It didn't result in a win, but Houston Texans running back David Montgomery put his name in the history books with his debut on Sunday. Houston fell short against the Buffalo Bills, but stopping Montgomery was a task too tall, as he ran for two touchdowns and caught another one.
Montgomery became the first player in Texans history to score three touchdowns in a debut. Since 2014, Houston has had just three running backs reach 1,000 yards: Lamar Miller in 2016 (1,073), Carlos Hyde in 2019 (1,070) and Joe Mixon in 2024 (1,016). As long as he stays healthy, Montgomery has a great chance to reach the milestone for the third time in his career.
Let's discuss how his success could help (or already is helping) the rest of the unit.
How David Montgomery has changed the Texans offense
Questions surrounded the Texans offense throughout the offseason. Can they establish a running game? Will quarterback CJ Stroud finally take a step forward? Montgomery seems to have already answered the first one. The second one, however, will take more time to figure out.
Stroud completed 26 of 38 passes (68%) for 274 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. With about five minutes left in the first quarter, Stroud made a play wherein he stepped up in the pocket to avoid a blitz, threw across his body on the run and found rookie tight end Marlin Klein for a 16-yard gain and a first down. Elite quarterbacks make those throws every game, so it was a positive sign to see Stroud handle it easily.
The new-look Houston offensive line was up and down in terms of performance, but it was solid overall. The Texans ran for 124 yards as a team, and Stroud faced a pressure rate of just 21.4%, which ranked as the lowest in the league in week one (NextGen Stats). On the other hand, Stroud was sacked three times. After watching them again on film, however, at least two of them could be considered coverage sacks.
The addition of Montgomery has already made the entire offense better as a whole. The defense looked like a shell of itself on Sunday, but it should just be a case of needing to shake the rust off. Once they have a few more games under their belt, the Texans should look like one of the teams to beat in the NFL.
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