Joe Mixon will finally be able to prove his worth come Sunday. Week 1 will see the newly minted Houston Texan running back, Joe Mixon, make his long-awaited debut for the franchise since being acquired in the spring. It's been a long time since his arrival, and he's hardly practiced at all. He's been hampered by injuries that kept him out of the preseason, but Mixon has formally been given the all-clear for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Texans will need Mixon, as the Colts are expected to have a solid defense, especially against the run. Mixon's health and ability to impact the game will be crucial to how the team overall plays and reacts to things on the fly. If he can't get any movement going carrying the ball, they'll be forced to throw more and become more predictable. If they can't throw at all against the Colts, they need to be able to lean on Mixon to help them through a rough patch.
So either way he's going to be a vital piece to the offense. As this is his first game in a Texans uniform, we have some bold predictions for how this we'll go.
1. Joe Mixon will struggle
Say what you will about the how and why of this prediction, I just think it'll be a rough go for Joe Mixon. Part of that will be rust, the other part will be an offensive line that has done anything but impress all offseason. The line has had issues dating back to 2023 and the Texans stood pat and didn't do anything to improve the situation for 2024. So Mixon may end up struggling due to that issue.
2. Joe Mixon will fall short of 100 total yards
While I do think Mixon will struggle in Week 1, I think the Texans may just not utilize Mixon all that much against the Colts. I'd be surprised if he had 15 touches. Heck, I'd be surprised if the Texans ran the ball more than 20 times in this game. I don't think the current system is designed for Mixon to excel.
3 Joe Mixon will score a timely touchdown
Still, despite all this, I think Mixon will put in a short-yardage touchdown sometime before the end of the first half.