The Houston Texans’ Struggles On The Ground Are Putting Too Much On C.J. Stroud

The Houston Texans spent much of the offseason trying to fix their running game, but through two weeks, the same problem that hurt them last season is still showing up. Houston struggled to establish the run in Sunday’s 20-6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, putting even more pressure on C.J. Stroud and the passing game. David Montgomery and Woody Marks were unable to consistently create positive plays, and too many runs ended with the Texans having to fight just to get back to the line of scrimmage.

ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime pointed directly at that issue when discussing Houston’s offensive struggles, "Sometimes, Montgomery and Marks have to fight for every yard while getting hit in the backfield. Against the Bengals, quarterback C.J. Stroud led Houston in rushing yards (29); that's never a recipe for success.”

That statistic says plenty about where the Texans are offensively. Stroud should be the player Houston leans on when it needs to make a big play through the air, not the team’s leading rusher because the ground game cannot consistently get going.

The Texans made several significant changes to their offensive personnel during the offseason with the goal of giving Stroud more support. Montgomery was brought in to provide a physical presence in the backfield, while Marks was added to give the offense another option. Houston also invested in its offensive line, including bringing in Evan Brown and selecting Keylan Rutledge in the first round.

There were signs in Week 1 against Buffalo that those moves could pay off. Montgomery had an impressive debut, while the offensive line appeared much more capable of creating opportunities on the ground. Two weeks into the season, however, the consistency still is not there.

The Bengals exposed the issue again, even with Stroud putting together a strong statistical performance through the air. He finished with 353 passing yards, showing that the quarterback was capable of moving the ball despite the lack of a dependable rushing attack. The problem is that Houston cannot expect Stroud to consistently carry the offense by himself.

When the Texans cannot run efficiently, defenses can focus more heavily on the quarterback and make Houston increasingly one-dimensional. That puts unnecessary pressure on Stroud and makes life more difficult for an offense that was supposed to be more balanced this season.

The offseason changes were designed to address this exact issue. Through two weeks, Houston still has plenty of work to do to prove those changes actually fixed the problem.