In the offseason, the Houston Texans signedrunning back David Montgomery to address their deficiencies in the run game from last season. They also expected second-year runner Woody Marks to have a much moreefficient role in a differentspot.
Through the first three weeks, it has not been working as the Texans envisioned. They currently have one of the worst run games in the NFL, ranking 30th overall while averaging 84.7 yards per game.
After rushing for only 70 yards in their 19-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Houston now has two straight games with 70 rushing yards or less, including just 60 against the Cincinnati Bengals. They had 124 rushing yards in their season opener against the Buffalo Bills.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans said the team is evaluating
what they can do differently in the run game, but also said it is headed in a positive direction.
"We're looking at everything from an offensive standpoint of the running game, what can we do differently for us to make sure we can turn out some yards in a run game,” Ryans said. “The positive is the way 'D-Mo' runs the ball, he runs it in the right way. You talk about a guy running physical, undeniable. Then Woody, with the touches that he's getting. He's getting a lot of positive gains. He's playing explosive, playing fast. I love the way the backs are running. We can continue to do a better job. I thought our guys, they play with our type of play style up front. I like the way the guys finished in the run game. A lot of pancake blocks up front. The guys have to keep working, have to keep trying to do some different things as well, schematically with our run game. We just keep pressing forward. But we're headed in the right direction. We just have to clean up a few things."
With their loss to the Colts, Houston dropped to 0-3 on the year for the second straight season. If it want to avoid starting 0-4 for the first time since Bill O’Brien got fired mid-season, Houstn needs a win against the Dallas Cowboys.
Luckily for the Texans, Dallas happens to be down in all three areas of defense to start the new season. So, this could be an opportunity for the offense to bounce back and finally lead Houston to a win this season.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans HC DeMeco Ryans says run game is 'headed in the right direction' vs. Cowboys
