Marvin Harrison Jr.’s First Texans Touchdown Is a Glimpse of What Houston’s Offense Can Become

The Houston Texans walked away from Sunday’s game against the New York Giants with another frustrating loss, but buried inside that 27-21 overtime defeat was a moment Texans fans have been waiting to see.

C.J. Stroud to Marvin Harrison Jr. Touchdown. Yeah, that has a familiar ring to it.

Harrison hauled in his first touchdown as a Houston Texan in just his second game with the team, catching a six-yard strike from Stroud late in the second quarter. Houston followed it with a successful two-point conversion to Cade Stover, tying the game at 14 heading toward halftime.

The Texans ultimately couldn't finish the job, falling to 2-5 after Devin Singletary's 30-yard overtime touchdown ended it. But Harrison finding the end zone matters because Houston desperately needs another legitimate difference-maker in this offense.

We've been talking about the potential of this reunion since Harrison arrived in Houston. Now we finally got a taste.

Stroud and Harrison obviously aren't strangers. Their connection goes back to Ohio State, and that's what made Houston acquiring Harrison from Arizona so intriguing. Houston wasn't simply adding another receiver. The Texans were putting Stroud back together with somebody he already understands.

That chemistry showed on Harrison's touchdown.

On third-and-goal, Stroud delivered the ball where Harrison could make the play, and Harrison finished it. It was only six yards on the stat sheet, but those six yards potentially showed us something much bigger.

Harrison finished with only one reception on four targets for six yards, so let's not pretend this was his breakout performance. It wasn't.

But touchdowns build confidence. Trust builds chemistry. And sometimes one play is all it takes to start unlocking something.

This is where I have a problem.

You don't bring in a receiver with Harrison's talent just to have him catch one football.

The Texans finished with only 237 total yards against New York, while Stroud threw for a season-low 153 yards. Houston also struggled badly after halftime before finally putting together the late touchdown drive that forced overtime.

That's simply not enough offensive production.

Houston suddenly has an interesting collection of weapons around Stroud, and Harrison needs to become a bigger part of that equation. Tank Dell's return adds another explosive element, while Nico Collins remains a major piece of this passing attack.

That should make life easier for Harrison  and vice versa. Defenses shouldn't be able to shade coverage toward one receiver anymore. Somebody is eventually going to get a favorable matchup.

When Harrison gets his, Houston needs to attack it.

It's easy to see Harrison's name, remember what he and Stroud accomplished together at Ohio State and expect that connection to immediately pick up where it left off.

The NFL doesn't work that way.

Harrison is learning a new offense during the season. Stroud is learning where Harrison wants the football against NFL coverages. The coaching staff is still figuring out exactly where Harrison fits alongside Collins, Dell and the rest of Houston's receivers.

Remember, this was only his second game as a Texan. In his Houston debut against Jacksonville, Harrison caught three passes for 34 yards. Against New York, the yardage disappeared, but he found the end zone.

Now Houston needs to combine the two.

Get him five or six catches. Give him opportunities downfield. Put him in the red zone. Move him around the formation. Most importantly, let Stroud build that trust again.

The frustrating part is Harrison's touchdown will probably become a footnote because Houston didn't win.

And that's fair.

The 27-21 loss hurts because Houston had an opportunity to build momentum and instead walked out of Reliant Stadium with another one in the loss column.

Houston brought Harrison here because of what he can become alongside Stroud, not because of what he can accomplish in two games.

That touchdown was the first real glimpse and now comes the important part.

Turn the glimpse into a connection. Turn the connection into production. And eventually, turn that production into wins.

Because if Stroud-to-Harrison becomes a regular announcement in Houston, this Texans offense could look a whole lot different during the second half of the season.