The Texans struggle to protect Stroud as the hits mount

HOUSTON – Sunday's loss to the Green Bay Packers stemmed from career lows for the Houston Texans as their pass protection woes continued.

The Texans totaled 55 net passing yards, a low point for second-year head coach DeMeco Ryans. And second-year quarterback CJ Stroud threw for a career-worst 86 yards. It was a rare performance from Stroud, who averages 262.3 passing yards in his career, but he was sacked four times and was pressured on 48% of his dropbacks.

Asked if there would be changes to the offensive line to protect his franchise QB, Ryans said, “Everything is on the table.”

“It needs to be fixed,” Ryans said. “I know how we train it and what we want to do and it just doesn't show on the tape. It's not just one person, it's the whole thing. So it's just the entire offense from top to bottom. “We've got to clean it up at the bottom.”

It was a season theme for the Texans (5-2). Stroud has the third-most dropbacks (102) in the NFL and has been sacked 20 times, tied for third.

Third downs are where the Texans' blocking falters the most, as Stroud was sacked 10 times (second most), was pressured 46 times – 10 more times than the next quarterback – and time to pressure was 2.39 (third). fastest time). ).

Still, Stroud has the most first downs on third downs (31), while the Texans are 14th in third down conversions (40%).

“When it comes to our protection, we have a lot of things to clean up and it's about everyone involved — O-line, tight ends, backs. It's a matter of everyone working together, being on the same page and just getting it done,” Ryans said. “We've had several weeks where the same things hurt us multiple times, so we need to fix it, from the coaches to the players finishing and executing everything.”

With the Indianapolis Colts (4-3) traveling to Houston on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS), this could be a pivotal AFC South game at the end of the season. The Texans defeated the Colts in the opening game 29:27. So a win against their division opponent would give them a lead in the table, but a loss would see them draw.

The Colts have applied pressure on 28% of dropbacks (third-fewest) this season, but in Week 1 against the Texans, they sacked Stroud four times.

“We realize we're going to see some of the same looks, some of the exotic looks that their front line gave us for our offense. We just have to communicate better and just anticipate better,” Ryans said after the win in Week 1. “We have to show that we can deal with it and deal with it the right way. Even though we were really good in the running game, the pass protection needs to be increased. It happens too many times that someone touched the quarterback, our quarterback yesterday, that just can't happen.”

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Stroud has been hit on dropbacks 60 times this season, third-most, and the offensive line hasn't proven it can handle stunts from opposing defenses.

“(The Packers) attack like a unit. They have a lot of twist game upfront, so we just have to calm down a little bit the more they twist and turn and just try to keep the balance,” Stroud said. “But I think they did a good job with their stunts. We just have to defend better and I have to be better at getting the ball out on time. It’s a variety of things.”

Stroud faced four unblocked pressures in the Week 7 loss, one of which resulted in a sack, and he experienced 19 unblocked pressures this year (tied for fifth most).

The Packers' defensive backs were able to sit on routes because they knew the ball had to come out quickly. According to Next Gen Stats, the receiving trio of Xavier Hutchinson, Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs combined for 34 yards on 12 targets, and none of them averaged more than two yards.

“I said we had a lot of horses in the barn as the week went on,” said Diggs, who finished with 23 yards and five catches. “We have to find a way to make this happen. There's too much outside talent to have 55 passing yards – er, 86, whatever it was. Excuse my language. We just have to play better.”

Houston also played without the NFL's leading receiver in Week 7 in Nico Collins, as he is expected to miss at least two more games after being placed on injured reserve.

But all is not lost with the offensive line. Running back Joe Mixon finished the game against the Packers with 115 rushing yards and two touchdowns and his 100.3 rushing yards per game (in four games) ranks third in the NFL.

Mixon was in his second game back from an ankle injury that caused him to miss three games, and the rushing attack outperformed the passing offense for the second straight game. It's not an ideal trend, but if the offensive line can't find ways to protect Stroud, this could be Houston's reality.

“We just need to communicate better,” left tackle Laremy Tunsil said. “All five guys have to agree.”