The Houston Texans have spent the first three weeks trying to force an identity that the numbers keep rejecting. At 0-3, the clearest path forward is staring them in the face: put the ball in C.J. Stroud’s hands and let him go after a Dallas Cowboys defense that has been vulnerable through the air.
Houston wants to be physical and balanced. DeMeco Ryans has made that plain.
But the production has not matched the plan. The Texans enter Week 4 ranked 30th in rushing at 84.6 yards per game and 28th at 3.6 yards per carry.
Too often, David Montgomery and Woody Marks are getting hit before they can even reach the line of scrimmage, and that leaves Nick Caley staring at long-yardage situations that are hard to survive.
Sunday’s 19-17 loss to Indianapolis told the same story. Houston managed just 70 rushing yards, with Montgomery leading the team with 33 on 11 carries.
The Texans finished with 223 net yards and held the ball for only 24:47. That is not a stable foundation.
It is a weekly problem.
On Monday, Ryans said Houston could lean more on the passing game while the run game searches for answers. That feels less like a choice and more like common sense.
Stroud has not been perfect, but he has also not been the issue. Through three games, he has completed 72 of 120 passes for 794 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His 88.0 passer rating is solid rather than dazzling, but that’s not nothing when he’s operating behind an inconsistent line and has already been without Nico Collins for two games.
The best version of this offense showed up against Cincinnati, when Stroud threw for 353 yards after Houston finally leaned into the pass. The Texans only scored six points, but that was tied to red-zone issues, dropped passes and protection breakdowns.
The takeaway should not be that Houston threw too much. It should be that the passing game needs to be structured better.
That means quicker throws. It means moving Stroud outside the pocket.
It means giving him defined reads. It means getting Jaylin Noel chances in space, getting Kayshon Boutte involved before the fourth quarter and letting Dalton Schultz work the middle of the field.
Houston does not need to live on 55 pass attempts. But 35 smart ones might do a lot more for this offense than repeatedly slamming into a brick wall.
The timing could not be better, because Dallas has been begging to be attacked through the air. Through three games, the Cowboys have allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 72.6% of their passes for 623 yards and seven touchdowns.
They have not intercepted a pass and have only two sacks. Quarterbacks against Dallas have posted a 121.3 rating.
That is the matchup Houston should want. The Cowboys are 1-2 after a 34-31 loss to Baltimore in Brazil, and they are walking into another emotionally loaded game against an in-state rival. The Texans cannot afford to tiptoe into it.
Let Stroud come out firing. Use the passing game to get into rhythm, then hand the ball to Montgomery and Marks once Dallas starts lightening the box.
That is still balance. It just starts in the right place.
Andre Ware made a similar point on Texans All-Access, calling Houston a pass-first team and saying the offense should begin with what is working. John McClain also said Stroud needs to become the focal point against Dallas.
He’s right. Houston should stop trying to manufacture an identity based on what it hoped to be and build around the quarterback it actually has.
There is also a chance the Texans get some help back. Ryans said Monday that Houston is hopeful Collins and starting right guard Ed Ingram can return against Dallas. Collins has missed two games with a hamstring injury, while Ingram has been out with a groin issue.
Collins would change the way Dallas has to defend the Texans immediately. He caught seven passes for 75 yards and a touchdown in the opener against Buffalo. Without him, Xavier Hutchinson has become Houston’s most targeted wideout, but the offense has lacked a reliable boundary threat.
Ingram matters too. Houston has rushed for only 130 combined yards over the past two games without him. Even if both players are back, though, the Texans should not rush back into forcing the run just because it fits the script they imagined before the season.
Houston hosts Dallas at noon on Sunday, Oct. 4, at Reliant Stadium. The Texans are 0-3, and no NFL team has made the postseason after starting 0-4 since 1992.
That makes this more than a rivalry game. It is a chance to keep the season from slipping away.
The Texans do not need to keep pretending the run game is ready to carry them. Stroud has 794 passing yards and no interceptions. Dallas has allowed seven passing touchdowns and has not picked off a pass.
That is the matchup. Open with it.
Build through it. Let Stroud attack.
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