YPC
Week 12- Dolphins RB’s: 26 carries, 66 yards, 2.5 YPC
If I’m being glass-half full, the last 2 games have been pretty good for the Texans run defense; especially the game against the Dolphins. The Dolphins aren’t known for their rushing attack, and they had Raheem Mostert out with injury; but at this point the Texans will take any moral victory they can get.
The Texans have a bunch of holes to fill on their roster, and the run defense is one they will be looking to bolster when the off-season rolls around. Nick Caserio needs to do something about this run defense or it’s going to be different season, same story next year for this Texans team.
But for this season, Houston is just going to have to live with having one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL.